Executive Voice
Nigerian Therapy Startup Mytherapist Set To Rollout App To Help Tackle Country’s Brewing Mental Health Decline
A Nigerian tech startup, mytherapist.ng, is set to unveil its mobile application to offer a wide range of accessible mental health care services to Nigerians.
The app, which will be available to both Android and IOS smartphone users, is targeted at over 20 million Nigerians, home and abroad, to provide fluid, localized, and affordable access to mental health therapy sessions with well-vetted licensed therapists.
Established earlier this year, the startup was co-founded by Dedoyin Ajayi, a Psychotherapist specializing in Emotional health; and Oluwaseun Raphael Afolayan, a seasoned full-stack developer.
The digital solution was principally inspired by the yawning gap existing in the supply-demand of Mental Health therapy in the country, which significantly widened during the Covid-19 pandemic and the October 2020 #EndSARS event, further upsurging depression, suicide attempts, and various unsaid emotional traumas.
This is considered a timely development, given the various statistical reports, especially by the World Health Organization (WHO), which revealed that about 50 million Nigerians live with varying mental health disorders.
Since its inception, the health-tech company has been gathering momentum towards the official rollout of its mobile application in December 2021, as users are encouraged to join its waiting list via its official website – mytherapist.ng.
Speaking on the forthcoming app launch, Mytherapist’s COO, Ajayi, averred that “Social media has helped to create a platform for many to voice out, it has still not proven to be the safest space to talk about your mental health struggle and get the needed help.”
According to her, “with the app, users can get personalized access to quality mental health care. This would also help to solve the problem of stigmatization users face as they would have a safe space to share their experiences and get the needed help.”
Raphael, who has spent the last five years building and documenting tech solutions for startups and is the current CTO of the company, further disclosed that those without internet access or smartphones would not be left out of the equation.
He said a dedicated toll-free helpline and walk-in centers strategically located in various local and semi-urban communities would be available.
In addition, he said, “We’re going to begin funding rounds after our initial rollout in December,” offering investment openings for angel investors and venture capitalists to help reach our goals faster.
About Mytherapist company
Driven by the mission of granting Nigerians effective and accessible mental health care when they need it, Mytherapist is a fast-rising tech-enabled on-demand teletherapy platform for Nigerians/Africans home and abroad, providing fluid, localized, and affordable access to Mental Health therapy sessions with verified professional therapists across the county.
@mytherapistapp
Lagos, Nigeria.
