Myriad studies in Sociology, Psychology, Biology and Neuroscience prove over and over (and over) again: If the objective of the system is at odds with the wellbeing of the employee, citizen, customer or member, trauma and suffering ensue. Having participated in the development of monetization product strategies at tech companies like Google and Facebook, I've contributed to the damage done by systems that rely on fear-based engagement and suffering-fueled consumption. Conversely, as a holistic psychotherapist in private practice, I have seen how healing frameworks empower people to liberate themselves from the cultural, political and economic trauma behind their disease.
While taking on large, entrenched systems is never easy, David really can defeat Goliath if we play to our strengths. Collaborating is more efficient than competing for marketshare. In addition, products and services that alleviate human suffering (versus manage it for profit) perform better for customers. As a result, it is possible to scale and sustain a holistic healing network that keeps valuable research insights and data ownership with patients, not corporations. Think a corrective social network focused on restoring individual, social and environmental wellbeing at a local level, with global scale.
With 77% of Americans dissatisfied with the mental healthcare system (which jumps to 82% of those currently receiving care);* there is a 24.1B market* where less than 20% of customers like the current solution. With MDMA poised for FDA approval within the year, decriminalization efforts underway in multiple states and movement toward federal decriminalization likely for psychedelic plants and fungi; the wisdom of plant medicines we've co-evolved with to heal trauma and expand our awareness and maturity for thousands of years will soon be available to aid the holistic healing and growth process for those disconnected over generations spent in the industrialized world. Serendipitously, our research tools are now precise enough to measure the safety and efficacy of plant medicines (in terms that the western medical establishment validates).
As such, with a disciplined, focused and iterative strategy, the opportunity to disrupt the mental health industry in the near-term could not be better. With the capacity to measure not only reductions in anxiety and depression, but cancer loads, inflammatories, blood pressure, blood sugar, cardiac function and sleep patterns; the opportunity to prove efficacy and steal marketshare from the 3-trillion dollar US healthcare market and $292B Wellness Retreats and Events markets are on the table, long-term.