Ginger and Headspace announce mental health merger

Two giants in the mental healthcare space, Ginger and Headspace, announced plans to merge to create Headspace Health, a digital mental health and well-being platform.

Ginger, an on-demand coaching platform, and Headspace, a meditation and mindfulness app, will combine to provide mental healthcare access to more than 100 million people worldwide, according to a release announcing the partnership. Russell Glass, CEO of Ginger, will lead the team as the Headspace Health CEO.

“Headspace and Ginger have a shared recognition that the mental health crisis can’t be solved by simply hiring more therapists or moving care online,” Glass said in the release. “Through this merger, we can uniquely tackle the full spectrum of mental health needs — from prevention to clinical care — all from one integrated platform.”

Read more: 8 low-cost apps to help employees manage their mental health

Mental health disorders like depression, anxiety and PTSD have skyrocketed during the COVID pandemic, and demand for accessible support exploded practically overnight. Ginger saw a 355% increase in individuals seeking coaching support and a 410% increase in utilization of therapy and psychiatry services since the start of the pandemic, according to their data.

Headspace, which offers meditations and mindfulness exercises, works with more than 2,200 companies, including Starbucks, Apple and Amazon. Individuals using Headspace report a 31% decrease in anxiety symptoms and a 46% decrease in depressive symptoms after eight weeks of use.

Read more: Will apps be the future of mental health? 

The merger is set to close by the end of 2021, setting the stage for more accessible and tech-savvy mental health care in the coming year. As employers prioritize the health and well-being of their workforce, these options can be a lifeline.

“Companies have to be thinking about both physical and mental health and recognize that this is a very stressful time for their employees,” Glass told EBN. “It’s not a “If you build it, they will come,” type of thing. You have to talk to employees about these resources, enforce that the company wants them to be used and reinforce that executives believe in it.”