New Lyra Health partnership aims to expand mental health benefits

Lyra Health, a mental health benefits provider, has teamed up with ICAS World, a global provider of employee assistance programs, in an effort to provide its employer clients with greater access to mental health resources.

Benefits through EAPs can vary country to country, so the goal of this partnership is to address employees’ benefit needs based on their location and cultural background, in order to provide the most effective technology-enabled mental health solutions.

“Our employer clients are increasingly global, so there is a lot of demand from employers to be able to offer benefits tailored to that culture,” says Sean McBride, vice president of partnerships for Lyra Health. “There's a huge recognized importance among employers that as the need for mental health with COVID has grown, this is an essential benefit to make sure that their workforce is thriving, healthy and fully engaged.”

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Lyra had been getting feedback from its U.S.-based employers with a worldwide presence about the need to provide more comprehensive mental health benefits. The partnership with ICAS allows Lyra to tap into a depth of services, like coaching for mild mental health needs to connecting employees to licensed mental health counselors for more serious issues.

"ICAS is proud to combine our robust network and local providers with Lyra's innovative approach to delivering mental health care," Andrew Davies, CEO of ICAS World, said in a statement. "Our joint efforts deliver a powerful support system for companies and their employees around the world, raising the level of access and care to match the accelerating demand.”

The benefit will also offer self-care tools, support for critical incidents, a 24/7 care line, manager training, worklife services and other workshops. Employees will be able to access these tools through apps, web portals and over the phone. Lyra was adamant that employees be able to seek the help they need with few limitations.

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The partnership will also expand access to therapy sessions available through the EAP program. Traditional EAPs typically cover three to five sessions; the ICAS program will offer up to 16 visits per member.

“A lot of EAPs have historically focused on offering very low [therapy] session limits,” McBride says. “ICAS was adaptable and excited to work with us to offer a richer mental health benefit that was more focused on helping people recover.”

Employee mental health has taken a greater hit over the last year thanks to the COVID-19 crisis. Employees reported a 48% increase for risk of depression between November and December, according to the Mental Health Index by Total Brain and the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. Additionally, overall employee focus plummeted 62% during that same time — the highest drop since last February.

“Mental health benefits have taken on even more importance in COVID. But at its core, when you think about the role of HR, the goal is to engage people and offer them benefits that help them be their best selves,” McBride says. “Nothing is more important to that mission than mental health.”