Why I’m working on a mental health app. (Terappia)

Personally I grew up in a family with way more suicides and bipolar disorders than the average, which means I don’t need that much extra info to understand that mental health should be taken seriously. However, every decent project needs investors who require data so here is what I found out.

Recent News Headlines (Mexico)

• Depression causes 54% of work absences.
• Depression represents 4% of GDP.
• Pandemic increased suicides by 20%.
• Pandemic causes depression and anxiety.
• Suicide tentatives on the rise.
• Mental health, the next pandemic?

Facts

• 30% of adults in Mexico require mental health attention at some point in their lives.
• Only one in ten people gets treated.
• More than 16 million Mexicans need help.

Reasons for not getting treatment

• Social stigma
• Shame
• Fear of appearing weak
• Fear of being judged
• Lack of profesional offering
• Economy

How can I help?

I’m building Terappia, which is a mobile app where people will be able to find profesional help. People can find help from the privacy of their smartphone.

Benefits for users

• No judging, since they don’t have to attend an office and everything is done trough their phone, no-one has to know that they are seeking for help.
• Broad offering: they can check out all the available info for each therapist and book the one they feel comfortable with.
• Book, pay, re-schedule easily.

Benefits for therapists

About 80% of licensed therapists don’t work full time because they don’t have enough customers to make a living. The app will let all this professionals fill their time gaps while taking care of scheduling and banking for them.