NYP ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE AMERICAN MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
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ven before COVID-19, a silent pandemic was escalating across the country. Anxiety, depression, and suicide rates were on the rise among both adults and children, and our nation’s psychiatric care system struggled to meet the widespread need. The isolation and stress of quarantine proved to be the tipping point for America’s mental health crisis. That’s when NYP, a global leader in both brain and behavioral health, sprang into action, developing visionary ways of bringing care to patients who needed help fast. Thanks to our supporters, our advancements in mental health are leading us toward a more promising future.
This AI-powered digital tool screens users for behavioral health symptoms, provides instant feedback, and connects them with a provider or recommends treatments.
Innovating in Mental Health Tech In 2020, Francis Lee, MD, PhD, Psychiatrist-in-Chief at NYP/ Weill Cornell Medical Center, led a team at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) including Conor Liston, MD, PhD, a neuroscientist and psychiatrist in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute and the Department of Psychiatry at NYP/Weill Cornell Medical Center, to create START (Symptom Tracker And Resources for Treatment).
The first users? NYP’s front-line workers, who used START to monitor their own mental health as they cared for COVID-19 patients at the peak of the pandemic. Right away, demand doubled for employee counseling services. START became a model for using AI to rapidly assess behavioral health symptoms and access treatments. It also paved the way for other innovations like MAYA, a smartphone app that helps users manage mental health conditions like anxiety and depression using cognitive behavioral therapy principles.