Ginger, an on-demand behavioral health startup for the employer market, is broadening its focus to include young people with the launch of Ginger for Teens.

The new offering is designed for adolescents aged 13 to 17 and includes Ginger’s full scope of care, including guided self-care content, behavioral health coaching, therapy and psychiatry.

It will be available as a benefit to employees’ teen dependents. Select Ginger clients will get access to the program starting August 2021, with broad availability slated for 2022.

Similar to Ginger's offering for adults, teen users will be matched with a provider that can meet their needs through the development of a personalized care plan. The new program features content that relates specifically to adolescents, such as mood management, identity and belonging, conflict resolution, sexuality and sexual identity and more.

Ginger for Teens also has an element for parents by giving them the tools to support their child’s mental health as well as providing updates on their progression and care team.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Adolescence is a period of drastic physical and mental change where much of a person’s personality is developed. In fact, 50% of all mental health conditions begin by the age of 14, yet in most cases, they go undetected and untreated until much later, according to the World Health Organization. 

Even before the pandemic, mental health conditions were common among youths, with roughly one in five teens living with mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Health.

But the social distancing and stay-at-home orders of the pandemic led to increased feelings of isolation and loneliness, causing 22% of parents to report their child’s mental health worsened during the pandemic, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“As a psychologist and mother of two teenagers, I’ve seen firsthand the repercussions that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on adolescents,“ Dr. Dana Udall, chief clinical officer at Ginger, said in a statement.

“By expanding access to Ginger’s services to this population, we’re making significant progress towards achieving our vision: a world where mental health is never an obstacle.”

THE LARGER TREND

Already in 2021 Ginger has closed a $100 million Series E round, partnered with Capsule for free medication home delivery and teamed up with Cigna to offer its members access to its services.

As indicated in Rock Health’s latest digital health funding report, mental health is the top clinical focus area for investor dollars and as such is a crowded market segment.

Others with digital behavioral health services include Talkspace, Lyra Health, AbleTo, Unmind and Headway – just to name a few.