A new study published in JMIR Human Factors highlights the potential of digital peer support in addressing the growing mental health crisis in the United States.
BERKELEY, Calif., Feb. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A new study published in JMIR Human Factors highlights the impact of digital peer support in addressing the growing mental health crisis in the United States. The retrospective cohort study, which examined the integration of Supportiv—a digital peer support service—into the MINES Employee Assistance Plan (EAP), found that peer support significantly reduces the need for therapy sessions while delivering emotional well-being outcomes and improving access to care.
Key Findings:
- 2.07 fewer therapy sessions per participant (p < .001) in a five-session EAP model, with a large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.77).
- Emotional well-being improvements: Sadness reduced by 57.50%, loneliness by 55.04%, and stress by 56.47%.
- Less than one-minute wait time for live-moderated small group chat support, providing immediate evidence-based care and human connection.
- 73% of peer support users engaged outside of business hours (8 AM to 5 PM), addressing a critical gap when clinical care is often unavailable.
At present, the behavioral health clinician shortage in the US is projected to worsen, with projections stretching into the year 2037 (Health Resources & Services Administration). In this context, ever-increasing need and potential penalties for access wait times may mean increasing costs for behavioral health plans and EAPs, which this study shows may be mitigated by novel, sub-clinical solutions such as Supportiv.
In this model, offering small group chats safeguarded and facilitated by trained, human moderators, users are greeted with a sense of immediate attention and caring. The extent of many users' needs are satisfied through the provision of connection, comfort, encouragement, and guidance through collaborative problem solving, as well as referrals to hyper-personalized coping and healing resources.
This illuminates a central tenet of the digital peer support premise: that mental health struggles vary in acuity, and that low-acuity needs can be met with lower-acuity, sub-clinical solutions such as Supportiv. These sub-clinical solutions may also fill gaps in accessibility, for instance through 24/7 availability, as Robert Mines, PhD, Founder & Chief Psychology Officer of MINES EAP highlights: "One of the remarkable findings was the percentage of people who used the peer support services after hours. This is an innovative first step looking at peer support as part of an employee assistance program. The results are promising."
Supportiv CEO and Founder Helena Plater-Zyberk speaks to the implications of the study's findings: "This study points to digital peer support's clinical efficacy, a positive end-user experience of feeling attended-to around the clock, and the creation of extra breathing room within overburdened clinical care systems – all at a reduced organizational cost for EAPs, Behavioral Health Plans, and Employers."
As the study authors conclude, "the social, environmental, and broader economic impact" of digital peer support's integration into care ecosystems merits further exploration and attention. In light of the United States' dire unmet mental health need, such a low-cost, accessible, and well-received solution holds promise for a varied set of decision-makers and stakeholders.
Find the full study text at: https://doi.org/10.2196/68221.
About Supportiv:
In partnership with employers, health plans, EAPs, Medicaid and Medicare Supplement, Supportiv has already enabled over 2 million users, from teens to seniors, to feel less lonely, anxious, stressed, misunderstood, and hopeless through its moderator-led peer support small group chats with AI-driven content and resource recommendations. By typing a few words in response to the question: "What's your struggle?" users are precision-matched in seconds using multi-patented AI-driven natural language processing to peers who relate and to hyper-personalized resources, benefits, and community services that address expressed needs. Common topics include social connection, depression, burnout, motivation, focus, parenting, caregiving, stress, health concerns, trauma, and suicidality. See what real users have to say, here: https://www.supportiv.com/testimonials.
Media Contact
Todd Stein, Supportiv Inc., 1 510.417.0612, [email protected], https://www.supportiv.com
SOURCE Supportiv Inc.
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