AI helps bridge the gap between supply demand and mental health professionals: Evolve founder Anshul Kamath

Evolve is a mental health app that is designed especially for the LGBTQIA+ community. It offers sessions with psychologists, life coaches and wellness experts to help the users who are struggling with mental health issues. Started in 2017, Evolve has now garnered the award of ‘Best App for Personal Growth 2021’ by Google Play.

Anshul Kamath, founder of Evolve, spoke to Tech Today regarding his creation. Talking about the inspiration that led him and co-founder Rohan Arora to create this app specifically for LGBTQIA+ community, Kamath said: “Initially, we started out as a mental health app for everyone. However, in 2021, we decided to pivot towards an LGBTQ+ first app after seeing some early signs of traction. The LGBTQ+ community is one of the fastest growing user segments globally and research shows that members of the community are almost 4 times as likely to experience serious mental illness compared to the general population.”

He added, “Our core team comprises people from diverse gender identities and sexual orientations and we understand first-hand the struggles and challenges of the community when it comes to mental health and wellness. This has helped us build an authentic product that’s loved all around the world.”

The Evolve app was also showcased at the White House in the US. Kamath said, “We’ve become mental health partners for numerous Pride organisations across the world.”

Talking about the efforts they put to make the app credible, Kamath said that they are investing heavily on research. He said: “We’re extremely focused on research and building evidence-based interventions. We have someone who’s a PhD in Clinical Psychology leading our research and content. We’ve recently signed a research project with BITS Pilani and are also part of a global mental health research alliance. Most authentic solution for the community.”

What makes Evolve different from the other mental health apps in the market? To this, Kamath said: “Unlike most other apps which focus primarily on virtual content, Evolve also has a thriving community where users can discuss and share their experiences with each other to normalise stressors. We’ve also recently launched live support groups where users have a safe space to interact with others around the world and work on specific issues related to their mental health.”

Evolve has collaborated with Apple accelerator in Bangalore to make the app more intuitive and engaging. He said: “The Apple team has been extremely supportive of our mission and ensuring we have the mentorship to build a world class app out of India. They’ve been guiding us on taking our design and UI/UX to the next level. We also have regular catch ups with the Apple team to understand the latest features that iOS devices support (for example widgets, Siri integration, etc.,) and that helps us to streamline our roadmap to deliver a high-quality experience to iPhone users.”

On App Store, the Evolve app has 4.9 stars rating. Kamath also spoke about the success mantra of app. “We’re now at over 400,000 users. A big part of our mantra is to always build an authentic product that resonates with the user. We’ve realised that as a startup, it’s important to have focus and build for a specific user. After we decided to focus on building for the LGBTQ+ community, we grew 5 times in a single year," he said.

Artificial Intelligence is the hot topic in the tech industry right now. Kamath has also used AI in his mental health apps. He spoke about how they integrated the technology in the app: “When it comes to mental health, there’s a huge demand supply gap when it comes to qualified mental health professionals. Apps like Evolve see technology and AI as an opportunity to bridge this gap for people who need help but can’t access or afford a professional.”

He added: “So far, we’ve used some basic AI to make certain content on the app more interactive. For example, we have virtual therapy modules that are designed to simulate how a therapist might hold space for you if you’re going through a specific challenge in your life. Here, users can answer different questions, learn concepts, journal and more. Since each users’ experiences will differ, basic AI helps to tailor these modules and interactions better.”

Kamath also spoke about the uncertain future of AI generative tools like ChatGPT, “When it comes to Generative AI tools, which are the buzz right now, we are progressing cautiously. This is because there is limited control we have in terms of what the output might look like for a user. So, while it’s great for any functional apps and tasks, we’re concerned about the small chance it could say something hurtful or even homophobic and hurt a user’s feeling.”

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