Behavioral health tech company Brightside Health launched a telehealth service for those with elevated suicide risk.
The San Francisco-based startup moves into an area that many behavioral health tech companies have struggled to reach with the new service — treating serious mental illness (SMI). The new service, called Crisis Care, is designated for actively suicidal patients. That includes those who have made a recent attempt and those who need follow-up care after a hospitalization, according to a news release.
It is based on the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) framework, according to a news release. The CAMS framework was developed by David Jobes.
“Simply put, we built Crisis Care to save lives,” Brad Kittredge, CEO and co-founder of Brightside Health, said in a news release. “We have a responsibility to do more for this vulnerable population, and it’s critical to our mission of delivering life-changing mental health care to everyone who needs it. We look forward to helping as many people as possible.”
The service is available in select states and will eventually be available nationwide, the release states. It does not specify where it is available or when it will be nationally available.
Many behavioral health tech companies do not treat SMI. Rather, they lean into marketing to stable patients with mild cases and don’t require intensive care. Brightside Health treats those with mild to severe clinical depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders, the release states.
The Care Crisis program is a four- to 12-week program staffed by CAMS-trained clinicians. It includes one-on-one weekly video sessions, online check-ins, anytime messaging and 24/7 call support. The program also relies on research-backed protocols and a collaborative approach with patients, the release states.
The program is, in part, a collaboration with the software company NeuroFlow. The data analysis company helps triage patients to the right level of care.
Suicide is a leading cause of death for young people. It was in the top five most common means of death for Americans ages 10 to 44 in 2020: It was No. 2 and No. 3 for the age groups 10 to 14 and 15 to 24, respectively, according to CDC data.
In 2021, Brightside Health landed a $24 million Series A funding round led by ACME Ventures. In March, Brightside Health raised $50 million in a Series B round led by ACME Capital and Mousse Partners.
Earlier in the year, the behavioral health tech startup Cerebral announced an artificial intelligence-backed platform to detect mental health crises including suicidal ideation.
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