This is an exclusive BHB+ story
Cerebral’s recent acquisition of Resilience Lab was arguably the most positive light the company has garnered throughout the last few years. Not long after its 2021 partnership with gymnast Simone Biles, the digital mental health provider found itself tumbling to the center of several controversies.
Unlike many pandemic-era mental health startups that fell through, the company has held on – but not without a string of lawsuits, fines and penalties. The Claymont, Delaware-based company initially pitched itself as “democratizing access to high-quality mental health care,” only to later be in hot water over reported predatory cancellation practices, illegally disclosing patient information and violating federal laws.
Cerebral’s CEO, Brian Reinken, told Behavioral Health Business the acquisition marks a “new chapter both in terms of what this combination brings, and a new chapter in terms of what our mission is, and how we can really make an impact in the industry.”
Reinken only took charge in March after Dr. David Mou stepped down as CEO to form his own company.
Three years ago, the company made big strides and began offering opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and subsequently expanded its therapy capabilities across all 50 states. But that same year, Cerebral’s co-founder and former CEO, Kyle Robertson, abruptly departed – an early sign of what loomed ahead.
Months after the C-suite change, Cerebral discovered a data breach in January 2023 that affected nearly 3.2 million individuals. The company had improperly shared personal health information protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to Facebook, Google and TikTok via pixel trackers that it was using for marketing purposes. Patients weren’t notified until two months later in March.
As a result, Cerebral was hit with a class-action lawsuit and an Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint, which alleged the company and its former CEO “repeatedly” broke consumer privacy obligations, misled clients about cancellation policies, and engaged in “unfair and deceptive practices” with respect to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services. Cerebral ultimately settled with the FTC in April 2024 for $7 million.
Not long after, Cerebral and its former CEO, Robertson, were again named in an amended complaint over cancellation practices, failure to safeguard consumer data and, among other things, “falsely impersonat[ing] patients on online review sites, post[ing] fictitious reviews praising the company’s services and suppress[ing] authentic, negative reviews of the company.”
That fall, the Department of Justice announced that an investigation into the company revealed it had sought to increase its bottom line by increasing the number of its prescription drugs for patients as a result of practices that “encouraged the unauthorized distribution of controlled substances from 2019 to 2022.” For that violation, Cerebral agreed to pay $3.6 million in penalties.
Only in May 2025 did Cerebral customers begin receiving refunds as a result of these lawsuits.
Writing the ‘new chapter’
After not being able to pay the extent of its fines in some instances, it was only Cerebral’s pivot to insurance-based care over the last nine months that helped make its first-ever acquisition feasible, Reinken told BHB
“It was recognizing how we really start to drive success, given the goals that we’ve set out for the company,” Reinken said. “That really allowed Resilience Lab and us to have a quick connection on what our shared mission could be moving forward.”
Acquiring a therapy and medication management provider like New York-based Resilience Lab brings new depth and expertise to areas Cerebral has previously struggled with. Resilience Lab also boasts a proprietary clinician development platform and intensive training methodology for early-career therapists, which Cerebral will use to upskill current and future clinicians.
Rebuilding trust across payers, providers and clients is also a focus of this new chapter. The combined entity from the acquisition, which will operate under Cerebral’s name, will serve 100 million patients.
Reinken reiterated the company’s commitment to “quality” of care and motivation to identify and act on “opportunities that continue to demonstrate the outcomes” it knows are possible as a result of the acquisition and newly integrated team.
Marc Goldberg – Resilience Lab co-founder and CEO, and now president of Cerebral – said what really matters is the present.
“The real issue, I think, is not so much the past and what has happened, but how do we deliver care today to the patient?” Goldberg said. “I think the patients have no interest in what has happened yesterday. The question is, who can help them today?”
Post-acquisition, the company is focusing its efforts on redefining payer relationships and staying “committed to the right standard of care tomorrow,” both Goldberg and Reinken shared.
Cerebral’s executives did not comment on whether or not the company is anticipating additional acquisitions or investments on the horizon.
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