SAN FRANCISCO, June 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ginger.io, the leader in on-demand behavioral health, announced today the expansion of its emotional support offering to employees at BuzzFeed, the leading independent digital media company delivering news and entertainment to hundreds of millions of people around the world. Ginger.io’s on-demand coaching, therapy and psychiatry services have been available to BuzzFeed’s US employees for over a year; this week, the coaching program expanded beyond the US to include employees in Canada, Australia and Germany.
Research from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that over 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression and the impact on the economy is an estimated $1 trillion per year of lost productivity. Behavioral health care that can work around the demanding schedules isn’t always available. When BuzzFeed was looking for improvements in offerings for mental health benefits, they turned to Ginger.io who offered the opportunity to connect to behavioral health care solutions quickly and via mobile, far different from traditional market offerings. In the first year alone, 25% of US-based BuzzFeed employees engaged with a Ginger.io service -- and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. On average, BuzzFeed employees have rated their Ginger.io sessions a 4.4 out of 5 stars.
“We believe in offering a range of benefits and mental health solutions for our employees. That is why last year we launched Ginger.io’s mobile enabled solution, which offers real time coaching to our US employees. Ginger.io’s services have been well received and it was a natural next step to expand this offering to additional BuzzFeed offices in other parts of the world,” said Lenke Taylor, chief people officer at BuzzFeed. “Our partnership with Ginger.io furthers our mission to provide well-rounded benefits to our people.” For today’s mobile-first world, Ginger.io is uniquely positioned to provide instant access to support for anyone in need of emotional support, right from their smartphone. Members can start chatting with a coach within 60 seconds of engaging with the app, at any time of day. Coaches are trained to help people with day-to-day challenges, such as reaching personal goals, improving relationships, and reducing stress. If necessary, Ginger.io can seamlessly escalate a member to therapy or psychiatry. Virtual sessions with one of Ginger.io’s therapists or psychiatrists within days, versus the national average of over six weeks. Over the last twelve months, 72% of Ginger.io members surveyed reported clinically significant improvements in symptoms of depression within twelve weeks. “In the past, employers had no choice but to send their employees into a system fraught with long wait times and zero accountability,” said Anmol Madan, co-founder of Ginger.io. “We’re in the business of getting everyone better, faster, and we believe that our joint efforts with BuzzFeed improve access to care are a clear indicator of the bright future for this industry.” About Ginger.io Ginger.io makes it easy for people to get the emotional and mental support they need, when they need it, by providing on-demand coaching, therapy and psychiatry. Founded in 2011 by Dr. Anmol Madan and Karan Singh, Ginger.io is the only behavioral health provider that continuously uses AI & machine learning to improve both access to and quality of care for anyone managing symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression or more complex challenges. Our AI technology has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer, and we were recognized as one of the top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Healthcare by Fast Company. Hundreds of thousands of people have access to Ginger.io's virtual coaches, therapists and psychiatrists – it’s Better, for Everyone. Contact: press@ginger.io
