Did you know people of color are at higher risk of dropping out of mental health treatment prematurely? While cost and accessibility are common reasons for people to stop treatment, another less talked about reason is a lack of cultural understanding from mental health professionals.
Many folks in the Asian diaspora may experience cultural stressors like family and relationship tension to stress from being a minority in their communities. Sharing these experiences may be difficult and pose an issue when some therapists or coaches may not be equipped to support.
Solving these issues is at the heart of Asian-founded Anise Health, a digital mental health platform that provides culturally-responsive therapy, coaching, and curated digital resources. Anise Health offers personalized treatment programs through a culturally responsive care model. Clients can expect personalized treatment plans from trained practitioners who respect and understand each individual’s unique racial and cultural experiences that shape their world.
Cold Tea Collective interviewed Anise Health’s Co-founder Nisha Desai and Head of Growth Angel Wang about their experiences with mental health and how Anise Health came to be.
Co-founder Nisha Desai’s journey with mental health
Desai is a second-generation South Asian American growing up in a traditional Indian household where everyone is a doctor. Her family only ever thought about mental health in the capacity of a psychiatrist delivering care. While she notes that she was privileged in many ways, she never had the opportunity to talk about her emotions. “I was the emotional sister… and that was kind of always viewed as a weakness,” Desai says.
In college, she realized that it’s okay to not always be perfect when other students who look like her open up about their struggles. “It took me months to get my first [counseling] appointment, and when I finally did, I really was just disappointed and almost more stressed leaving that appointment because I felt very judged by my provider. It was clear to me she didn’t understand me or my background,” Desai shares.
She also recalls her campus had several suicides, and almost all of those people were people of color and Asian. “[Experiencing] that was when my red flags went up, which helped me realize mental illness gone untreated for too long can have devastating impacts.”
See also: How I overcame cultural expectations to regain control of my mental health
After college, Desai worked at a for-profit American health insurance provider, where she came to a professional conclusion that she had experienced personally. Desai shares, “Almost all of the people of color that I spoke to were dissatisfied, citing reasons that stem from their experience being minorities, having intersectional identities, and just being underrepresented by more Western eurocentric models of care; they were dropping out of treatment prematurely. For me, that was the last string… there’s clearly a problem here, and no one else is solving it.”
Desai met Angel Wang and co-founder Alice Zhang while attending Harvard Business School in 2020. Four years later, Desai and the Anise Health team are on a mission to create culturally-responsive therapy, coaching, and digital resources tailored for the Asian diaspora in the United States. “Anyone can benefit from talking to someone; preventative health care is important,” says Desai.
Coming full circle to Desai’s personal and family life, “my working on Anise Health has opened their world view on mental health as well,” Desai shares happily.
Bringing Anise Health to market as a startup
Anise Health launched its beta program in June 2022 and it achieved a 97% completion rate after the first four weekly appointments. Compared to traditional forms of mental health support, Anise Health’s holistic approach offers 1:1 appointments with culturally-responsive therapists and coaches, and tailored treatment plans that reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.
Since the Anise Health team started working on the business full-time in 2022, they hustled to prove to investors the value of their care model to the Asian community. “Mental health during the pandemic was a really hot area for investment, and we were on the tail end of that,” says Desai. They also had to fight the model minority myth as they continue to grow. Angel Wang, Head of Growth, says “it requires a lot of education and awareness training in addition to building the business… people [question] why Asians even need specialized tailored healthcare and that comes from investors, advisors, and insurance partners.”
Anise Health wants their unique services ranging from therapy to coaching to self-guided resources to be accessible across the US and through mainstream insurance providers. Bringing this type of cultural care, sensitivity, and thinking in the big picture is necessary. Wang’s mindset around these challenges is that they are necessary to provide much-needed mental health services. “This shows that the problem is not addressed, and that is why we are building this unique type of model.”
Supporting the AAPI community and goals for 2024
In 2023, Anise Health launched the RestorAsian Scholarship to lower financial barriers to accessing mental health care and coaching. The scholarship allows people to try therapy for a month and discover what worked for them and determine how they wish to move forward on their mental health journey.
“Gen-Z and AANHPI youth are at an even more critical juncture, especially those who graduated during the pandemic and experienced high levels of isolation,” says Wang. Anise Health will continue to offer their RestorAsian Scholarship in 2024 and work in partnership with colleges such as Stanford, NYU, UCLA, Penn, and more to support students.
The business has plans to scale and become more accessible across the U.S., with near-term launches expected in Florida, Washington, and Massachusetts, and to grow their insurance provider network for direct support and referrals to their services.
Furthermore, the startup plans to integrate into the broader health system. “Clinicians across the country, regardless of their background, should understand what it’s like to treat the Asian population, our lived experiences and how to help us effectively,” says Desai. “It sounds obvious, but a lot of people in our community don’t understand how therapy works or how to navigate the system. If we can help educate people on those things, it would help drive more people to seek help.”
Learn more about Anise Health and their services here. And as a token of gratitude, Anise Health is offering a special access code for Cold Tea Collective readers.
The first 25 people to complete the intake form and subscribe using the code CTC2024 at check-out will receive $50 off the first month of integrated therapy, coaching, and curated digital resources (applies only for eligible adults living in California, New York, Massachusetts, Washington, or Florida). Complete the form to receive an email with recommended providers and schedule a complimentary trial call or begin care immediately.
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