Sonar

The Sonar story came to life over the weekend in a The Wall Street Journal feature by Julie Jargon ?? From conversations with students and school administrators to an interview with our Co-Founder & CEO Drew Barvir, the piece captures how Sonar is filling crucial gaps in youth mental health support. As Julie highlighted, we’re also excited to today announce $2.4M in pre-seed funding led by Nina Capital, with participation from GSR Ventures, J4.Ventures, and the Stanford University Social Impact Founder Fellowship ?? With fresh funding, we’ll continue expanding partnerships with school districts across the nation to address the teen mental health crisis at scale.? We remain committed to our core mission: to build the most scalable, effective solution for preventative mental health support, empowering adolescents to achieve lifelong well-being. If you’re an educator, counselor, or administrator interested in Sonar, please don’t hesitate to reach out at [email protected], or request a demo on our website: www.SonarMentalHealth.com. Full feature in the WSJ ?? #StudentSupport #YouthMentalHealth #Teletherapy #OnlineTherapy #ResponsibleAI #EthicalAI #AIForGood #EdTech #DigitalHealth #AIForSchools

Despite increasing awareness of the youth mental health crisis, the issue is far from resolved. Our latest blog explores three ways to understand its persistence and how Sonar is responding ?? #TeenMentalHealth #YouthMentalHealth #EdTech #TechForSchools #AIForGood #AIForTeens #MentalHealth

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In honor of Black History Month, we’d like to call attention to a key corner of the youth mental health crisis: Black youth are especially at risk. Between 2007 and 2020, the suicide rate among Black children ages 10-17 increased by 144%—a steeper climb than any other racial group. ?? We believe that technology will play a vital role in removing barriers to mental health support, but we also know that technology alone won’t get us there. From anti-Black bias preventing effective diagnoses to students of color having less access to mental health care than their white peers, difficult conversations around Black youth mental health must drive how solutions are developed and deployed. With youth mental health only worsening since 2020, it’s more critical than ever for leaders addressing this crisis to keep disparities top of mind. That’s just one reason why we always begin a new school partnership by speaking with community members on the ground (including parents, educators, students, and local organizations) to learn more about the student body’s unique context and needs—no matter what they’re facing. More details on our approach to scaling youth mental health support at ?? www.SonarMentalHealth.com.

If you’re new to Sonar, you probably have some questions about our platform ?? It’s natural to want to know more about what we’re building, because no one else has built it before! From a technology overview to parental involvement to balancing in-person vs. virtual support, here are answers to our most common questions about Sonar. #ResponsibleAI #EthicalAI #AIForGood #HumanCenteredAI #HIL #EdTech #DigitalHealth #AIForSchools

Online therapy has long been celebrated as the key to unlocking mental health support in underserved populations, but new data on the boom from The American Journal of Psychiatry revealed some ugly truths: ?? Wealthy families with private insurance have benefited the most from online therapy. ?? Children from low-income families & Black adolescents are among the least likely to receive online therapy.? ?? Cost isn’t the only barrier — personal teletherapy isn’t scalable enough to reach everyone who needs it (per the NYT). Our takeaway? Online therapy leaves out too many adolescents to be the sole solution to America’s youth mental health crisis. However, combined with the scalability of AI, school-supported online mental health care can 1) engage kids on a more personal level and 2) deliver measurable results in student well-being. More details on our Wellbeing Companions at ?? www.SonarMentalHealth.com #StudentSupport #YouthMentalHealth #Teletherapy #OnlineTherapy #ResponsibleAI #EthicalAI #AIForGood #EdTech #DigitalHealth #AIForSchools

?? Late last year, the American Psychological Association warned about certain AI chatbots presenting themselves as psychologists to adolescents in emotional distress. One line in particular caught our attention, because we couldn’t agree more: “Some of these technologies are available to the public without appropriate safeguards, adequate transparency, or the warning and reporting mechanisms necessary to ensure appropriate use.” We believe that AI can and will solve many of the cost, access, and stigma challenges facing teens and families today, but alone, it’s not yet advanced enough to deliver the support students deserve.? That’s why our human-in-the-loop (HIL) system is, and will always be, a pillar of our platform. Every conversation our teen users have with Sonny (their AI-powered companion) involves a trained individual — combining the power of human connection with AI’s scalability ?? The result? Students feel more seen, schools reach more students, and we learn more about building AI solutions families can trust. More details and Sonar success stories at ?? www.SonarMentalHealth.com #ResponsibleAI #EthicalAI #AIForGood #HumanCenteredAI #HIL #EdTech #DigitalHealth #AIForSchools

?? Late last year, the American Psychological Association warned about certain AI chatbots presenting themselves as psychologists to adolescents in emotional distress. One line in particular caught our attention, because we couldn’t agree more: “Some of these technologies are available to the public without appropriate safeguards, adequate transparency, or the warning and reporting mechanisms necessary to ensure appropriate use.” We believe that AI can and will solve many of the cost, access, and stigma challenges facing teens and families today, but alone, it’s not yet advanced enough to deliver the support students deserve.? That’s why our human-in-the-loop (HIL) system is, and will always be, a pillar of our platform. Every conversation our teen users have with Sonny (their AI-powered companion) involves a trained individual — combining the power of human connection with AI’s scalability ?? The result? Students feel more seen, schools reach more students, and we learn more about building AI solutions families can trust. More details and Sonar success stories at ?? www.SonarMentalHealth.com #ResponsibleAI #EthicalAI #AIForGood #HumanCenteredAI #HIL #EdTech #DigitalHealth #AIForSchools

We're #hiring a new genZ peer supporter in United States. Apply today or share this post with your network.