Headspace Care (Ginger)

Ginger is a decent concept for people with mild mental health issues but the execution just fails to deliver in my eyes. The coaches often find themselves having to chat with multiple clients at once. On the flipside, the client then goes to other applications on their phone while awaiting a reply, taking them out of the moment. It’s a disruptive, bumpy process. Video chatting is an option for those who seek therapy over coaching; however access to therapy is capped after two months so how deep can you really get? The main resource upon which Ginger is built is the catalog of self-help cards. These are generally 3-5 page reads with bullet points that are grounded in science but so generic and common-sense sounding that most will just skim them without driving much benefit. There are some cards with audio portions as well. To those who enjoy such meditations, this might be helpful. As Headspace and Ginger integrate further, perhaps this will become a more prevalent feature. For coaches, this is definitely a preferable app to something like Talkspace (formerly talktala), but there are plenty of ways to run a remote practice now on your own. For prospective clients, if your employer offers ginger at no cost, then they likely offer other health benefits that will enable you to see an individual therapist (even remotely) at little to no cost outside of this app. Have your therapist work for you, not for a tech company. All the best 🤗

So I found Ginger when my doctor’s office referred me and my insurance said it’s a company they go through for care. It was a little tough for me at first because I really knew nothing about behavioral and mental health but it was eye opening once I started. It’s great to have an actual team, yes an actual team of people working together to focus on helping me improve my health. I can meet with all of them virtually so long as I had access to internet or cell phone signal. I video chat with a therapist to work through what’s causing my health issues , I video chat with psychiatrist about medications I’m using with my treatment and I text-chat with a wellness coach weekly to work through actions, habits and thoughts that help with my care. They all can read the notes the other ones write about my care and can work with me on anything I need help with to improve my health. Also whenever I’ve had a more pressing concern I have the ability to contact member services and they have worked with my care team to get me information or care sooner if I was in between appointments. For what I’m going through and in this time of pandemic Ginger’s convenience and structure has helped pick me up from probably one of the most difficult places I’ve ever been in my life. So I’m just thankful for it.

The mere condition of the American health care system (with all of its inefficiencies, bureaucratic loopholes, exorbitant prices, and corporate insensitivity) is enough to give people mental illness. But ginger is such a breath of fresh air that is making some serious steps to provide meaningful care for Americans. This is a system that genuinely thinks about user needs and is using technology to cater to people, not to exploit them. It is so easy to set up, the customer support is amazing, and they’ve really developed good systems to bring consistent support to your care. Not only has it been significantly to book sessions with a therapist (no wait period plus crazy flexibility), there are other elements like coaching and exercises that provide nearly round the clock attention in a sustainable fashion. This is a mental health service that understands the complexities of modern, hectic life and brings the care to you on your terms. Frankly, the sense of control I feel just in my experience of navigating my health has contributed to me feeling more in control of the rest of my life. Plus, my insurance covers 100% of it. I know this sounds like a marketing pitch and I am going off on listing adjectives, but please do not take my passion for insincerity. I am just so grateful for ginger and think this could be a huge help for millennials (and gen z-ers) like me!