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Can a million peer supporters transform mental health care for children and adolescents in America?
Obi Felten, CEO and founder of Flourish Labs, believes it’s possible. In this eye-opening episode of Inspiring Women, host Laurie McGraw delves into Felton’s groundbreaking approach to solving the mental health crisis for youth.
Felten, a former Google X executive, shares her journey from developing moonshot technologies to tackling one of healthcare’s most pressing challenges. Learn how Flourish Labs is revolutionizing mental health support by training young adults with lived experiences to become peer supporters, creating a more diverse and relatable workforce.
Key takeaways:
The staggering gap in mental health care: 20 million teens and young adults with mental health issues, but only half receive care
How Flourish Labs is breaking barriers by securing contracts with Medicaid plans
The power of peer support in addressing critical issues like post-ER care for suicidal youth
Felten’s vision for scaling peer support to help millions of underserved individuals
Discover how Felten’s unique blend of tech innovation, healthcare expertise, and peer support culture is reshaping the future of mental health care. This episode is a must- listen for anyone interested in mental health, healthcare innovation, or inspiring entrepreneurial journeys.
Visit Obi Felten’s website
Learn more about Flourish Labs
Visit Peers.net
About Obi:
Obi Felten is the founder and CEO of Flourish Labs, a healthcare company on a mission to scale professional peer support with telehealth and AI to address the mental health crisis. Flourish Labs provides telehealth peer support for teenagers and young adults at Peers.net and expands the mental health workforce with accredited peer supporter training.
Obi serves on the board of Springer Nature, a global academic publisher, and is an advisor on youth mental health for the Chelsea & Westminster NHS trust. She previously served on the board of Marathon Health, a primary and behavioral health provider group, and various mental health nonprofits.
Before founding Flourish Labs, Obi led technology moonshot projects at Google X, was Director of Consumer marketing for Google in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and set up ecommerce businesses. Obi grew up in Berlin, has a BA in Philosophy and Psychology from Oxford University and lives in California with her family.
