Nema Health – a virtual treatment program delivering evidence-based care for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – recently closed a $4.1 million seed round. This funding round was co-led by Optum Ventures and .406 Ventures, with participation from GreyMatter Capital and additional angel investors. And Nema also announced the launch of its care program in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with a national insurance partner.
Trauma and PTSD are known as one of the country’s most prevalent mental illnesses: an estimated 1 in 11 Americans will be diagnosed with PTSD in their lifetime, suffering from flashbacks, nightmares, self-blame, and significant mood changes after a traumatic event. Even though PTSD is often associated with veterans, the most common traumas that cause PTSD are rape and intimate partner violence, and women are twice as likely to develop the condition. Even though effective treatment exists for PTSD, the majority of survivors go untreated because of cost barriers or a scarcity of healthcare providers trained in trauma care. These survivors then languish, developing related physical and mental health issues that incur a significant cost burden on the healthcare system.
Nema’s virtual platform offers access to effective trauma care and wraparound support to survivors, providing them a care team including a therapist, peer mentor, case manager, and psychiatrist when indicated. And Nema’s clinical approach empowers survivors to reach durable, long-lasting recovery: about 75% of patients no longer meet the criteria for PTSD after just four weeks of intensive treatment with Nema.
Dr. Sofia Noori’s early lived experience with PTSD motivated the Yale-trained psychiatrist to become a rape crisis counselor and start Nema Health. And during the pandemic, Dr. Noori teamed up with her co-founder and former Optum executive Mariam Malik and advisor Dr. Isobel Rosenthal to lay the groundwork for Nema.
Nema is now accepting new patients in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. And the company plans to expand nationwide and to partner with other commercial insurance plans, as well as Medicaid and Medicare.
KEY QUOTE:
“Our current system poses significant challenges to survivors of PTSD and complex trauma: they have the strength within to find healing, but until now, there hasn’t been an accessible way for them to reach it.”
— Dr. Noori
