LOS ANGELES, May 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Manatee, a virtual mental health care provider for kids, is excited to announce the launch of their Building Brave Kids anxiety program, bringing exceptional care to families in California. Supporting Manatee’s continued growth are three new key team members, Helen Chuong Brody as Clinical Advisor, Mercedes F. Oromendia, PhD as Chief Clinical Officer and Julia Nugid as Marketing Director.
Building Brave Kids is a unique 12-week virtual therapy program, designed for kids 8-12 years old. Creating a solution significantly more comprehensive than currently available in the market, Manatee’s program is focused on reducing anxiety and building resilience for children and families. Manatee makes evidence based therapy engaging for kids, empowering for parents, and incredibly transparent. With anxiety already a concern before and during the pandemic, the reopenings have also exacerbated the growth with the current transition of many kids going back to school with in-person classes1. A survey by the US Census Bureau in December showed 42% of people reported symptoms of anxiety or depression at the end of 2020, a 31% increase from the previous year.2 The program will be available in California first, but Manatee has plans to expand throughout the country.
The program empowers families through weekly high quality virtual therapy sessions by a specialized child therapist and digital evidence-based courses designed for the whole family. Therapy and skills come to life and are seamlessly integrated into the day to day of busy families through goal tracking, tactical tips, activities, scripts and access to the Manatee mobile app.
Families can expect real results within 12 weeks through continuous clinical evaluations, progress monitoring and weekly goal setting. Building Brave Kids gives children the tools to reduce their anxiety, while bringing the whole family closer, increasing parents’ ability to help their children when anxiety strikes in the moment.
Helen Brody, a family therapist and currently the Director of Clinical Operations & Systems at Ginger has joined as an Advisor to Manatee. Helen has a track record of successfully building clinical care from the ground up in fast-growing mental health startups. “Synchronicity and mission brought me to Manatee, and I’m super excited to be joining this caring and brilliant team to help build braver families. With a boost from modern technology, the Manatee model delivers on excellent, effective care for kids and families – with the potential to scale nationally and beyond to help solve a very important problem.”
Dr. Oromendia joined the team in January and is a trilingual licensed clinical psychologist with deep expertise in adolescents, parenting, and childhood trauma. She will be spearheading the clinical arm of Manatee, developing effective and quality care for children and families. Dr. Oromendia received her doctorate degree in clinical, counseling, and school psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and pursued specialized training on the impact of early life experience on development as a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA.
Julia Nugid joined this April as a passionate marketing professional with 10 years of experience building world-class consumer brands like Nespresso, Brooks Brothers, and Bowlero within the US Market. She will be leading the direct to consumer growth of Manatee by creating meaningful stories and connections through integrated marketing tactics that include strategic partnerships and communications from both earned and owned channels, ultimately establishing Manatee as a trusted and loved family brand.
1 https://cai.burbio.com/school-opening-tracker/
2 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00175-z
About Manatee
Manatee helps families thrive in the modern world by providing mental healthcare for kids. Their programs drive emotional well-being by giving the tools to building healthy relationships and resilience, empowering our future generation to live a happy and fulfilling life. Co-founded and launched by Damayanti Dipayana and Shawn Kuenzler in March 2019, Manatee has won the Prime Health Challenge, Children’s LA Digital Health Lab, HLTH startup competition, and partnered with eight health systems. To learn more about Manatee and the Building Brave Kids program, or to sign up for a free 20 minute consultation, please visit https://getmanatee.com/building-brave-kids-weekly.
Media Contact
Julia Nugid, Marketing Director
julia@getmanatee.com
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