Company consolidates scientific research efforts and advisory team, expands industry efforts to measure the impact of a full spectrum of digital mental health and wellness solutions

Headspace Health, the provider of the world’s most accessible, comprehensive digital mental health platform, today announced a call for third-party researchers around the world to study the impact of Headspace on mental health and wellness outcomes. The company’s External Research Collaborator Program is designed to allow academic researchers, non-profits, government agencies, healthcare institutions, and other researchers to submit proposals to conduct scientific studies using the Headspace app.

Following the 2021 merger of Headspace and Ginger, the company’s on-demand mental health care provider, Headspace Health combined its research and science teams to form the Headspace Health Science Team. Collectively, the team has a long history of conducting both internal and external studies evaluating a broad spectrum of virtual mental health and wellness interventions, including depression, anxiety, stress, resiliency, mood, sleep, work performance, healthcare costs and utilization, and more. Combined, Headspace and Ginger have partnerships with more than 65 external research groups at prestigious research institutions.

Today, Headspace Health is expanding its efforts to study and report on the impact of a full spectrum of virtual mental health and wellness solutions on clinical outcomes worldwide. Research proposals focused on mediational and mechanistic factors, diverse populations, and novel research questions are highly encouraged to build out the growing body of evidence on the impact of mindfulness and meditation on clinical outcomes.

“Headspace and Ginger have relied on research and evidence to drive the development of our products and services since the inception of both companies more than 10 years ago,” said Lauren Lee, Ph.D., VP of Clinical Product and Content Development at Headspace Health. “Our expanded partnership efforts with the academic and medical research community will serve to not only fuel further internal innovation, but also facilitate improvements in care delivery and outcomes more broadly across the mental health field.”

• Research from Headspace Health has demonstrated that virtual mental health and wellness solutions can have a significant impact on clinical outcomes.
• In 40 published studies in some of the leading peer-reviewed journals in the mindfulness field, Headspace has been shown to have favorable results on outcomes. A randomized controlled trial found that after eight weeks of using Headspace, anxiety symptoms were reduced by 19% and depression symptoms were reduced by 29%. Other studies have found reduced stress, improved focus, increased compassion, decreased aggression, increased resilience, reduced burnout, increased positivity, and improved satisfaction with life.
• Ginger’s on-demand, team-based care model, which includes behavioral health coaching, therapy, and psychiatry, has shown favorable outcomes for improved depression, with 70% of members experiencing improved symptoms within 10-14 weeks, and reduction in anxiety, with nearly 60% of members experiencing improvement over the same time period. Ginger has also demonstrated favorable outcomes in helping members improve resilience and quality of life.
• The company also has a body of research that demonstrates the impact of digital mental healthcare on specific populations, including cancer patients and their caregivers, nurses, residents, employees, and leadership.

“Recent studies by Headspace, Ginger and others in the digital health market have demonstrated real clinical validation of the impact of digital mental health solutions,” said Dr. Stephen Schueller, Associate Professor at University of California, Irvine’s School of Social Ecology. “But as more digital apps enter the space, it becomes difficult to differentiate the high-quality offerings from those with little clinical rigor. Thus, it’s critical that as researchers we ensure that products are backed by the very best evidence before they get into the hands of consumers."

The company also brought together its individual scientific advisory boards into a consolidated Headspace Health Scientific Advisory Board with the goal to streamline the team’s scientific guidance and work towards research efforts that will impact the broad spectrum of products and services within Headspace Health’s platform. In addition to Stephen Schueller, other key members include Drs. Charlotte Owens, Patricia Arean, and Andy Nierenberg.

To submit a research proposal for consideration or learn more about Headspace Health’s Science Team, please visit headspace.com/science.

About Headspace Health

Headspace Health is the world’s leading provider of mental health and wellbeing solutions. Through our flagship Headspace brand, we’ve touched the lives of over 100 million people in 190 countries through mindfulness tools for managing stress, sleep, and focus. Our enterprise brands, Headspace for Work and Ginger, are distributed through over 3,700 enterprises, including Starbucks, Adobe, Delta Air Lines, and Paramount; and through health plans such as Cigna. Our members and enterprise partners’ employees have access to mindfulness and meditation tools, CBT, coaching, therapy, and psychiatry, ultimately helping them to be healthier and more productive. To learn more about Headspace Health and our family of brands, visit headspacehealth.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

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Today, @Headspace Health is expanding its efforts to study and report on the impact of a full spectrum of virtual mental health and wellness solutions on clinical outcomes worldwide.