What happens when peer mentorship meets mental health care? This week on Something New, Steph and Leeor sit down with Patrick Gilligan, founder of Somethings, a mental health startup aimed at providing peer support to teens. Patrick shares his personal journey of overcoming mental health challenges and explains how it led him to create a platform that offers teens a relatable and accessible alternative to traditional therapy through peer mentoring.

In this episode, Patrick discusses the role of peer mentors—individuals who have lived through similar struggles—and how they can provide emotional support and guidance that often resonates more deeply than conventional therapy. From building a community that normalizes mental health conversations to working with healthcare systems, Patrick provides insight into scaling a mental health startup in a highly complex and sensitive space. He also shares his vision of how technology, including AI, can complement but not replace the human aspect of mental health care.

Key Discussion Points:

• Patrick’s Personal Journey: How Patrick’s own experiences with mental health challenges inspired him to start Somethings.
• Peer Support vs. Traditional Therapy: The unique value of peer mentors in helping teens navigate their mental health journeys.
• The Youth Mental Health Crisis: How social media, stigma, and the current state of mental health care are impacting today’s youth.
• Partnering with Healthcare Systems: How Somethings is collaborating with health insurance companies and schools to reach more teens.
• The Role of AI in Mental Health Care: Patrick shares his perspective on how AI can assist in mental health care without replacing human connection.

Guest Info:

Patrick Gilligan is the founder of Somethings, a mental health platform dedicated to supporting teens through peer mentorship. After overcoming his own struggles with mental health, Patrick saw the need for a more personal and accessible approach to mental health care for young people, leading him to develop Somethings, which combines community, technology, and human connection. Listen in on his podcast "Self-Disclosed" https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/self-disclosed-a-teen-mental-health-podcast/id1762835077.

Follow Leeor on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lmushin and Steph on Twitter at https://twitter.com/stephmui.

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