SuperEgo: Warm Technology Solutions for Mental Health
It is a common assumption of both Norwegians and outsiders observing Norway that healthcare is free and accessible to all. That no citizen or resident experiences the anxiety common in other countries of searching for care and wondering if they can afford it. While it is true that all Norwegians have access to the national healthcare system, some see a gap in the availability of care when it comes to mental health. SuperEgo seeks to fill this gap with products designed to meet the patient's needs according to the patient's desires, an alternative to treatment according to the sometimes rigid structure typical of mental health care.
Imagine you had a day that leaves you feeling discouraged, that meeting didn't go well at work, you had to stay late and missed dinner with your partner who is now upset with you, and to top it off the holidays are approaching and you have planning and shopping to catch up on. These are all the problems almost anyone could identify with, but would many people seek psychiatric help to overcome this period of slight depression and anxiety? Possibly not. Many people are able to get through these low periods without help, but many others simply do not have the tools in their life to effectively deal with psychological issues. Seeing a psychologist in person is often the only option in a circumstance like this, but long wait times and weekly meetings are often not adequate.
Personal experience in the mental health care field revealed this problem with lack of access to SuperEgo's co-founder Henning Meier. The best psychologists have extremely long waiting lists, some people even claim to wait over 30 weeks for an appointment. This waiting period between first deciding to seek professional help and beginning care was unacceptable to Henning, and this knowledge started his journey to join and become a partner in the company SuperEgo.
The founders of SuperEgo understand from over 100 years of combined experience in the mental health field that psychological help is far from a one-size-fits-all treatment. Especially in Norway, where much of the population lives in very small towns where they are likely to already know the only local psychiatrist or other patients in a waiting room, anonymity and access to suitable care is a pressing issue.
The name "SuperEgo" comes from Freud's idea that the Superego combines the Ego and Id, or the environmental and instinctual influences on the human psyche, to form an empathetic part of each individual, the Superego is the portion of the psyche credited with taking care of other people and controlling one’s own behavior to achieve it. This concept of caring for others and combining with other elements is similar to the company's mission to combine technology with care for others. This concept is coined as "warm technology" by the founders in an effort to distinguish it from the impersonal and one-size-fits-all methods employed by modern psychological treatment.
The web and phone app-based interfaces that the company develops first evaluate the individual for certain traits or predispositions, then daily mood check-ins track the emotions and changes a person goes through. An individual using these products can expect to receive daily articles, videos, or sound files that relate to their specific mental health needs. In a way, the app empowers the patient to understand their own feelings and help themselves, understanding they are in control of their treatment. Each patient also has access to live video chats on a novel and secure platform so they can chat with a real person if needed, physical meetings are also possible depending on patient location.
SuperEgo’s products also aim to effectively use the space between appointments with a mental health professional. The 1-hour sessions a patient has perhaps once a week are just a small part of their overall therapy and treatment. Psychologists can use the apps to monitor patients and best understand their overall mental health picture. Events that may not be mentioned in an appointment are easily discussed when the doctor can see from daily progress checks when certain events effected the patient.
If arriving at a psychologist's office is like going to a restaurant when you are hungry, then the current offerings by the psychologist are similar to if that menu had only one option. In reality, people go to restaurants for many things, sometimes several courses, sometimes just an appetizer, or sometimes just a drink. They also enter the restaurant with their desires and expectations, and an establishment with just one menu item cannot satisfy most customers. In the same way, a psychologist with only one treatment method, in-person appointments, is likely to fail to meet the needs of many patients.
The products developed by SuperEgo aim to improve the patient experience by keeping the patient in control of their treatment, adjusting it to their needs whether big or small. Mental health care is not just for those diagnosed with clinical disorders, instead it can be a vital part of anyone’s health.
The company was the original creation of Henning’s two business partners, Svein Øverland and Tarique Mahmud who began the project in 2013. The original product was a self-help solution administered by the psychologist who monitored the patient’s performance based on how the patient and one of their close friends interacted with a phone application. The goal was to make the most of the time between sessions when therapy and improvement truly occur. Henning Meier came to the company in 2016 after working in the pharmaceutical industry and brought commercial and marketing experience to the product to move the idea forward. This forward momentum includes integration of AI through their “warm technology” concept.
SuperEgo was based at another local startup space, DIGS, before relocating to NTNU Accel in 2017. Henning accounts much of the company's success to these two supportive environments, DIGS being the ideal place to transform the idea into a marketable product and NTNU Accel being the best location as they grow the company and seek larger and more professional investors. SuperEgo has also benefited from the mentorship of Tor Andersen.
“Without Tor I would not have been able to make SuperEgo a success. His experience, warmth, knowledge, and pragmatism are some of the most valuable resources to our growing company. His humility about the soundness of his decisions really hides the extensive experience he shares with all the companies lucky enough to have him as a mentor. "
