Accenture announced this past week their strategic investment in BehaVR, a leading innovator in virtual reality (VR) digital wellness and digital therapeutics experiences.
Both Accenture and the public are now very aware of the mental health challenges facing Americans due in large part to the impact of COVID-19. Battling the illness, persevering through lockdowns or experiencing the loss of a loved one has taken both a mental and physical toll. This is occurring simultaneously with a rise in teenage mental health issues linked to heightened peer pressure associated with social media.
In response the leadership of the global professional services company is taking aim at possibly the greatest social challenge of our time. They announced this past week that via Accenture Ventures an investment was made in BehaVR, a mental healthcare innovator. Coincidently, BehaVR announced as well its merger with OxfordVR, a leader in science-based virtual reality treatments for serious mental illnesses and therapeutic interventions for mental health.
“Mental health issues in the U.S. and around the world have never been more prevalent, and there is an urgent need for increased resources and treatment,” said Tom Lounibos, managing director, Accenture Ventures. “BehaVR is using the immersive power of virtual reality to activate and rewire neural pathways to treat people suffering from anxiety, stress, fear and other conditions.”
The BehaVR platform is a major technology advancement in mental health treatment. It “enables personalized, dynamic experiences that are governed and adapted in real-time based on biometrics, protocols, and machine learning models”.
The Accenture Digital Health Technology Vision 2022 report revealed that healthcare leaders are looking to virtual reality and the meta-verse for a positive impact on the future of care. They view technology as having a growing role in mental healthcare, particularly if key elements are able to deliver more efficient and empathetic care. Innovation is now driving the digital therapeutics market and it is expected to exceed $13 billion by 2027.
“Providing people with the flexibility to decide when, where, and how they want to receive mental health care will help to improve access, experience, and outcomes,” said Rich Birhanzel, senior managing director and Health practice global lead at Accenture. “BehaVR offers people choice and clinicians options to expand how they care for patients.”
As part of Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight, BehaVR will benefit from connections to the Global 2000, the largest companies in the world. The Accenture program assists emerging technology startups through their sharing of its global network as well as its extensive domain expertise and its enterprise clients.
“Joining Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight is a powerful way to drive increased awareness of BehaVR’s VR-powered mental health services as we continue our work to lower barriers and deliver advanced care to the people that so desperately need it,” says Aaron Gani, founder and CEO of BehaVR. He is leading the charge for greater access to mental healthcare that his company’s innovations are providing through the use of virtual reality technology.
