The apps tackling workplace mental health in Middle East

Employee mental health across the Middle East has hit an all-time low in recent years.

According to a survey by the McKinsey Health Institute, two-thirds of GCC residents experience symptoms of poor mental health and wellbeing, with distress levels (a precursor to burnout) higher in the GCC (55%) than globally (32%).

While the numbers make for depressing reading, calls for improving mental healthcare is rising and organisations across the Middle East are taking action to improve workplace wellbeing.

Take Kuwait-headquartered Zain Group. As well as pioneering mobile telcoms in the Middle East, the company is powering its people, launching in 2021 BE WELL, a ground-breaking mental health initiative for Zain’s nearly 8,000 employees across the region. The initiative includes employee subscription to Headspace and mental health counselling and therapy from psychologists provided either in-person in Kuwait or virtually six other operating markets in partnership with Kuwait Counseling Centre.

Other organisations are tapping the increasing number of localised digital platforms and apps launched by health techs in the region to tackle the unique challenges around mental health faced by employees in the region.

Among these, an understanding of the region’s cultural sensitivities and the very real stigma surrounding mental health – not to mention language differences.

On World Mental Health Day, we size up the mental wellness apps catering to regional corporate clients and individuals.

Labayh

With the aim of enhancing the position of psychological wellbeing in the Arab world, this Saudi Arabia-based mental health app founded in 2018 provides wellbeing and mental health services to its Arabic-speaking consumers. It offers a comprehensive online solution for therapeutic and wellbeing services, providing users – both individuals and businesses – with one-on-one therapy anonymous sessions 24/7, recorded webinars, therapy programmes and supports groups by licensed therapists.

The app features more than 1,000 licensed therapists and 47.5 million minutes of therapy and the therapy programmes cover the most common problems, such as depression and anxiety – self-assessments and a mood tracker feature helps users assess and monitor improvements.

Having acquired Abu Dhabi-based meditation app Nafas in March, Labayh now delivers more than 300 meditation audio clips to help people cope with anxiety and stress.

Ayadi

Designed with an understanding of regional mental health stigma in mind, Dubai-based Ayadi (meaning ‘helping hands’ in Arabic) offers both individuals and companies a platform to connect with a network of more than 50 qualified, bilingual mental health experts from the region for therapy sessions. “Our vision is to tackle and eliminate the mental health stigma in the Arab world,” says Kuwaiti CEO and cognitive therapist Latifah AlEssa.

The platform’s experts “understand the region’s social and cultural nuances”, adds Al Essa, and provide a HIPAA-compliant therapy service that users can trust. The platform, which offers a combination of online therapy and community support, delivers therapy sessions via video, voice and text-based sessions. The platform is also used by organisations in the region for employees, including Deliveroo, Zain and Boubyan Bank.

07 Therapy

Born in 2020 in Egypt with the belief that everyone has the right to pursue mental wellness and healing, 07 Therapy offers provides nuanced end-to-end solutions for mental healthcare both for individuals and organisations across the region – and counts 30 Middle East companies as clients, including Vodafone, L’Oreal, Pepsico, Takaful Insurance and Magrabi. Scientific and evidence-based, the platform delivers a curated network of carefully chosen Arabic-speaking psychiatrists and psychotherapists as well as a referral network of specialist clinics and hospitals. All one-on-one therapy sessions are for 50 minutes. A sophisticated matching engine connects users with the exact right kind of therapist, while a texting service delivers unlimited access to general psychological guidance and self-help resources. Its employee wellbeing programme offers end-to-end tailored solutions for organisations, including a masterclass programme of standalone workshops and webinars.

Takalam

Founded in 2020 in Abu Dhabi with a mission to transform the landscape of mental wellbeing in the Arab world, Takalam (Arabic for ‘talk’) is an AI-powered platform for mental wellbeing dedicated to making mental health support accessible, convenient and stigma-free. The platform offers both organisations and individuals mental wellness smart tools and screening features, as well as online counselling and coaching sessions – connecting

mental health professionals and patients through text, voice calls, or video conferencing. Among features, the app offers mood tracking, journaling, assessments, support groups and webinars and guided meditation. Takalam’s Wellness @ Work programme is a customised digital solution to mental wellbeing in the workplace, with clients including various government entities alongside private companies such as Aldar, Damac and Serco.

MindTales

Another Abu Dhabi tech startup founded in 2020, during the pandemic, MindTales provides employers and individuals with expert science-backed mental wellbeing tools to help them create psychologically safe and engaged cultures and empower employees to lead more fulfilling lives.

The wellness model has two main areas – the extended wellness games and psychological resources, coupled with its online counselling platform. While the gamified approach is designed to help mental health challenges from escalating and helps employees tackle tough issues that are often stigmatised, a network of counsellors and life coaches delivers direct help to those in need.

The app, whose weekly downloads are growing at a rate of 20%, is driven by AI ensuring self-help solutions, wellness advice and expert consultations are customised to suit the user’s personal journey and individual challenges. The app offers different freemium/premium subscription plans and is available in English, Arabic, Ukrainian and Russian with more languages and counsellors to follow.

“During the onboarding process, the application designs a journey tailored and customised to the needs of the individual user, which consists of different mindfulness, breathing and meditation exercises," says Viktorija Aksionova, Co-Founder and CEO.

Bayzat Wellness Hub

Already serving more than 127,000 employees in some 1,500 companies across the GCC with its innovative HR, payroll and employee benefits technology, employee experience platform Bayzat recently launched Wellness Hub to encourage employees in companies to maintain their health by offering daily advice on general health aspects including nutrition, physical fitness, and mental health.

The app follows up on their personal progress via daily activities and tasks and also includes earning points for activities performed, redeeming them into rewards or participation in competitions, and providing access to the latest offers and special discounts. Accessible via the Bayzat Mobile App, the Wellness Hub