Welv

Finding the right psychologist often involves trial and error, leading many people to drop out when they don't connect with their first therapist. Meanwhile, psychologists experience burnout from mismatched client relationships. Welv addresses this dual challenge using AI and research-backed matching to connect clients with compatible therapists from the start. A key challenge was designing an intake process that felt human rather than clinical or generic. By allowing users to choose their preferred tone - whether warm and empathetic or direct and grounded - we personalised the experience to meet people where they are, creating conversations align with their communication style.

Through extensive research with 50 clients and psychologists, we uncovered key challenges in the mental health matching process. Clients struggled to find therapists aligned with their therapy preferences and specific conditions, while psychologists faced burnout from mismatched relationships. These insights led to two major developments: securing a $25,000 Macquarie University research grant to study client-therapist fit, and developing an AI-powered intake process that adapts its communication style to each user. We also implemented a continuous feedback system using voice memos at key session milestones, helping us better understand and improve therapeutic relationships over time.

Our mission is to see improved treatment outcomes, increased trust in psychotherapy and decreased psychologist burnout. The response from mental health professionals has been overwhelmingly positive, with many psychologists telling us "we've been waiting for years for someone to build something like this."

- AI-powered and holistic natural language intake modality - Conversation interface that adapts its tone and style to each user's preferences - Intuitive, user-friendly interface and experience - Accessibility focused , including both voice-based and text-based intake processes - Voice memo system for ongoing feedback that improves our understanding of how the client-therapist fit evolves over time - Evidence-based matching methodology - Personalised dashboard for psychologists to specify their therapeutic approach and preferences - Privacy and security focused design, HIPPA, GDPR, HRIP Compliant