Self Space, the first on-demand mental health service on the high street, has announced the successful completion of a Seed funding round worth £2.25m. Purpose-driven VC, Redrice Ventures, provided the majority of the funding. The continued growth in demand for mental health services has led to appointments being difficult to secure and many people spending time in A&E waiting rooms. Self Space aims to combat this demand by extending its provision of same-day mental health support across the UK and the entire spectrum of mental health. This will include the creation of two new high street locations and the recruitment of an additional 75 therapists, psychotherapists, and counsellors for support. The brand’s virtual sessions, made available seven days a week, will continue with the company developing a tech-driven psychoeducation platform to encourage more mentally healthy workplaces.
Since its launch in 2019, Self Space has provided over 60,700 mental health sessions across its four locations. The recent opening of its latest site, the biggest one yet, in Soho, London provides an additional 17,000 sessions each year bringing the total on offer to people up to 34,000 by 2024. Founder and CEO, Jodie Cariss stated that the company’s ambition since launching was to provide straightforward access to flexible therapy that includes a conversation with a qualified therapist on the same day with no appointment necessary. In the NHS alone, 1.2 million individuals are currently on mental health care waiting lists which Self Space aims to solve with this latest funding.
As Self Space’s team continues to grow, the company can facilitate a 48% increase in the number of sessions it delivers each year. With a growing team of diverse therapists, counsellors and other professionals across the country, Self Space is better placed to handle the numerous specialisms and different languages of its clients. The company is set to continue disrupting the landscape of mental health care creating culture-shifting pop-up therapy locations across the UK and Ibiza. In addition to this, Self Space will launch a new in-person offering, expand its existing provision, and lead a new digital platform that will focus on providing proactive, preventative mental health care. The company is working with some of the world’s leading brands advocating for a healthier approach to mental health placement in the workplace.
