Social entrepreneur and ex-Googler Krystian Fikert is pioneering a new model of mental health services that are accessible to everyone in Ireland. Social entrepreneur and ex-Googler Krystian Fikert is driving a movement in Ireland by pioneering a unique model of mental health services that are accessible to everyone. Fikert founded the MyMind Centre for Mental Wellbeing in 2006 to make it easy for people struggling with a mental health problem to get the help they needed. From a young age, Fikert’s interests straddled both the tech and mental health worlds, and through MyMind, he has leveraged one to innovate the other.

Fikert came to Ireland from his native Poland after training as a clinical psychologist. However, he embarked on a career in tech when given the opportunity to fulfil a lifelong ambition by working at Google. While at Google, Fikert discovered that many people had difficulties accessing mental health services in Ireland. The volume of searches relating to mental health support through Google’s Irish search engine caught Fikert’s attention. He also noticed that many colleagues came up against a language barrier when trying to access mental health services in Dublin.

“I found that time and time again, people were coming up against barriers such as language, cost, and long waiting lists, and I thought about how I could use my skills in psychology and technology to tackle these problems,” says Fikert.

In 2006, Fikert began offering free counselling services to the Polish community in Dublin city centre. Demand for this service was high and the initiative grew at an incredible pace. With support from grant funding and much hard work, MyMind was born. From serving 300 clients in its founding year, MyMind now has four national clinics in Dublin, Cork and Limerick, with further expansion nationally and internationally on the horizon. MyMind has impacted on more than 20,000 lives in Ireland to date. In 2014 alone, it provided more than 12,283 face-to-face services and supported a further 3,812 clients through its online services. MyMind has a team of more than 85 mental health professionals offers counselling face-to-face, online and in the workplace.

Fikert’s team offers services in multiple languages for the rate of €50 per hour for full-time workers, €30 for part-time, and €20 for the unemployed and students. MyMind is a social enterprise, meaning that all revenue generated is reinvested into the organisation to make services accessible to everyone. MyMind is a self-referral model, meaning that clients do not need to talk to their GP before accessing its services – they can simply call or book an appointment directly online at mymind.org, and are typically seen within 72 hours.

One unique feature that makes MyMind stand out in the mental health sector is its online counselling services. The e-MyMind service offers clients free online platform, where they can explore their options and completely manage their appointments online. Online chat and email-based guidance normalises access to mental health services, which can be a daunting process for many first-time appointment seekers.

As it continues to grow, MyMind has had developed key partnerships within the tech world, from giants Google to Irish and global NGO supporters Enclude and Tech Soup. These partnerships are geared to backing MyMind’s mission of accessible mental health services for anyone who needs it. A partnership with internet security providers Comodo, for example, means that all client data is secured to the highest possible standard, while support from companies Jabra and Twilio supports a seamless channel of communications between MyMind and the community. Another innovation on Fikert’s agenda is the development of a MyMind App, that will make it easy for clients to access services and navigate their own mental health journey.

“We have seen how technology can play a role in enhancing mental health services by putting quality support within everyone’s reach. The method of delivery of care may differ from traditional methods, but the quality and impact remains the same,” says Fikert.