Building a Better Mental Health System

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – Buckminster Fuller

Hello, everyone. I’m Patrick Nagle, the founder of MentalHealth.com. Today, I’d like to share the journey that brought me here, what we’re building at MentalHealth.com, and the vision guiding our future.

Over the past two decades, I’ve founded and built companies that have helped millions of people. I’m best known for creating RateMyProfessors.com and, more recently, MentalHealth.com.

One lesson I’ve come to value is open communication. By sharing who we are, what we stand for, and how we operate, MentalHealth.com gains fresh perspectives, new opinions, and meaningful insights. Most importantly, transparency builds trust, the foundation of all relationships.

Several years ago, after recovering from benzodiazepine dependence, I made a personal commitment to contribute my time toward projects that support those facing mental health and substance use challenges. To this day, that commitment guides my work.

In the years leading up to MentalHealth.com, my team and I built a rehab booking platform for addiction treatment. Notably, Rehab.com onboarded more than 5,000 providers, facilitated hundreds of thousands of connections through clicks and calls, and helped nearly 1 million people in their journey toward recovery.

However, our experience was ultimately overshadowed by the addiction treatment industry, which remains deeply flawed and in need of significant reform. Despite our good intentions and ambitious goals, we underestimated the challenges within this space.

The most important characteristic for survival is not strength or intelligence, but adaptability to change. We must become adept at adapting. This is the Buddhist teaching of Anicca — impermanence.

As we moved from a contentious environment to a constructive one, we undertook significant changes to our business, including a long-overdue reorganization of our management team. These efforts led to the successful sale of Rehab.com and the acquisition of MentalHealth.com.

As a team, we recognize the global need for better mental health care. With half of the world’s population expected to experience a mental health disorder, and knowing that mental health care benefits everyone, our vision is to support 1 billion people.

“Connection is the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued.” – Brené Brown

As we grow, our mission is clear: build the world’s most intelligent mental health technology. Through mental health resources, diagnostic services, and care management, we make mental health care more accessible, more connected, and more human.

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Think about how we navigate the world today. We use platforms like Google, Facebook, and Amazon to access knowledge, build connections, and discover products and services. In nearly every area of life, from managing our finances to buying a home, we rely on technology to improve our lives.

Yet mental health care lags behind. An outdated model, combined with misaligned incentives and fragmented technology, creates barriers to access, increases costs, and leaves people to navigate care on their own. The result is not only emotional strain, but an economic burden exceeding $1 trillion each year.

At MentalHealth.com, we are closing this gap by building a better mental health system — one that empowers people to achieve greater self-understanding, human connection, and healthier lives.

“Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember ~ the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.” – Zig Ziglar

Founding a healthcare company is an extraordinary challenge. For this reason, I take immense pride not only in our accomplishments, but also in our exceptional team. In just two years, we raised $4 million in funding, launched our platform, and grew to more than 1 million annual users.

Along the way, we built new products, expanded our mental health resources, and acquired MentalHelp.net and Therapy.ai.

We also assembled distinguished advisory teams to help guide our growth. These include the Venture Advisory Team, featuring Brian Trisler, Co-Founder of A Place for Mom, and Fred Joyal and Gary Saint-Denis, Co-Founders of 1-800-DENTIST; the Clinical Affairs Team, led by Jesse Hanson, Ph.D., alongside Carlos Protzel, Psy.D., and Susanna Calvert, Ph.D.; and the Public Oversight Committee, with participation from Ryan Hampton.

In conclusion, I’ll share the daily question that guides me: What does the world need most right now? The answer is community. Community gives us purpose, and with purpose comes a more fulfilling life. We all benefit from fewer artificial connections and more authentic community in our lives.

– Patrick