Prodana is a pay-it-forward crowdfunding platform connecting patients and mental health practitioners
In the traditional therapy model, people in the most need of healing are often least able to afford it.
According to a recent survey by Verywell Mind, approximately one in three Americans are unable to afford therapy. Prodana is offering a new solution to help individuals get the care they need.
Prodana is a platform that empowers mental health practitioners to help more people. The crowd-funded model means that clients are sponsored, thanks to contributions from past clients, current clients, and the community.
Shalom Shore, the founder of Prodana, sees the platform as an opportunity for mental health practitioners to offer help to those who need it while simultaneously receiving the financial backing to do so.
“We are a platform committed to helping make mental health and personal growth available to all. Clients’ hours are sponsored by other people, and in turn, they are invited to pay it forward and gift a similar experience to others. By supporting single donations and monthly subscriptions, a practitioner can develop a support network that allows them to continue to help people without directly worrying about whether a specific individual can pay for their services,” said Shore.
Support can come from their community, strangers, or past or current clients. Current clients can pay their experience forward just as their sessions were sponsored by the generosity of others; they too have the opportunity to make a single or recurring donation to help others. There is no transactional correlation between someone getting help and someone supporting the practitioner.
“I’m excited to be launching a platform that utilizes technology for the betterment of society. I’ve long preoccupied myself with the intersection of mental health and technology, and it’s my hope that this platform contributes to greater mental health accessibility and increased well-being for all people,” said Shore.
Shore was inspired to create this platform from many of his own experiences, having been the recipient of free therapy at times when he was unable to afford it on his own.
“I want there to be a way to express gratitude towards people who have helped you even after you’re no longer working with them,” said Shore.
Mental health and emotional problems can hinder all aspects of an individual’s life. Often financial hardships can lead to or result in mental health and emotional problems, creating a vicious cycle preventing individuals from gaining access to the help they need.
“My hope is to help reframe society’s approach to mental health from a personal, transactional one, to that of a communal, cyclical responsibility. I want to drive millions of dollars more to the mental health and wellness industry by framing practitioners as ‘ambassadors of wellbeing’ – where every dollar paid to them does not go towards paying for yourself, but rather towards helping others. I believe this will result in many people making more contributions, for longer timeframes, than if they were paying just for their own healing,” said Shore.
Mental health practitioners create a profile page allowing individuals to both book appointments with them and support their work. The profile transparently displays how much support the practitioner has received, and how many appointments they have completed.
Prodana is a client at The Forge – a business incubator funded by McMaster University, providing hands-on support to founders with novel business ideas in the Hamilton, Greater Toronto, and Niagara Regions to grow their ventures.
Prodana removes the transactional nature from the personal growth process to facilitate a greater allocation of resources toward people’s well-being.
To learn more about Prodana and its benefits, visit: www.prodana.org
