Hey guys,
my question is: if the contact is virtual (via a platform or an app), won’t that reduce the effectiveness of the therapy compared to classical way (which was extremely helpful for me)?
Hey SAWA team - great video! 
Hilarious. 
Great musical interlude. And @gebranelie … great eyebrows.
This is a fantastic challenge / sector area to work … though also challenging. I really look forward to learning more about your solution, approach, etc.
Two quick questions:
• What’s the current status of the project?
• Have you thought about the “concierge MVP (minimum viable product)”? Basically … what’s the cheapest / fastest / simplest way to test your idea, at low/zero cost?
Exciting!
Cheers.
hi @mahmoud_trabulsi!
you’re making a valid point and it might be the case in many instances - however, the opposite is also true i.e. some people prefer to share personal info/history/feelings/to talk in general when there is no one literally in front of them - so in that sense, online therapy might act as a catalyst rather than an inhibitor…
Hi @DMN ! Thanks for your feedback and encouragement!
- We are now in the process of preparing a detailed questionnaire to help us in the design of the solution
- We are currently trying to figure this out! Maybe we would pretend that the service is live and we would ask therapists if they would like to join and patients if they would interested in try such a platform?
I could feel the energy from the video, thank you for the entertainment! A round of applause!
Better.help is a private online counceling app that is heavily funded. They are based in California. They have recently took on an aggressive marketing campaign in the Middle-East because they know the solution works and they recognize the stigma of mental help in the region so they’re focusing on accessibility. How can you compete with this 500 LB gorilla?
Hi @Dana!
Thanks for the feedback and encouragement -
Indeed for Betterhelp. So our startegy to compete with that 500 LB gorilla is the following:
-
Branding ourselves “for the MENA region” since the beginning - starting with the name of the startup: SAWA, which means together in Arabic - and following with our mission which is geared towards the Middle East (both on the online therapy end and the breaking the taboo and raising awareness end)
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The SAWA app/platform will be launched in Arabic along a wide marketing campaign in Arabic
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The therapists on SAWA will be from MENA - will hence speak Arabic, and would totally understand the challenges of the region, the culture, and the different issues that people face - They will be able to relate to the patient’s suffering and experiences – which would ultimately lead to a better customer experience (compared to foreign apps) and hopefully a better outcome
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SAWA will not solely be a platform/app that connects people with therapists - it will also publish content in order to raise awareness around mental health, educate users, and ultimately drive a better engagement
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We are planning to partner with therapists / therapists’ syndicates / organizations to have a strong go-to market strategy and not be perceived as competition
Any thoughts are more than welcome, thank you !
The SAWA team (@CAN, @gebranelie, @jf.atallah)
You’ve just identified 5 great points to test and validate! Way to go!
Apart from serving mental illness, SAWA is also helping to create Arabic content (there’s big demand there).
Checking in with this amazing set of points / potential places to validate, how have things been going this week? @CAN @gebranelie and @jf.atallah? Which point have you make some progress on? Which do you think is a great starting point to explore?
I have a connection with two lovely ladies from South Sudan who are interested in a similar concept in their country. I was wondering how and if you would like me to put you all in touch, they’re just starting out mostly from a point of care noticing that their schools have students underperforming due to the impacts of the trauma.
Hope you’re having a beautiful Thursday!
+BG
Hi Bilal!
Thanks! We are still working on validating the 5 points through in-depth interviews, as we realized that they are more useful, insightful, and helpful than surveys/questionnaires - the latter tend to be filled a bit mechanically without much thought.
We will upload our video tomorrow.
It would be great if you could put us in touch with the ladies who are starting something similar in Sudan.
Thanks!!!
Here are their names and project pages:
Eva Yayi Mawa Upele
Yine Yenki Nyika
Redirecting... | http://gogirlsict.org/
And their video from the conference they were at:
re:publica 2018 – No women, no web - Digital skills trainings in fragile contexts - YouTube
I have their business cards at home and can connect later
+BG