Verywell Mind is one of the largest mental health sites, committed to helping its 40MM monthly readers feel better by providing reliable, compassionate, and up-to-date information on mental health topics. The site is dedicated to offering medically reviewed content that is high-quality, inclusive, and evidence-based, empowering readers to make decisions regarding their health and wellness.
At a time when our mental health has been challenged unlike ever before, it’s important to have an outlet that helps disseminate information in a trustworthy and empathetic way. That’s why Verywell developed and launched the Verywell Mind Podcast in the midst of the COVID pandemic, hosted by Amy Morin, licensed therapist and Editor-in-Chief of Verywell Mind. The Podcast addresses mental health struggles and concerns and centers around interviews with inspirational speakers who share their stories, struggles, and strategies for staying mentally strong.
The Verywell Mind site takes a human approach to health and wellness content by providing reliable, and digestible health information, and it brought that same approach to the podcast. Amy and the Verywell team are committed to helping consumers navigate their health and wellness by providing solutions, science-backed information, and compassionate expert advice at all stages of the patient journey. This past year, in the face of the continued pandemic, that mission became more critical than ever, and Verywell Mind sought to infuse the podcast with more empathy, compassion and relevance in order to help listeners feel their best.
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Verywell immediately reshaped its initiatives to better address readers’ drastically evolving mental health needs, bringing a unique empathetic voice and credibility to help in moments of fear, uncertainty, and anxiety. As the pandemic has continued, concerns about mental health impacts are only growing, and The Verywell Mind Podcast is working tirelessly to help.
The podcast was launched to help people feel connected during times of uncertainty and provide listeners with guidance and solutions-based steps they can take to create mental strength and build a better wellbeing. The podcast is centered around solutions-based approaches, offering insights from a licensed mental health professional on how to deal with specific concerns and providing quick, actionable mental health exercises.
The show releases two episodes a week; on Mondays, listeners can expect to hear from notable guests about their stories, struggles, and strategies for staying mentally strong. On Fridays, The Verywell Mind Podcast shares a special “Friday Fix” episode, discussing how to deal with specific mental health issues or concerns, and real-life case studies from Amy’s therapy practice, including simple, effective mental health exercises to decrease stress for listeners. She closes each episode with "The Therapist's Take," which provides listeners with strategies for how to apply these lessons in their own lives.
As the pandemic and general state of the world evolves, the Verywell Mind Podcast has kept up with changing news and recommended best practices for staying healthy during uncertain times. Knowing that mental health concerns exist outside of the pandemic, the podcast also helps people throughout different mental health struggles and stages of the patient journey, whether that’s anxiety, dealing with an unsettling health diagnosis, or caring for a loved one that is going through a health battle.
The podcast has further established Verywell Mind as a trusted authority in the mental health space that listeners can rely on to provide compassionate and fact-based resources. Amy and the team are constantly looking for ways to incorporate new, relevant content and give listeners the tools they need to feel better, whether that’s featuring guests from diverse backgrounds or covering lesser known mental health struggles that are often neglected. The Verywell Mind team hopes that the podcast will help transform the often-taboo discussion around mental health and encourage listeners to connect with one another and become part of the larger conversation surrounding mental health and wellbeing.
In Q1 of 2021 alone, the Verywell Mind podcast had a total of 74k downloads, averaging 25K downloads a month. In Q2 of 2021 the podcast picked up more momentum and reached an average of 37K downloads a month. Throughout 2021, the podcast had a rolling 30-day average of almost 98K downloads a month. As of January 26, 2022, downloads grew almost 300% compared to January 2021. These results show the need for guidance in the mental health sphere, and how Verywell created a podcast that truly addresses their nearly 40MM monthly readers’ needs.
With its growing popularity, the Verywell Mind Podcast has also attracted top-tier talent who want to discuss their story with Amy. Notable guests include Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey, Fifth Harmony singer Ally Brooke, GRAMMY award-winning singer LeAnn Rimes, Good Morning America anchor Dan Harris, actress Danica McKellar, and MLB All-Star Darryl Strawberry. Aside from its quantitative success, Amy and the Verywell Mind team hope that the podcast will shed a new light on mental health and encourage people to view mental health as an extension of physical health. The podcast has helped listeners feel connected during times of uncertainty and will continue to provide a fact-based, compassionate resource for listeners hoping to improve their mental health.
