Addressing Mental Health Gaps with Wave Coaching
PREFER TO LISTEN? WE GOT YOU.
Wave Coaching: Scalable Mental Health Support for Every Employee
In today’s fast-paced work environment, mental health challenges are becoming increasingly prevalent. Employees are grappling with rising levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, impacting not just their personal lives but also their productivity, engagement, and overall well-being. As HR managers, you’re likely facing the growing challenge of providing meaningful mental health support in the workplace, especially when more than half of adults with mental health needs in the U.S. aren’t receiving care.
The truth is, the traditional mental health care system is stretched thin. Long wait times, high costs, and provider shortages mean that many employees aren’t getting the help they need when they need it. That’s where Wave comes in. As a solution designed for today’s workforce, Wave combines evidence-based practices with innovative technology to offer personalized mental health support that delivers fast, measurable results.
In fact, our recent white paper illustrates that employees who engaged with Wave coaching experienced significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and stress—often in just 4 weeks. Whether your employees are dealing with work-related stress, personal challenges, or more severe mental health concerns, Wave coaching can provide the support they need to feel better, faster. By offering Wave as a benefit, you can help bridge the gap in mental health care and create a healthier, more resilient workforce.
Download our white paper here
What is Wave Coaching? A Personalized Approach to Employee Well-Being
Wave is more than just another mental health app. It’s a comprehensive, personalized solution that helps your employees manage their mental health challenges and achieve their well-being goals. Our coaching model is built around the understanding that each employee’s mental health journey is unique. Wave coaches provide one-on-one support, helping individuals set and achieve goals that are meaningful to them, whether it's reducing stress, improving emotional resilience, or navigating life transitions.
Here’s how it works: Wave combines the convenience of technology with the human touch of expert coaches. Employees can schedule video sessions with their coach, or send messages through our app when it’s most convenient for them. This flexibility ensures that mental health support is accessible and fits seamlessly into even the busiest of schedules.
At Wave, our coaching isn’t just reactive—it’s proactive. Coaches use evidence-based practices, such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness techniques, to help employees build the skills they need to manage their mental health on an ongoing basis. This empowers them to not only overcome immediate challenges but also develop long-term strategies for maintaining mental well-being.
In addition to one-on-one coaching, Wave’s app offers employees access to a range of digital tools designed to enhance their experience. Whether it’s taking validated assessments to understand their progress, receiving personalized content recommendations, or participating in skill-building techniques and daily check-ins, your employees will have the resources they need at their fingertips, ensuring continuous support between sessions.
By offering Wave as a benefit, you’re providing more than just a one-time solution—you’re giving your employees the tools they need to thrive, both personally and professionally.
Rapid Symptom Reduction in Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Within 4 Weeks
When it comes to mental health support, speed matters. Employees struggling with mental health challenges need help now—not months down the line. That’s why Wave coaching is so effective. In a recent study, a majority of users who engaged with Wave coaching saw meaningful improvements in just 4 weeks, with noticeable reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.
Let’s dive into the details:
Engaged coaching users demonstrated meaningful improvements in depression, anxiety, and stress.
Symptom reduction occurred swiftly: statistically significant outcomes were found among data collected 3-6 weeks after coaching initiation.
Engaged coaching users fared better over time than contemporaneously-assessed controls.
Effect size estimates associated with coaching were substantial, ranging from medium (depression and stress) to large (anxiety).
These results are more than just impressive—they’re a game-changer for workplace mental health. In a world where traditional therapy often takes months or even years to produce noticeable improvements, Wave coaching is delivering faster, more impactful results. And the benefits extend beyond just mental health. When employees feel better, they perform better. Reduced depression, anxiety, and stress translate to higher productivity, greater engagement, and lower turnover—all critical factors in maintaining a thriving workplace.
So why does Wave work so well? It’s because we focus on actionable, evidence-based techniques that empower employees to take control of their mental health. Methods like ACT, DBT, CBT, mindfulness, and stress reduction strategies are proven to be effective, and our coaches are experts at delivering these tools in a way that is personalized to each individual. Employees don’t just talk about their problems—they actively learn how to manage them, gaining skills that will serve them long after their coaching sessions end.
By integrating Wave coaching into your employee benefits package, you’re not only addressing mental health issues swiftly—you’re also creating a culture of well-being that benefits both your employees and your organization.
Download our white paper here
Wave Coaching’s Impact on Moderate to Severe Mental Health Symptoms
It’s a common misconception that coaching is only effective for individuals experiencing mild mental health issues. Traditionally, behavioral health coaching has been positioned as a solution for people with low levels of distress or subclinical symptoms. However, the data from Wave coaching tells a different story. Not only does coaching help individuals with mild to moderate symptoms, but it also provides clinical benefits to those with more severe mental health challenges.
In fact, our clinical outcomes study found that employees with moderate to severe depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms saw some of the most dramatic improvements after engaging with Wave coaching. This is particularly important for HR managers, as these employees are often the ones most at risk of burnout, absenteeism, and decreased productivity.
Our findings: Upon coaching initiation, about 9 in 10 users reported moderate or greater symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. About a month later, half had reached normal to mild symptom levels.
Adopting novel approaches for delivering care is critical if we are to adequately address society’s behavioral health needs. The data provide hard evidence that coaching is a potent and reliable approach worth embracing.
These improvements aren’t just numbers—they represent employees who are feeling better, functioning better, and contributing more effectively to their teams. Employees with moderate to severe symptoms often face the greatest barriers to accessing care. Therapy waitlists can stretch for months, and many are hesitant to seek help due to stigma or fear of losing productivity. But with Wave coaching, your employees can access personalized, evidence-based support when they need it, all without the wait or the stigma.
By offering Wave as part of your employee benefits package, you’re addressing mental health challenges head-on, ensuring that even those with more significant concerns are not left behind. Whether it’s helping a team member manage severe stress or supporting an employee through a period of heightened depression, Wave coaching is there to provide relief—quickly and effectively.
Why Coaching Works: Evidence-Based Approaches at the Core
At the heart of Wave coaching’s success is its commitment to evidence-based practices. We don’t just offer generic advice or surface-level support. Instead, our coaching model is rooted in proven techniques that are used by therapists and mental health professionals worldwide, ensuring that your employees receive high-quality care, no matter where they are in their mental health journey.
So, what makes Wave coaching so effective? It’s the combination of personalized support and these evidence-based approaches:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT helps employees learn how to accept challenging thoughts and emotions, develop mindfulness skills, and commit to actions that align with their values. This approach enhances resilience and supports long-term mental well-being.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT is particularly effective for improving emotional regulation and interpersonal skills. By incorporating DBT techniques, Wave coaches help employees navigate emotional challenges and build stronger, healthier relationships.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): One of the most widely researched methods, CBT assists employees in identifying and reframing negative thought patterns. By addressing unhelpful thinking, employees can experience meaningful changes in both their professional and personal lives.
Mindfulness Practices: Mindfulness helps employees stay grounded in the present moment, which can reduce stress and improve focus. Wave coaches integrate mindfulness techniques to support employees in managing workplace pressure and enhancing emotional regulation.
Motivational Interviewing (MI): MI is used to empower employees to make positive behavioral changes. Wave coaches foster self-efficacy and encourage lasting transformation by focusing on employees' intrinsic motivations.
Positive Psychology: Positive psychology cultivates well-being through prosocial activities, gratitude, and strengths-based exercises. This approach fosters resilience, helping employees build mental strength and positivity.
These approaches aren’t just effective in theory—they deliver real results. In a recent Wave study, about two-thirds of engaged coaching users had reliable symptom reductions within 1-2 months of Wave coaching. And among those who improved, 73% saw reductions in depression, 50% saw reductions in anxiety, and 68% saw reductions in stress. These results highlight the power of combining evidence-based practices with a personalized, flexible coaching model.
Moreover, the accessibility and responsiveness of Wave’s platform means that employees can apply these techniques right away. Whether they’re messaging their coach for advice or following up with content recommendations in the app, employees have the tools they need to make immediate, impactful changes to their mental health.
By integrating these evidence-based approaches into your employee benefits, you’re not only supporting your team’s mental well-being but also fostering a more resilient, focused, and engaged workforce.
Download our white paper here
Personalized Mental Health Support with Wave Coaching
User-Centric Support: How Wave Coaching Provides Tailored Solutions
In today’s workplace, employees face a range of unique mental health challenges, from managing stress and anxiety to coping with life transitions and maintaining work-life balance. To effectively support your team, it’s crucial to offer mental health resources that are as dynamic and adaptable as the individuals who use them. That’s where Wave coaching excels.
Wave coaching is built around the principle of personalized care. Our coaches work with each employee to create a customized plan that addresses their specific mental health goals and challenges. Unlike traditional therapy models that can be rigid or prescriptive, Wave’s approach is flexible and user-centric, ensuring that each individual receives the right support, at the right time, in the right format.
Here’s how it works: Employees are first matched with a certified coach, who reviews the results of their initial assessment. Together, they identify the employee’s needs and set clear, personalized goals. From there, the coach develops a customized program of care that adapts in real-time as the employee progresses. The coach continuously monitors their development, making adjustments between and after each 1:1 session to ensure the program stays aligned with the employee’s evolving needs and goals.
Wave’s digital platform extends the impact of coaching by offering a variety of resources to keep employees engaged in their mental health journey. The Wave app provides:
Daily check-ins to track mood and stress levels.
Quizzes and assessments to uncover mental health patterns, such as anxiety triggers or emotional responses.
Skill-building interactive tools, which help employees practice coping strategies, mindfulness, and emotional regulation techniques in real-time.
Personalized content, including short-form videos, articles, and audio resources on topics like mindfulness, stress management, and work-life balance.
These tools ensure that employees continue building skills and making progress between coaching sessions, reinforcing their mental health and well-being.
This combination of real-time coaching and ongoing digital support empowers employees to take control of their mental health and build the skills they need to thrive. It also allows HR managers to offer a mental health solution that is as diverse and varied as their workforce. No two employees are the same, and with Wave, they don’t have to receive the same care.
By offering Wave as part of your benefits package, you’re providing your employees with access to tailored, flexible support that fits seamlessly into their lives. Whether they prefer to engage in scheduled video sessions, message their coach between meetings, or explore educational content on their own time, Wave’s user-centric model ensures that help is always available when they need it.
Scalable Mental Health Support for Every Employee
The Future of Mental Health Care: Coaching as a Scalable Solution
As HR leaders, you’re tasked with supporting the well-being of your employees in an environment where the demand for mental health care far exceeds the available supply. The demand for mental health support is rising faster than the workforce can keep up, resulting in long wait times for therapy, provider burnout, and gaps in care that leave many employees without the support they need. In fact, 47% of U.S. adults live in areas with a shortage of mental health providers, and nearly half of employees with mental health needs don’t receive the care they require.
This is where Wave comes in as a scalable solution that can bridge these gaps and provide timely, effective care to employees across all levels of need.
Wave is designed to be both scalable and accessible, making it an ideal solution for HR teams looking to offer comprehensive mental health support without overwhelming existing systems. Unlike therapy, which is often limited by provider availability, Wave leverages technology to deliver high-quality, personalized care on a broad scale. Employees can schedule sessions at their convenience, access on-demand content, and engage with their coach through messaging—all without the delays and scheduling bottlenecks common to traditional therapy.
Additionally, Wave’s coaching model is cost-effective, allowing organizations to extend mental health support to more employees without the high costs typically associated with one-on-one therapy. This scalability is crucial in today’s workplace, where mental health needs are diverse and growing. Whether you’re supporting a large, distributed workforce or a smaller team with varying mental health challenges, Wave can provide the right level of care for each employee, at a fraction of the cost of traditional therapy models.
But scalability doesn’t mean sacrificing quality. Every Wave coach is certified by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC), meaning they are equipped to support both physical health and mental health goals. Along with their NBHWC certification, coaches are trained in Wave’s proprietary model, which incorporates evidence-based practices like ACT, DBT, CBT, mindfulness, and stress reduction techniques. This comprehensive training enables coaches to address a wide range of employee needs, ensuring that as your organization grows or your employees' goals evolve, Wave delivers consistent, reliable support across the board.
As mental health continues to be a critical issue in the workplace, coaching offers a proactive, scalable solution that meets employees where they are and provides the support they need to stay engaged, productive, and resilient. By integrating Wave coaching into your benefits package, you’re not only addressing the mental health needs of today’s workforce—you’re also future-proofing your organization against the growing demand for mental health care.
Wave Coaching vs Traditional Mental Health Practices
Swift and Meaningful Change with Wave Coaching
As an HR manager, you know that employee well-being is closely tied to business outcomes. When employees struggle with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and stress, it doesn’t just affect them personally—it impacts their performance, their engagement, and ultimately, the success of your organization. That’s why it’s more important than ever to offer mental health solutions that deliver real, measurable results, and that’s exactly what Wave coaching does.
In just 4 weeks, more than half of employees engaged with Wave coaching reported clinical improvements. These improvements weren’t just limited to employees with mild symptoms; even those with moderate to severe mental health challenges saw remarkable progress, with many reducing their symptoms from severe to mild or even normal levels.
These rapid improvements translate into tangible benefits for your organization. When employees feel better, they perform better. Reduced stress and anxiety mean fewer sick days, higher productivity, and better overall team morale. Plus, when employees know that their organization values their mental health and provides resources to support it, they’re more likely to stay engaged and loyal, reducing turnover and fostering a positive workplace culture.
But the benefits of Wave coaching go beyond the individual employee. By offering a mental health solution that works quickly and effectively, you’re creating a healthier, more resilient workforce that can meet the challenges of today’s demanding work environment. And because Wave is scalable and cost-effective, it’s a solution that can grow with your organization, ensuring that all employees have access to the support they need, when they need it.
In today’s workplace, mental health isn’t just a personal issue—it’s a business priority. By choosing Wave coaching as part of your employee benefits package, you’re making a smart investment in the future of your workforce. Swift, meaningful change is possible with Wave, and together, we can help your employees feel better, work better, and thrive.