Meet the Team @ HelloBetter: Verena Schmitz

In our last "Meet the Team" update, Karo Mertens outlined her career path which ultimately led her to HelloBetter and joining the company as a Business Development Manager.

Today, we would like to introduce you to Verena Schmitz. Verena first went the "classical" route and obtained her licensure as a psychological psychotherapist in cognitive behavioural therapy and an additional qualification in group psychotherapy. After joining a psychotherapy practice and treating patients, she was then looking for a chance to combine her psychotherapeutic experience with her passion for e-mental health. This is what finally brought her to HelloBetter and working in the Content & Research team.  

Hi Verena! Can you tell us more about your career path and what led you to the role you're in today? 

After studying psychology in Cologne and Berlin, I first went the "classical" route and obtained my licensure as a psychological psychotherapist in cognitive behavioural therapy and an additional qualification in group psychotherapy. I then joined a psychotherapy practice, treated my own patients and therefore met people with various diagnoses and at different stages of their mental recovery. 

As much as I fully enjoyed working face to face, I always wondered how we can reach people even earlier, bridge the often months-long waiting time for psychotherapy places and also improve psychotherapeutic work by adapting it to the changing needs of our time. Because I already gained insight into the potential of e-mental health through my master’s thesis for an internet-based writing therapy, digitalisation seemed to offer answers to my questions. I was then looking for a chance to combine my psychotherapeutic experience with my passion for e-mental health. This is what finally brought me to HelloBetter.  

How do you make an impact at HelloBetter? 

I am part of the Content & Research Team of HelloBetter. One of my main tasks is to develop new ideas and courses and to align them with psychotherapeutic standards. This is a very dynamic process that starts with conceptualisation and brings me in contact with different teams and also our users. And it is a process that never ends, because of course we always keep an eye on our products and want to keep their quality constantly high. It shows that developing digital therapeutics is much more than just translating treatment manuals into an online setting. It means finding a completely new way of digital therapeutic communication and it helps a lot to bring in my psychotherapeutic experience. 

Besides that, I bring the topic of mental health to the people by writing blog articles, informing experts and collaborating on the creation of video formats for our social media platforms. 

On a completely different level, I am responsible for risk management, which means thinking into our users' stories, anticipating possible risks and developing solutions. This gives me the opportunity to bring in my way of asking questions and thinking about mental health. So all in all, I can make an impact at HelloBetter by doing exactly what I learned as a psychotherapist. 

What do you like best about working at HelloBetter?

For me, HelloBetter means working in a team full of inspiring people who share the same mission - supporting people with their mental health. And that begins with ourselves. I have never experienced such a supportive team, where everyone can contribute their strengths, is seen and is willing to think further, be critical and learn from each other.

And on top of that, HelloBetter gives me the opportunity to bring in my skills as a psychotherapist, to further explore them and to take on new perspectives every day. And to experience that we have a real impact by seeing the feedback from our users - that shows me that we do the right thing. 

What career advice would you give to your younger self? 

Be bold and do it. - Sometimes we humans tend to stay on the safe and familiar path. Me too. Because we fear change or because something is fine just the way it is. For me, joining HelloBetter meant leaving the familiar and facing new challenges. Today I know that it is precisely such steps and decisions that show you new paths, take you further and let you grow.

How do you personally maintain a healthy work-life balance? 

As a psychotherapist, I should be an expert in taking care of one's own mental health and creating good work-life-balance. But after one year working fully remote, I know it's easier said than done. So point 1: I try to let go. Taking that 90 minutes yoga class after an 8-hour-workday, then making myself a healthy dinner before meeting my friends? That may be fine for some, but not for me. It's okay not to bring work and life in a constant perfect balance. But point 2: I try to find out and do what’s good for me. Just not all at once. So making plans and to-do-lists helps me a lot. And truly: Yoga. Just being focused on breath and movement helps me to clear my mind and keep myself in that kind of balance that works best for me.

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Verena!

----

Click here to connect with Verena on LinkedIn!

HelloBetter is a global pioneer in the field of digital mental health. No other provider worldwide has conducted as many clinical studies on the effectiveness of its online mental health courses. With our unrivalled scientific expertise (30+ RCTs) and passion for supporting people with mental health problems, we have already helped tens of thousands of patients to lead better lives. You can find more information on our website!