While Colorado continues to de-stigmatize mental health concerns, industry leaders are responding with new and progressive ways to provide holistic treatment focused on the “source” of one’s pain, rather than just relieving symptoms. Local companies are offering a wide array of treatments that can range from everyday wellness practices to more progressive treatment plans.
Nue.life is a next-gen mental wellness company that believes in the power of psychedelics to catalyze lasting change — and while it is not originally based in Colorado, it offers treatment to the state’s residents. On the other hand, Mental Health Colorado is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to pass laws and build a movement that promotes healthier minds and accessible healthcare for all Coloradans. While both companies have differing approaches, they unite with the goal to meet patients exactly where they’re at.
With the demand for mental health care on the rise due to the COVID-19 pandemic, progressive healing methods have surfaced and are offering innovative solutions to deep-rooted suffering. Juan Pablo Cappello, the co-founder and CEO of Nue.life, comes from a long lineage of Chilean Native American background. He was raised with a front-row seat to the efficacy of plant medicine and believes in holistic healing methods for patients who are suffering. Cappello started Nue.life in January 2021 with a clear problem to solve at the center of it all: “How do you help a million people heal?”
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Nue.life provides innovative ways to heal suffering while simultaneously overcoming obstacles set by Big Pharma companies who prefer to treat patients with anti-depressants that only alleviate symptoms for the short term. The company has pledged to help a million people heal their suffering and disease before psilocybin is legalized in Colorado. This milestone in Colorado law will set the precedent that hallucinogenic drugs, often stigmatized in western medicine, can in fact provide high-quality mental health care.
Its at-home business model makes treatment accessible to people from all places, backgrounds and income – with a clear intention to help bridge the barrier to entry for people of color, who are subsequently more affected by the war on drugs, an issue that Cappello is very passionate about. Right now, Nue.life has successfully treated people in Colorado, California, Florida, Texas and Washington, but will be expanding to new states quickly throughout the year.
For those Coloradans who want to improve their mental health without the use of prescription or hallucinogenic drugs, Mental Health Colorado is a hub for mental health resources for the local community. This past January, it launched a campaign called “What’s your Peace” that calls Coloradans to share the little steps they take to find joy in each day.
The intention is that Coloradans will share their daily wellness practices — like spending five minutes drinking coffee on your porch in silence or going on a walk with your dog or calling a loved one — in hopes of inspiring another person to adopt a practice of their own for inner peace. The end of the campaign will be a conglomeration of all of the little peaces of the puzzle that helps us find joy.
Not only has mental health care needs skyrocketed since the pandemic, but mental health care providers are experiencing an extreme labor shortage. According to the Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council, Colorado’s 17 regional community mental health centers combined have 1,092 job vacancies. That being said, now it is more important than ever that we create a “jigsaw puzzle picture of the ways you improve your wellbeing,” as Vincent Atchity, advocate for Mental Health Colorado, puts it.
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The movement toward finding a self-care plan that suits an individual’s unique needs has never been more important. These companies let people know they are not alone in their search.