Evidence-based innovation for community mental health
Bringing together multidisciplinary research, digital innovation, and real-world insight to help supporters feel confident, connected, and cared for.
Our research approach
Evidence-led
Built on established psychological theory and empirical research.
Human-centred
Designed with and for people with lived experience. Both supporters and those they care for.
Tech-enabled
Harnessing the power of AI and data-driven insights, ensuring every supporter receives personalised, relevant support.
Our research aims
Driving Systems Change in Mental Health Support.
From insight → to research → to testing → to impact.
Removing Barriers to Support
Removing Barriers to Support
Responding to shortfalls in mental health resources and complementing professional care. By providing accessible, evidence-based guidance and tools that make it easier for supporters to step in confidently and effectively
Building Capacity & Capability
Building Capacity & Capability
People are surrounded by an invaluable yet often overlooked resource: the care, empathy, and insight of the people closest to us. With the right support and guidance, friends, family members, and partners can play a powerful role in helping someone through difficult times.
Shifting to Prevention
Support works best when it happens early. By equipping supporters with knowledge and skills before a crisis occurs, Youmi helps prevent stress and distress from escalating, fostering healthier relationships and improving overall wellbeing for both supporters and those they care for.
Our Approach to Safe and Responsible AI
Partnering with Experts
We are collaborating with experts in the field of mental health and AI through research partnerships and an academic advisory board. We put clinicians, researchers, and service users at the core of our discovery, design and evaluation from day one.
Red-teaming
Red-teaming is a core part of the infrastructure that ensures that AI models do not produce harmful content. An interactional mode of testing, in which individuals on red teams actively interact with the system, leveraging natural language to simulate malicious actors and solicit harmful outputs so that appropriate guardrails can be put in place.
Confidential, Private & Secure
We protect your personal information and only use your data to provide and improve our services. You have control over your information, and we never sell your personal data to third parties. (See our full privacy policy.)
Safety & Ethical Standards
Our platform is designed with built-in guardrails to protect users, ensuring that support is delivered responsibly and ethically. This includes clear policies around equity, inclusivity, and trauma-informed approaches, so that everyone, both supporters and those they care for, can engage in a safe, respectful, and empowering environment.
Better research isn’t just about better methods. It’s about who’s involved, who’s valued, and who benefits
At Youmi, lived experience guides our research and development
Partnerships and collaborations
Evidence Generation
Partnerships with universities and research institutions
Real-world Testing
Collaborations with mental health organisations and community groups
Cross-industry Innovation
Investing in cross-sector and cross-community collaborations to answer research questions in ways that actually work in the real world.
Help us make sure we're connected to the communities we want to serve
Chat to us about joining our lived experience advisory group.
Shaped by Lived Experience
Citizen Power
Real insight comes from lived experience. We involve people with firsthand understanding of mental health challenges, and those who support them, in actively shaping our design, research, and decisions every step of the way.
Equity and Justice
We recognise and value diversity. We actively include voices from different backgrounds, cultures, and identities to make sure our work is inclusive, fair, and representative.
Respect and Recognition
We believe people’s time, knowledge, and expertise should be valued. Lived experience contributors are fairly compensated for their participation and insights, acknowledging the vital role they play in shaping Youmi.
Some of our experts
Jonny Benjamin, MBE
Jonny is an award-winning mental health campaigner, author, and founder of the charity Beyond, with years of experience amplifying and advocating for the importance of lived experience across the UK and beyond. Through his work, he speaks with supporters every day and knows firsthand how transformative the right tools could be for those trying to help someone they care about.
Dr Miriam Silver
Consultant Clinical Psychologist and experienced service director, with a particular interest in parenting, attachment relationships and children who are in care or adopted. Multi-award winning social entrepreneur and founder & CEO of BERRI, an online tool designed to help identify children's needs and increase insight for carers, allowing them to make greater impact on the child's functioning and wellbeing.
Dr Catherine Gajland
Catherine is a certified child and adolescent psychiatrist whose experience spans almost a decade within the field. Her clinical experience has given her unique insight into psychiatric conditions, symptomatology, diagnosis, treatment and outcome amongst 0-17 year olds. Working closely with parents, carers, and social services has been central to achieving the best outcomes for young people.
Dr Paris Lalousis
Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health at King's College London. Coleader of the AI in Mental Health (AIM) lab. He focuses on the translation of data science into clinical care in mental health disorders positioned at the crosshairs of state-of-the-art analytical techniques and transformative clinical applications. His works spans psychosis, depression, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease among others.
Dr Andreas Culora
Research and evaluation specialist with expertise in RCTs, QEDs, and applied data science. Andreas has delivered high-profile evaluations for the Department for Education, Home Office, and the European Commission across housing, education, criminal justice, and international migration and more.
Chris Frederick
Chris Frederick is a Black mental health advocate and Principal Investigator for Project Soul Stride. He serves on several national boards, including the Population Mental Health Consortium, Discovering Liveability, and the Campaign to End Loneliness. Drawing on lived experience of suicidality, Chris drives systemic change and champions support for Black communities — tackling health inequalities, loneliness, and mental health through citizen research, policy engagement, and stigma reduction. A national speaker, writer, and advocate, Chris uses storytelling and public engagement to amplify lived experience and inspire collective action.
Join us on our mission in
making a positive impact
