Pelago, a virtual provider of substance use care, unveiled its new Behavioral Health Platform at the Thursday event of the Behavioral Health Tech Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. This unified digital solution consolidates offerings for substance use disorders, mental health conditions, and behavioral addictions into a single, accessible interface.
Based in New York City, Pelago delivers services for individuals struggling with substance use—such as alcohol and prescription pain medications—as well as mental‑health challenges including stress and anxiety. The platform also addresses behavioral addictions, notably problem gambling and excessive gaming, and serves both employers and insurers seeking coordinated coverage.
The new platform enables patients to coordinate their care across substance use, mental health, and behavioral addiction domains under a single membership record and encompassing contract. This integration supports targeted treatment of co‑occurring disorders; clinical data indicate that roughly 50 % of Pelago’s clients face concurrent depression and anxiety diagnoses.
Upon enrollment, each individual is greeted by Sona, Pelago’s proprietary AI‑driven intake system that conducts an initial clinical assessment and pathways analysis to determine the appropriate therapeutic level. Ongoing management continues with the patient, leveraging continuous monitoring and clinician oversight throughout the course of treatment.
“Sona represents a conversational interface engineered to perform precise clinical evaluations and align patients with the optimal treatment tier,” explained Sherwani during an interview. “When a person exhibits minimal symptom severity, they receive sustained access to Sona, enabling self‑guided engagement with evidence‑based cognitive‑behavioral therapy modules. Should a visitor meet established diagnostic thresholds using standard instruments such as the PHQ‑9 and GAD‑7, they may request direct clinician consultation, integrating both human expertise and algorithmic recommendations within the Sona framework.”
The introduction of Sona earlier this summer has generated measurable benefits; longitudinal analyses involving over 9,000 member interactions showed a 20 % to 25 % reduction in poor mental‑health days per month among users.
Timing this launch aligns with expanding behavioral‑health spending, prompting stakeholders to evaluate cost efficiency. Sherwani described the platform’s approach as a way to route mild‑acuity cases to automated support while reserving specialists for complex, high‑need situations—potentially curbing overall healthcare burdens without sacrificing service quality.
Looking ahead, the company strives to maintain and enhance accessible behavioral‑health resources while delivering outcomes that are financially sustainable—paralleling recent successes in substance‑use care. “We aim to make mental‑health delivery both broadly available and cost‑effective,” added Sherwani.
Picture: Benjavisa, Getty Images
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