Feb 23, 2022

Download Afsana Akhter, President and CEO of Amelia Virtual Care (Photo: Business Wire) February 23, 2022 11:34 AM Eastern Standard Time MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Psious (Psico Smart Apps SL), a leading virtual reality (VR) platform for mental health professionals, today announced it has changed its name to Amelia Virtual Care and hired digital health veteran Afsana Akhter as President and Chief Executive Officer. The new brand – a nod to aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart – aligns with the company’s mission, vision, and growth as it brings to market evidence-based technologies to help clinicians deliver mental health services and as it solidifies its position as the world leader in VR for healthcare. Akhter is a highly strategic, cross-functional leader with more than 20 years of leadership experience and repeated success in growing digital health companies, including Livongo Health, Kiio, Prealize Health, and Medullan. Akhter will spearhead Amelia’s expansion as it helps meet the unprecedented demand for mental health services in the U.S. and globally. “Amelia Virtual Care is at an exciting inflection point in our history,” said Xavier Palomer, founder and executive chairman for Amelia Virtual Care. “Covid-19 tore down stigmas around mental health, healthcare providers sought new ways to deliver engaging patient experiences in a remote environment, and VR technology became more mainstream and affordable. This combination of factors created the perfect storm to advance the application of VR in healthcare, and in 2021, Amelia Virtual Care more than doubled its footprint. We are poised for even greater growth in 2022, and I’m confident Afsana is the leader who can take us there. Her background, commercial vision, and belief in our mission will drive us forward in serving the mental health industry and enabling better patient care. At the same time, we’re excited to reveal our new name, which better captures our innovative spirit, reflects our company’s roots , and connects us with mental health providers and the patients who entrust them with their care.” In her two-plus decades in the digital health and tech industries, Akhter has led sales, product, client success, and marketing teams; successfully executed on go-to-market strategies; and scaled companies across both B2B and B2B2C models. Amelia Virtual Care will benefit from her experience in direct and channel sales to providers, payers, and employers as well as her track record of building and leading cross-functional teams. “I am thrilled to join this amazing team in support of an incredible mission,” said Akhter. “This is a pivotal time in digital health and in mental health, specifically. The pandemic has accelerated technology adoption by both clinicians and consumers. At the same time, the demand for mental health services has grown exponentially. Patients are seeking better experiences and greater access to mental health support while clinicians need tools to help them deliver high-quality care, in-person and remotely. The benefits of virtual reality in mental health are proven through 30 years of scientific research, and adoption of VR is on a fast upward trend. With a proven solution at the intersection of mental health and the metaverse, Amelia Virtual Care is poised for tremendous growth and impact in the coming years.” Amelia Virtual Care’s VR platform is the most comprehensive in the market with more than 140 VR environments in multiple languages that can be used by clinicians to help them treat a variety of conditions, including phobias and social anxiety. Today, more than 2,000 mental health professionals use the platform worldwide and have conducted over 150,000 VR sessions. Akhter holds her Bachelor’s and Master in Engineering degrees from MIT and serves as the Chair of the Healthcare and Life Sciences Forum for the MIT Club of Northern California. She is based in Mountain View, California. Amelia Virtual Care is mainly backed by Barcelona-based Asabys Partners, Caixa Capital Risc, CDTI, and Banc Sabadell. About Amelia Virtual Care Amelia Virtual Care provides evidence-based virtual reality tools for mental health professionals to use in their practice. The company’s VR platform is used by over 2,000 therapists across the globe to enhance patient therapy for both in-person and remote environments. www.ameliavirtualcare.com Contacts