Kimberly Breuer is co–founder and co–CEO of the venture–backed mental healthcare company Likeminded. She has a degree in psychology and prior to Likeminded, she worked as an independent coach and as a strategy consultant at Oliver Wyman.

How did you get involved with the topic of mental health?

My own mental health Journey began early at the age of 15 when a family crisis gave me the opportunity to participate in coaching for adolescents. This event was life–changing for me and established my desire to share the knowledge I learned that made such a big difference in my own life. Especially because I noticed that no one around me seemed to have ever heard of this “knowledge.”

Why does Likeminded exist?

There is an enormous need for psychological support, which has been further fueled by the pandemic in the last two years. At the same time, mental health is still a taboo subject in society and especially in the work environment. Mental illnesses are often not taken as seriously as, for example, a slipped disc or a knee injury. As a result, employees rarely talk about it at work when they are suffering from psychological distress. Moreover, those who seek psychological support privately are often confronted with long waiting times and high costs. This has not only social but also economic consequences. For example, the number of days lost due to psychological illness reached a new high in 2021.

What do you want to achieve with Likeminded?

As a coach, I set out to give people the same experience and reach as many people as possible. But both in my work with private clients and in various companies, such as startups, corporations, or management consultancies, I realized that the status quo around the topic had changed little and many still had far too little knowledge about their own psyche and how to care for it. As a result, I decided to start my own business to make a lasting change to the status quo and the prevailing stigma. With Likeminded, I did just that with the idea of providing access to mental health support to as many people as possible. My co–founders and I aim to break the stigma around mental health and create awareness that we are likeminded when it comes to emotions and mental well–being.

This page was originally published on July 20, 2022