Mental health services are under strain. Demand is rising fast, and the cracks are starting to show — in primary care, workplaces and schools.
While many digital health players are still finding their footing after the post-COVID hangover, Dr Julian is quietly building something powerful: a Therapist in Your Pocket. We spoke to founder Dr Julian Nesbitt on what he’s been up to this year, what’s next for digital mental health and how the HealthTechX Awards supercharged his exposure.
To join Dr Julian and our other Hall of Famers, and get a 50% discount to our HealthTechX Summit, apply to the 2025 HealthTechX Awards here👈
Tell us about your business in short. Can you share a specific success story or case study that demonstrates the real-world impact of your innovation?
Dr Julian is a digital mental health platform transforming how therapy is accessed, delivered, and scaled. We provide both high-quality clinical services and a licensed technology platform (SaaS) that enables other organisations to deliver care through our infrastructure.
Our platform has provided over 1 million sessions of discreet, rapid-access therapy, for example partnering with NHS Practitioner Health to help preserve the wellbeing of healthcare professionals during the most demanding times.
Tell us about your last 12 months. What have you found most exciting, and most challenging?
The most exciting milestone has been reaching profitability while expanding our SaaS model. We’ve successfully transitioned from being solely a service provider to becoming a trusted digital infrastructure partner for NHS trusts, charities, and third-sector organisations.
The biggest challenge has been navigating NHS funding volatility and structural changes in commissioning. We had to streamline operations, make tough staffing decisions, and rebuild from a leaner foundation — emerging stronger and more focused.
What about the next 12 months? What excites you, and what keeps you up at night?
We’re scaling into new verticals: neurodiversity (ADHD, autism), executive coaching, and international mental health infrastructure. What excites us is enabling culturally sensitive, flexible, and AI-supported care at a global scale — especially in underserved regions.
We’ve also now able to provide personalised resources by location for different population groups, enabling more targeted and accessible mental health support across regions. This is about to be launched in Scotland, where our platform will serve as a national front door for mental health services. The system offers individuals access to personalised dashboards, self-help tools, and tailored signposting — enabling population-level reach while meeting people where they are, even before clinical contact.
What keeps me up at night is the pace of change — balancing innovation with compliance, growth with sustainability, and human touch with automation.
How optimistic are you feeling about your space and its potential to have real impact? What trends are you expecting to see play out this year?
We’re incredibly optimistic. The mental health crisis is global, but so is the appetite for scalable, tech-enabled solutions. We expect that:
What topic or trend has flown under the radar in your opinion? What should we be talking about more?
One under-discussed issue is the outdated infrastructure underpinning mental health delivery. Too often, systems are rigid, fragmented, and built around the needs of providers rather than patients.
We need modernised infrastructure that enables truly personalised, patient-centred care. That means flexible digital tools that adapt to individual needs, faster and smarter clinician matching, self-service booking, multilingual support, and intelligent triage that goes beyond tick-box questionnaires.
It’s not just about more therapy — it’s about better, more tailored therapy, delivered through a system that fits people’s lives. The technology exists. The challenge now is alignment, adoption, and integration.
What impact did HealthTechX and the awards nominations have on your business?
The HealthTechX recognition gave us valuable visibility and credibility at a critical moment. It led to meaningful conversations with investors and commissioners who might not have otherwise been aware of our progress. It also inspired the team and reminded us that even during tough market conditions, our impact is being noticed.
What changes would you like to see to government policy and regulation?
Regulatory complexity has increased — especially around digital therapeutics, Right to Choose, and workforce models. While patient safety is paramount, we need clearer pathways for digital-first providers to be accredited and reimbursed. We’d love to see streamlined CQC approvals for digital platforms and recognition of AI as an augmentation tool rather than a replacement.
What partnerships have been most valuable to you, and what kinds of collaborations are you looking for?
Our NHS partnerships — particularly with forward-thinking ICBs and trusts — have been vital. We’ve also built strong collaborations with corporate wellbeing providers and national charities.
We’re now looking to partner with:
AI and automation are shaping healthcare in new ways — how do you see them impacting your area of expertise?
We’re building an AI-enhanced “therapist in your pocket” that supports clients between sessions — via intelligent homework, triage, and emotion tracking. AI will augment — not replace — human therapists, making care more personalised, continuous, and scalable.
It also helps match patients to the right clinician — improving outcomes and reducing dropouts. We see AI as a force for equity, helping those who wouldn’t otherwise engage with therapy.
What would you say to a new investor looking to invest into HealthTech?
This space is no longer early-stage — it’s critical infrastructure. Mental health demand is surging, and traditional systems can’t cope. Invest in companies with real-world traction, NHS credibility, and a platform that can flex across use cases.
Look for those that blend tech with empathy, clinical rigour with innovation. The winners will be those who can humanise the digital experience.