TRIPP Acquires PsyAssist to Expand Offering For Patients Enrolled in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

Los Angeles, CA (August 23rd, 2021) TRIPP, the fastest-growing digital psychedelic platform, today acquired PsyAssist to commercialize a first-of-its-kind offering that supports the psychological healing journey of patients in psychedelic-assisted therapies. PsyAssist’s founders, Sunny Strasburg, LMFT, and David Starfire, will join the TRIPP team to oversee the integration and go-to-market of the new mental health-focused solution called TRIPP PsyAssist. Sunny Strasburg will be the TRIPP PsyAssist Director of Clinical Operations, and David Starfire will expand his current role as Head of Music and Sound to Creative Director.  

Combining TRIPP’s cross-platform offering with PsyAssist’s protocols for psychedelic medicine, TRIPP PsyAssist will support psychiatric clinics and researchers working with the Schedule III drug, ketamine, and ongoing research with MDMA and psilocybin medicines on how to leverage TRIPP to reduce patient anxiety before, during, or after treatment. The company has designed a beta program and will scale deployment under the guidance of advisors such as Dr. Joseph Peter Barsuglia, Ph.D., and Dr. Geeta Arora, MD, on the research validation and commercialization of each protocol.

In recent years, psychedelics have moved from being categorized as illegal, Schedule I substances to groundbreaking treatments for mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Yet, even with ongoing clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapies and the clinical availability of ketamine to address mental health issues, patients need support with onboarding, pre-session anxiety reduction, and post-session integration, whether in-clinic or at home. 

Clinics are increasingly turning to the TRIPP platform, which immerses users into alternate realities, to support the emotional and mental well-being of patients before, during, and after ketamine-assisted therapy. With the release of TRIPP PsyAssist, therapists will have access to clear, step-by-step guidelines on how to leverage TRIPP so that clients undergoing psychedelic-assisted treatment can better integrate and contextualize the enduring effects of these consciousness-altering experiences.  

“Altered states of consciousness are often disorienting, overwhelming, and challenging to navigate and integrate. TRIPP is essentially aiding trained experts when patients are not able to properly contextualize and absorb the psychedelic experience so they can get the most out of their treatment,” said Nanea Reeves, CEO, and Founder of TRIPP.

Following collaboration with researchers to validate protocols for each use case in these pilots, TRIPP plans to execute strategic content development and distribution with subject matter experts. “With the musical genius of David Starfire and psychedelic expertise of Sunny Strasburg, TRIPP is positioned to offer an aesthetically gorgeous, clinically grounded, and scientifically validated adjunctive modality which can serve as an essential dovetail for the psychedelic-assisted therapy experience,” said Dr. Barsuglia.  

In the future, the company plans to expand TRIPP PsyAssist’s research-based protocols beyond psychedelic therapy to support mental health more broadly. Mental health and well-being clinics interested in joining the waitlist for TRIPP PsyAssist can visit: tripp.com/psyassist

About TRIPP:

TRIPP is the leading digital psychedelic company developing transformative experiences that improve mental and emotional wellbeing. TRIPP’s leadership team is helmed by CEO Nanea Reeves, who has extensive video game and software development experience with several successful exits and includes Chief Business Officer Mani Srinivasan, who has driven substantial growth and revenue generation across platforms to date in key roles at Qualcomm, Comcast, and Disney, CTO Jason Asbahr who specializes in XR platform and video game development and VP of Product, Felipe Lara who joins TRIPP from AppliedVR and has previously held creative/product positions at Disney and Six Degrees Games. TRIPP is headquartered in Los Angeles while operating with a fully distributed remote team.

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