Empowering Recovery: Transformative Peer Support in Behavioral Health with Christopher Thompson, founder and CEO of Sober Sidekick

[00:00:06] Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of Expanding Access recorded here at Behavioral Health Tech 2024 in the amazing Arizona Biltmore. I am with Chris Thompson. He is the founder and CEO of Sober Sidekick, and I'm so glad he could be joining us. Chris, thanks for being with us. So glad to be here. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. Absolutely. So what brings you to the conference, Chris?

[00:00:32] Chris Thompson I am someone who is only alive because the right people showed up for me at the right time. And we're working to create a world where connecting with the right person at the right time is no longer up to chance. And that's what we've done here with Sober Sidekick. But I'm here specifically because behavioral health care and substance abuse care is not a line to prevent funerals. It's a line for maximum claims. And we're working to create a world where incentives and

[00:01:02] are truly aligned with long-term member outcomes. And we see so many things going on in healthcare as backwards, as corrupt, as just not aligned with what the people who are struggling every day need. So we just want to be a voice for our members. Over half a million members have joined our platform, be a voice for them. And prove that the most epic real life comeback stories are people who overcame addiction.

[00:01:30] Chris Thompson That's awesome, Chris. I love that. And the opportunity to make an impact is huge. And I think a lot of the founders that we've been talking to here at the conference have their own stories. So why don't you share with us a little bit about yours and your experience? Chris Thompson Yeah, yeah, it's real for me. Thanksgiving Day 2018. I, I woke up on the sidewalk for the fifth day in a row. I was sidewalk homeless. That's where my addiction brought me. I wanted to die. And I was, you know, at a point in life where

[00:02:01] Chris Thompson I tried to stop so many times and I just couldn't. And it took me down into health, really. And regular people, not healthcare professionals showed up for me that day in a way that no one else ever did. And that became day one of my comeback story. Chris Thompson I'm in recovery. And I'm going to be celebrating six years of sobriety very soon.

[00:02:26] Chris Thompson But I'm only alive because certain people were there for me at that right moment. Chris Thompson And I know there's so many untapped comeback stories who are just one connection, one conversation, one moment away from turning their life around. Chris Thompson And also in terms of personal experience, the first two years of building Sober Sidekick, I lived in a halfway house. Chris Thompson More people died in that house than stayed sober.

[00:02:53] Chris Thompson And I've been in the position of giving someone CPR and them not waking up. Chris Thompson This is real for me. This isn't something we talk about from a distance, addiction, suicide, all these different things. Chris Thompson These are things that I have lived, seen, watched, and healthcare just isn't addressing it. Chris Thompson So that's what gets me fired up. That's why I'm here. Chris Thompson Thanks for sharing that, Chris. Glad you're here. Chris Thompson Yeah. Thank you.

[00:03:19] Chris Thompson And so what do you think the biggest gaps are to people receiving that care that can make a difference? Chris Thompson Well, there's gaps and then there's funnels into systems that only make the problem worse. Chris Thompson So there's actually human trafficking laws that have been written specifically for rehabs in the US.

[00:03:45] Chris Thompson And so I've witnessed personally what happens when you have a system that is incentivized by RELAX. Chris Thompson When I went to rehab, my roommate told me he was being paid to be there by the admissions director of the facility.

[00:04:13] Chris Thompson And I began to discover these things are more rampant than anyone would expect. Chris Thompson There's a New York Times article that came out last year about massive fraud, human trafficking by rehabs in Arizona last year. Chris Thompson So this is what happens when you create a system that wins when people relapse and go back into the system. Chris Thompson The same problem we have with the private prison system. Chris Thompson So the first problem is we have the blatantly wrong incentives to actually see these people succeed.

[00:04:44] Chris Thompson And then number two, when people actually need help, it's when they're alone. Chris Thompson No one relapses or commits suicide in a therapy session. Chris Thompson It's while they're alone. Chris Thompson So why we created Sober Sidekick, it's a platform that guarantees peer support in minutes if not seconds from six people from your own community for free every single time. Chris Thompson So this means a single mom going through a tough moment writes a post at 2am.

[00:05:09] Chris Thompson Within minutes if not seconds, it's guaranteed that a real person, one of her peers will reach out with written support. Chris Thompson And we've seen that be the difference between life and death. Chris Thompson We've seen a 50% drop in relapse rates. Chris Thompson And we've seen a 50% drop in relapse rates. Chris Thompson And we've seen a 50% drop in relapse rates. Chris Thompson So it costs us nothing to do. Chris Thompson Meanwhile, we're spending providers or billing insurers 60K for a 30 day stay in treatment. Chris Thompson And people are relapsing 95% of the time they complete.

[00:05:39] Chris Thompson So what prevents funerals is not aligned with what is billable. Chris Thompson And within our company, we honestly don't care what's billable. Chris Thompson And we're forever going to optimize for the success and the comeback stories of our members. Chris Thompson We've now become the fastest growing app in North America, according to Amplitude by daily active users. Chris Thompson Fastest growing digital health app in the world by daily active users, according to Amplitude.

[00:06:08] Chris Thompson And it's because we're willing to meet people where they're at and truly listen to their needs. Chris Thompson And it's because recovery is a lifelong comeback story. Chris Thompson I have friends who had years of recovery, isolated relapse, and are now dead. Chris Thompson This is a lifelong journey. Chris Thompson We don't fix it in a 30 day stint. Chris Thompson And healthcare has to be aligned with that or we're just going to see the problem continue. Chris Thompson Well, you've highlighted some troubling things, both from the rehab centers. Chris Thompson Yeah.

[00:06:37] Chris Thompson Aligned reimbursement structures. Chris Thompson Mm-hmm . And the importance that the journey is a lifelong journey. Yeah. Making it accessible is key. And you guys are doing that. Are these groups that are accessible to users, are they anonymous? How does that work? Yeah. So members are in complete control of their anonymity. So I could join as Chris Thompson or I could join as CT13. And we've seen many members start out anonymous.

[00:07:05] And then as a result of the trust and relationships that they built within the platform, feel comfortable enough to show their face within the platform, show more and more of their life. Yeah. But recovery is just such a stigmatized issue. It's so hard. It's so hard to admit you have a problem to another human. But if you have someone who's like, I've been there and I know exactly what it's like. And someone who's not talking to you from a pedestal, but someone who can just listen,

[00:07:34] that creates a space where people can open up and engage. One analogy I like to make is if everyone felt they needed a physical trainer, licensed physical trainer to go to the gym, no one would go to the gym. We'd be complaining about access to fitness, this and that. And that's very often how we treat mental health and recovery in that you just need to give people that empowerment to engage and help each other.

[00:08:02] What is the power of a gym buddy for your health? What is the power of accountability for your health? What is the power of trust, relationships, empathy in your health? These are all things that get ignored by the health system. But what we've seen have demonstrable outcomes when we focus on them, when we target them and when we scale them. Yeah. Thanks, Chris. It's fascinating to hear the things that you're sharing.

[00:08:27] And what's been one of the most rewarding experiences thus far for you? Yeah. I built this in a halfway house trying to rebuild my own life. This platform went live when I got my 60 day sober coin. And I was only hoping that a few people might use it and find it helpful. I never expected it to grow to this point recently surpassed a half million members.

[00:08:54] And the most rewarding thing is seeing members who join on day one in their recovery journey and months later are giving support to others through the platform 10 times a day, 50 times a day. We have a member and she is not an anomaly, but we have a member who joined Christmas of last year. It was her day one. And since then, she's given support through the platform to 10,000 people. So what this shows is that if you bet on the individual and you empower the individual,

[00:09:25] their comeback story has a butterfly effect at a 10x, at a 100x level, because we don't have enough therapists in this country to solve this problem through therapy. So if we only focus on solving this problem through therapy, all we're doing is expanding the gap between those who have access and those who don't because we have finite resources and that will never, ever meet the demand.

[00:09:51] So we empower regular people to have an impact on their community. One of the cool things within the platform is the members can actually see their butterfly effect in real time. They can see I've supported 10 people who have been sober for a combined 100 days this week. And then those people went out and supported 500 people. That's full. Who've been sober for a combined 1000 days. So if you bet on the person in their comeback story and you empower them and you give them

[00:10:18] a voice, they oftentimes have more power to change the world than anyone at this conference. I love that. That's so cool. I love that you show the impact, not only their own, but the butterfly effect of the impact to create that environment that, I don't know, it's just, it's a, an environment that just encourages further helping other people. Right? Yeah. Yeah. That's so great, Chris. Snowball effect. The what? Snowball effect. The snowball effect. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[00:10:47] You're making a huge difference for the people that couldn't be here that are learning from our podcasts. Yeah. What call to action would you leave them with? And where can they get in touch with you? Share the app with friends. What's the best way for them to do more and learn more? Yeah. The app is free in the app store. Sober sidekick. Search it. There's no subscriptions. There's no premiums. It's all free. Everything we do.

[00:11:15] We never, ever want to have a financial barrier to people getting the help they need, getting supported. You can find me on LinkedIn. There's a contact us on our website, but my challenge, my call to action is people battling addiction, people in recovery, they're not victims. They're one moment away from an epic real life comeback story. And if you're in recovery or you're debating recovery for yourself, I would tell you guilt and shame held me back for years.

[00:11:45] And one of the things I learned through recovery is alcohol, drugs were never my problem. They were my best solution. And I can't stay focused on the guilt and shame that got me to this point, but take ownership, take responsibility. It's just like diabetes. It may not be your fault that you ended up in this position, or maybe it is, who knows? Who honestly gives a fuck how you got here? You have an opportunity today to make today day one of your comeback story. And I believe in you.

[00:12:14] I know 500,000 people who believe in you if you decide to download our app. And there's no one way to recovery. We're all on our own journeys. Life is not linear. And let's just support each other along the way. So that's all I got. I love it, Chris. Thanks for sharing your story. And for everybody out there listening and watching, we're with Chris Thompson. He's the founder and CEO of Sober Sidekick.

[00:12:42] He has shared all the ways you could get in touch. If you're an individual or an organization seeking to help in this effort that's making life better for many, take action. In the show notes, we're going to leave ways to get in touch with him, to download the app. But this could be the first day of recovery for you. And we're excited and we're rooting for you, just as Chris said. And Chris, thank you and your team for what you're doing. Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it. Yeah, appreciate you.