Shawn Ryan’s mind had taken him to some dark places.
He’s buried close friends who died by suicide, and he even tried taking his own life. If there’s an opportunity to help veterans not go down the same destructive path, Ryan wants to be at the forefront.
That’s why the Navy SEAL veteran and popular podcast earlier this month joined the board of directors for INVI MindHealth, a mental health technology company that helps veterans receive earlier awareness, objective measurement, and human-focused, real-time behavioral health support.
“This is personal for me,” Ryan told Military.com. “I know what it looks like when someone is suffering but still showing up, still saying they’re fine, still trying to carry it alone.
“A lot of veterans and first responders are trained to push through pain. That mindset can keep you alive in one environment, but it can also keep you silent when you’re back home and struggling. By the time someone finally says, ‘I need help,’ they may have been fighting that battle for months or years.”
Ryan’s involvement with INVI came after the company was named as a performer team in ARPA-H’s EVIDENT initiative in April, gaining a $139 million federal grant to support research in neuromodulation and psychedelic therapies. INVI’s platform, similar to a Fitbit or Apple Watch, charts changes in mental health with specific biomarkers that can aid in determining the type of treatment needed.
INVI’s platform does not offer clinical diagnoses and should not be used to replace care. Rather, it provides a framework for care teams to use to develop treatment options.
Navy SEAL-Run Company
Ryan, a former CIA contractor, CEO of Vigilance Elite, and host of the long-form interview series The Shawn Ryan Show, lends a prominent voice to INVI’s growing business platform.
INVI MindHealth was created by another ex-Navy SEAL, Jonathan “Johnny” Wilson, who discussed his own mental health struggles with Military.com earlier this year. Wilson designed technology that tracks behavioral health over time and is easy to access.
The company said in a statement that Ryan understands the culture of silence, isolation and delayed help-seeking “that puts too many people at risk.”
While improving veterans’ mental health and lowering the national suicide rate seems like a Herculean task, Ryan said he will continue fighting to stem the tide.
“This is about keeping people alive and giving them a better chance to get help in time,” Ryan said.
What attracted Ryan to the INVI platform is that its goal is to not just collect data, but to also use signals to help people in crisis and alert family members and friends if their mental health slides off kilter.
‘Gap’ Faced by Veterans
Ryan’s role on the board of directors will be to keep INVI focused on its goal of improving mental health, making sure the product is delivered to veterans and first responders in an honest, useful way.
“I’m not coming into this as a clinician or a scientist,” he said. “I’m coming into this as someone who has lived it, who has talked to a lot of veterans, operators, first responders and families, and who understands how hard it can be for that community to ask for help.
“There is a gap between the tools that exist and the way this community actually lives, works, communicates and suffers. If this is going to work, it has to lead to action—not just awareness.”
With the federal government paving the way for additional alternative therapy funding, Ryan believes it will lead to more evidence-based approaches to behavioral health treatment.
“Lots of veterans have already tried the standard options, and they’re still struggling,” he said. “Some are dealing with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, depression, addiction, suicidal thoughts, or all of it at once.
“We have a responsibility to look honestly at every tool that might help. That means collecting the data, understanding the risks and figuring out what works, for who and when. More federal support can open doors to better science, better access, better safety standards and better care.”
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