Mind Meets Machine is a video podcast by Avik where mental health, AI, and business collide in the most human way. Real conversations with founders, therapists, doctors, and creators. Practical tools, clear insights, and zero fluff. Learn to think clearer, work smarter, and live better in a tech-driven world.
There’s a quiet tension most of us learn to live with: the sense that something needs attention, but we keep pushing it to “later” until later becomes a crisis. We want support, yet reaching out feels heavy, confusing, or simply impossible in the middle of real life. So we ask a sharper question: what if the distance between recognising we need help and actually getting it could shrink?
I’m joined by Jay Agarwal of Thrive360AI to talk about the “167-hour gap” between therapy sessions and why mental health care often fails in the days between appointments. We get specific about what responsible AI in mental health can do, what it must never claim to do, and why human-in-the-loop design and clinical guardrails matter when stakes are this high. Jay shares how research-backed data, protocols, and boundaries can turn technology from a risky shortcut into a safer support layer for clinicians and clients.
We also dig into why people struggle to access care beyond cost and logistics: stigma, fear of being judged, and the very real shortage of practitioners. From there we move into the practical side, including building “muscle memory” with daily practice, using tools like breathing exercises to calm the nervous system, noticing early signals in posture, voice, routines, and social connection, and staying steady when progress zigzags and relapse happens.
If you’ve ever thought, “I know what to do, I just can’t keep doing it,” this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs quieter support between sessions, and leave a review with the biggest barrier you want mental health care to remove.
📌 Disclaimer This episode is for educational and informational purposes only. Guest views are personal and do not represent the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify or endorse guest statements. Nothing here is medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional. Engage critically. Third-party content referenced under fair use. Guests are responsible for their own statements. Concerns? Contact us | Full disclaimer.
The listeners, you know, like there is a quiet tension. Yes, you heard that correct. There is a quiet tension that lives in most of us. We carry it around sometime for years and years. We know something needs attention, something beneath the surface, but we call, I mean, we actually tell them or tell ourselves that we will deal with it later. Know later when things calm down, later when we have more time, later when it becomes a crisis. And then we wonder why reaching out feels so hard, why health feels so far away. Then the question comes is what if the distance between recognizing we need support and actually receiving it could shrink? What if care could meet us where we are in our daily lives or daily rhythms before the crisis arrives? Good to think about, right, dear listeners.
So, dear listeners, I'm your host, Avik, and you're listening to Mind Meets Machine. This is where we explore how technology and the human mind can work together, not against each other, where we slow down enough to ask the questions that actually matters the most. And today we have a very, very lovely guest. Please welcome Chaya Kraval. So welcome to the show. Thank you very much for inviting me to the show. I'm glad to be here. Amazing, amazing. Thank you so much, Jay, for being here. And before we get into the discussion, Jay, like if you can just help us like about you, about what you are doing right now in a specific project or the app. So it will be really helpful.
thank you for asking. It's a great question. My journey with mental health began three years ago when I was going through my own experiences around mental health, my own journey. I had got great advice from the counselors, the service, the therapists that I was seeing personally. But what happened is between that particular one-on-one conversation to the next conversation, I didn't find any support, right? So my my advice, my advisors, my counselors gave me great input when I was in front of them, but I didn't really find anybody anything that was going to be helping me in that 167-hour gap that I found between week to week. Right. And that led me to think about if I'm mean, I am probably not the only guy that is only that is seeing this issue. So let me reach out to counselors, experts, researchers in this industry that are much more knowledgeable than I am to be able to understand the problem set. What kind of help can then be given to them? And with the use of technology, because I'm a technology guy, can I be able to help the technicians, the clinical staff, the therapists, the psychologists, the counselors that are seeing and doing great work and they're so passionate about helping people, you know, achieve their goals. And that's how I came into the being of mental health and in the in the industry of mental health. And uh we put together a platform that we have proven both clinically and and and uh in outcome-based, that we are able to now help clients and clinicians achieve their goals jointly.
SPEAKER_00
That's really amazing. I have to say Jay. And dear, listeners, like I mean, I'll just say be with us because as I mentioned, like we we do not talk about to separate technology and human being. It is something which we try to work together, right? So we'll have a very great, great conversation, and I believe you'll definitely enjoy it. So be with us. So Jay, like uh when people hear about AI in the mental health also, then often there's often a kind of immediate reaction and sometimes skepticism also, sometimes worry. So, what do you think is the biggest misconception here that maybe you have also encountered about using technology to support the emotional well-being? So, anything?
yeah. So a lot of misconception and a lot of lot of thoughts around it, very appropriate from a therapist's perspective, from a clinician's perspective, right? As we know, AI as we as it's currently stands, is not adaptable to be able to replace a therapist, right? So folks who think that AI is going to replace the therapist at this point in time, um, you know, that's not a good advice, right? Yeah. I think that's number one. Number two is AI is not perfect. And I think it should be recognized as such, right? And so there needs to be a lot of guardrails and discipline around the use of AI when you're trying to use AI. And I don't know about in other countries, but at least in the US, we have had some situations where the usage of Chat GPT or, you know, Cloud or other AI tools have actually led to serious personal harm to individuals that are seeking to get some help from these AI tools, right? So I think it should be, you know, whoever is using AI and help and trying to build, you know, platforms, especially mental health platforms around AI, need to recognize that and address them very, very significantly. Right. The third aspect is AI is a great tool, and there's a lot of great usage of AI to help the clinicians in their daily jobs, to help the individuals, and and that's how we use it. So we actually, in our organization, Thrive360 AI, and on a platform called Quora, we actually use AI in a very responsible way, right? And we are not a chatbot, we don't want to be a chatbot, we don't we want to provide the human in the loop, if you will, to be making sure that the AI is, has the boundaries, has the guidelines, has the right protocols associated with it, when both the clinicians and the the the patient is using our platform.
SPEAKER_00
That's interesting. Yeah, definitely. So when someone says that to you, that technology cannot possibly understand like what they are going through. So how do you respond basically on this?
I think, but it can help the patient, right? If you can provide the right set of data, right, to the platform, to the tool. And I'll give you the example where we actually have, you know, 10, 20, 30, 40 years of research data on our platform, and that really formed the foundation of our platform from large universities across the US, right? That is meaningful information that technology can use, AI can use to actually help its, you know, whether it is the technicians or whether it is a clinician or the social worker or the patient or the client that is using AI, right? So it, but it needs a foundational element of the different use cases, the different modalities of treatment, and the historical information as to how certain ground rules should occur and should behave in that scenario, right? So if you are an individual using, if you're an individual essentially that is suffering from anxiety or depression or PTSD or trauma, right, you know, if you have the underlying data that can help you get to that answers, that is how AI and technology should be used, right? If you don't have that underlying framework of understanding as to what scenarios could work in different aspects, then you know you're gonna get garbage in, garbage out, right? Exactly.
SPEAKER_00
And totally, totally uh correct. Like, and I think like what strikes me also is this the idea that we are not asking technology to replace the understanding, but we are asking it to create the pathways for the understanding. So obviously that is that is absolutely you're right.
SPEAKER_01
Miss I think the pathways, you know, technology can help individuals if it is built, if it is foundationally correct, right? And clinically driven. Exactly.
SPEAKER_00
So when you look at like why people struggle to access the mental health support, what do you see as the deeper pattern,
like beyond the logistics and costs and everything? What is really keeping people from the care they actually need? Because one thing I feel like we do not open up, we feel shy. Oh, I'll I'll tell about my mental health. Okay, fine. What people will think about me. But but uh apart from all of this, like what is the exact thing? Just stop.
SPEAKER_01
So I can speak about US, and I also have some data across the globe, right? So if you look at US, people who are seeking mental health support, right, are increasing by 15% year over year. You know, that's pretty astronomical, right? So one in three individuals, one in four individuals essentially are actually, you know, looking for help in terms of mental health, right? Yeah. So that's number one. Number two is there is still a stigmatism associated with expressing yourself and seeking out the help that you need publicly, right? I think that's number two, as you pointed out. Number three is there's not enough practitioners out there in the field, right, that can help these individuals, right? So if you take if you take a you know, US as an example, and then if you kind of scale it up from a global perspective, let's say the US population is 350 million dollars or 15 million, you know, and you say about 25 to 30 percent of that is you know seeking help, that's about you know over 100 plus million individuals. And in US, you only have somewhere in the neighborhood of you know, you know, maximum a million individuals that are professional enough to kind of you know provide guidance and help, right? That you have a huge gap in parity in terms of individuals and experts that can help you, right? And this is where I think technology can help, where technology can help these individuals, you know, both from a clinician's perspective as well as from a from a patient perspective, you know, if you put in the right framework. But I think that is the real issue right now, is there's not enough experts out there in the field, right, along with the dogma that you have around expressing yourselves in different uh scenarios, right? So if you have a PTSD or if you have anxiety, simple as, you know, image issues for women is a big deal, right? Postpartum depression is a big deal, not too many and it's not expressed and not recognized by the general audience and and even family members for that matter.
SPEAKER_00
Exactly. So and when someone finally does cross that threshold, like what do you think has shifted for them identity? So yeah.
SPEAKER_01
So I think there are two elements, right? So if you look, it is a generational aspect, right? So first of all, the older generation is less likely to cross that threshold, right? That's number one. The younger generation, the Gen Zs and Alpha and also you know, all those individuals
are much more expressive and they seek out help much better and much faster, right? So that's the element that we see in in our research. But if if an individual does cross that threshold that you talked about, I think it's it it's it's uh it's their ability to recognize the issue in the first place, right? That they do have this particular scenario that they want to seek out help, right? And then finding the right help is another challenge for those individuals to say, okay, it's it's who is the right person for my particular situation that I am in and my mental health, right? And so it's like doing your own analysis, and that is where I think some of the tools can also be applied, where they can say, okay, I really have an issue with anxiety or depression or or or X, Y, and Z, let me find the right individual. And then having the dialogue with those individuals to see, it's like finding a doctor, right? If you have a tummy ache, you know, you can go to your general practitioner, right? And he or she will be able to help you in that scenario. But if you see, if you feel that there's something bigger than that and more serious than that, you need to find the right specialist for that particular situation. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00
I mean, exactly. It's very interesting like how much of this comes back to the permission. Like we wait for the circumstances to give us permission to need help. So yeah, maybe the technology's real role is just lowering that barrier.
SPEAKER_01
Correct. Correct. And accessibility, I think, is another thing where technology can really help understand what you're going through and who may be the right individual in the market or in the in the in the in the surrounding communities that you actually live in, right? Uh there's a lot of great help that is available. It's just finding that help. And that's where I think technology can certainly help. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00
Exactly. Hmm. So, okay. If we talk about our daily life, right, how does this actually show up in someone's life? Like, what does accessible continuous support look like when it's woven into the fabric of regular week? Great question.
SPEAKER_01
So the way it actually should show up, right? Okay. Yeah. It's like, and and mental health is all about creating muscle memory. So you take the guidance that your therapist has given you, and if you practice in between the 167 hours that I talk about, right, you have to create that muscle memory, right? So let's say, for example, your therapist has given you some breathing tools, right, for you to practice in a case of anxiety. And now you are practicing it on a daily basis so that you know exactly how to deal with that particular scenario. Um, and and let's imagine a scenario where you are about to go in front of 2,000 people and talk about whatever it is that you want to talk about, it's not a matter of subject matter expertise because you are the expert in the subject matter that you are about to go and talk. It's about having the confidence to go and speak in in front of 2,000 people, right? That's where the anxiety comes in. That's where you know the stress comes in. And if you have gotten the tools from your
therapist, and if you have been practicing in that 167 hours, you will create that muscle memory, and then you will be able to be able to go in front of that 2,000 people and have a talk, right? And what we have been able to do is we have been able to develop a tool, a platform where a client or a patient can take the advice and guidance that the therapist has given them and all the homework, all the worksheets, all the exercises that they have given, and basically use a mobile app to be able to practice, if you will, in that 167 hours. So if and when that situation does occur, they can be ready and they can be armed with the tools that they have at their fingertips.
SPEAKER_00
And also, like so if someone who is listening is curious but at the same time hesitant about integrating this kind of support into their life, where would you suggest they start? Like, what's the kind of practical step first?
SPEAKER_01
I think if you are an an if you are a a therapist, right, I'll start from the therapist and kind of you know get into an individual state. If you are a therapist, I think it's important for you to recognize the the diagnosis and the treatment that you're providing to your clients, right? And and provide them the right tools, right? Whether it is the worksheets, the exercises, and they can certainly, you know, contact me if they if they want to. I'm happy to share a platform with them in that case. But if you are an individual who is going through your their own mental health journey, they can ask the therapist about what tools and and and techniques that are out there in the marketplace that can help them have these practice sessions in between the 167 hours, right? It could be as simple as you know getting a YouTube link for breathing exercise, right? You know, not too many people actually know how to breathe properly, right? And breathing is a great exercise for you to calm your nervous system down, right? And be able to recognize that okay, now you are at a state where you need to have some sort of a breathing technique to kind of bring everything, you know, one or two or three levels down.
as they begin, what should they be paying attention to in themselves? Like how do they know if it's actually serving them?
SPEAKER_01
So there's a couple of ways for an individual to kind of recognize as a beginner, right? As a as a beginner, you know, and I go back to my own personal experiences. If I was smart enough and if I knew what I know today, I would have seen that my breathing has changed, my body posture has changed, my my voice has changed based on if I was going through a certain, you know, situation. Um those are one of the first techniques or first signs that you are about to get into an anxiety or depression. If my style, if my daily routine changes from what it used to be on a regular basis, it actually is a great indicator, right? If your walking patterns change, for example, right, especially in older generation, whenever somebody is, and this is you know published data, is that if your walking patterns change, if your length of your stride changes, that is a a direct signature of you going through some kind of a cognitive um disability. And uh that is something that you should pay attention as an older generation. As a younger person, if you distance yourself from your immediate family or your friends, that is again a sign uh that you should recognize that say, hey, so there's something going on that I should pay attention to.
SPEAKER_00
Correct. So and also like uh because I I believe it reminds me that the technology is only as good as our willingness to stay awake to our uh experience, own experience. And the tool doesn't do the work for us, so it creates space for us to work. So and as change is really linear, like someone might start strong, then life gets chaotic, old patterns can come come back. So, I mean, how do you think about sustaining this kind of support over time, especially through these setbacks? I think that's a fantastic question.
SPEAKER_01
I think change is not linear at all, right? Yeah. And yes, you're gonna have a relapse, and it's okay to have that, right? I think you should, as an individual who's going through that themselves, you should recognize that and you should not beat up on yourself to say, why did I go back to my old patterns, right? Because, you know, of uh distance from point A
to point B is never a straight line, right? You know, it is always a zigzag line, if you will. And so, yes, you will go through, but if you continue to practice what your counselor has given you or your therapist has has guided you to day over day, week over week, month over month, you will be able to shorten that cycle of of having that zigzag, right? And you'll ultimately, you know, go from you know point A to point B to point C and so on and so forth, right?
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01
I think it's never a straight line. I would I would agree with you. I can tell you from my own personal experiences that it's never a straight line.
SPEAKER_00
Exactly. And when someone does fall off, what do you have to say for that?
SPEAKER_01
You know, I I think it's it's okay. I personally think it's okay to, you know, my my My therapist, you know, colleagues, you know, may disagree with me, but I think it's okay. And you should recognize it as a therapist that, you know, person A has fallen off, all right. And the the the art of success is about how do you bring them back into the routine that will actually help them, you know, get better, right? That outcome, you know, the desired outcome that you have chosen for that, right? And I think that's that's very, very important to recognize that. And again, it goes back to the previous comment about, you know, any success, any outcome is, you know, if you can micro, if you slice it down into meaningful chunks and bite-sized chunks, I think it'll be much more helpful versus having this big you know goal for your clients to say, I want you to be getter, I want you to get better in you know, four weeks or eight weeks or ten weeks. I think don't think that's a good idea. I think you should always say, let's get to you know, first step and a second step and a third step and so forth.
SPEAKER_00
So I think so. So today people who are listening, or maybe they'll be listening later as well. So if you have to give one advice to them, what that will be.
SPEAKER_01
I think for the for the individuals going through their own mental health journey, the advice that I would give is recognize recognize that you have a need to help yourself, right? And it's okay to express yourself that you have that need. Ask your friends, your family, your colleagues, your community, and seek out for those individuals that may be able to help you. And and I think that's number one. That's the that's the first sign of getting better, is to recognize that you actually need help, right? That's that's that's the advice I would give from that perspective.
SPEAKER_00
That's really lovely. And if listeners want to connect with you, how can they connect?
SPEAKER_01
You know, I'm always available. Again, my name is Jay Agriwal. You know, my company is called Thrive360AI. Our uh website address is coraconnect.ai, and uh my email address is j at coraconnect.ai. So you can always connect with me. I'm available on Instagram, I'm available on Facebook, and I'm available 24 myself.
SPEAKER_00
It's amazing. So, dear listeners, what I'll do is I'll put all the links, details, everything into the show notes for your easy reference. And you know, like I have to say that the distance, the distance between needing help and receiving it doesn't have to be kind of measured in months, years, or the kind of milestones. Sometimes
I think I think it's it's recognizing that, hey, look, you know, this is the issue. You know, I used to sit I mean three years before three years ago, I had a very, very successful career in financial services. I was the CIO, CTO at you know Fortune 50 companies. It was a high stress, high expectation, you know, roles. And I used to sit in the parking lot many times and just recognize that, hey, I'm going through this situation. And um, you know, initially I didn't have the guts to express myself, but then I, to your point, I met myself where I needed to be, right? And and then started asking for help. And uh I was very fortunate that I I got the right kind of help, you know, and I think that's one of the issues, especially in the US. And I'm sure in in in countries like India and others, it's a huge uh burden that people carry, especially in India. I mean, it's a bit off the air, right? Yes. We actually um are talking to the Birla group, for example. They have a foundation that focuses on mental health. And uh one of the challenges is is for folks to actually recognize that they have an issue and in their family recognizing that this individual is you know has an issue, and it's okay to have that issue. You know, it's that old Indian mentality that he's just you know making up stuff, right? And and that's not good for the community, that's not good for anybody, especially in the younger generations now. I mean mental health is such a huge prevalent issue that I think we need to solve this. And I'm glad that there's recognition beginning to happen in India, right? You know, some of the celebrities, especially some of the cooketters, are, you know, and and uh athletes and so
forth are actually expressing themselves where they actually are talking about mental health and have foundations and such to help individuals bear. But I think it's still very nascent in that state, you know, in in in uh popularity to you. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, yeah. So so uh Darisman is like what I'll do is I'll put all these links, everything into the show notes as I mentioned, and I'll just say, like, first of all, thank you so much for everyone for being here. And I hope like what stays with you is not the perfect answer or solution, but maybe it's a kind of question, like the questions which we started with today, and a small opening. And at the same time, what if the support didn't have to wait until uh things break? And what if it could be it could be there quietly as you move through your days? That possibility, that shift in how we think about care. That's what we carry forward, I would say. So, with this, this is your host away, and this is Mind Meets Machine. I'll just say stay healthy, stay happy, and until next time, be kind to yourself and to your mind.
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