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Episode Description
What if the future of therapy wasn’t about replacing humans—but strengthening the connection between them?
In this episode of Neural Compass, host Mark Jacobstein (co-founder and president of Jimini Health) speaks with Dr. Amber Childs, a psychologist and professor of psychiatry at Yale, about how measurement-based care can deepen trust, improve outcomes, and make therapy work better for everyone -- especially youth, caregivers, and communities of color.
Dr. Childs shares the origin story behind a tool she created to support clinicians using data-driven practices -- and how that idea evolved into a patient-powered, equity-focused solution. With clarity, warmth, and the mindset of a true builder, she challenges assumptions about what makes care effective and who should be driving it.
This episode touches on:
- Why standardized measurement can strengthen the therapeutic alliance
- What most clinicians get wrong about implementing measurement-based care
- How AI can support -- but never replace -- the clinician-patient relationship
- The role of caregivers in adolescent treatment
- A candid look at innovating from inside the system (on a “flip-flop budget”)
About Our Guest
Dr. Amber Childs is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychiatry at Yale University. Her work focuses on youth mental health, digital innovation, and care transformation. She’s a national voice in the movement for measurement-based care and co-founder of GROW, a data-driven initiative to reduce racism in clinical training. Learn more.
About Our Host
Mark Jacobstein is the co-founder and president of Jimini Health. A longtime entrepreneur at the intersection of AI and health tech, he now leads Jimini’s mission to transform mental and behavioral health through clinically grounded, AI-powered care.
