Jewel Is Co-Founder of a New Mental Health Platform in the Metaverse: 'We Cannot Let Happiness Be Elitist'
Jewel is continuing her commitment to making mental health resources available to anyone who needs them.
In her latest endeavor, the singer-songwriter, 48, joins as co-founder of Innerworld, a virtual reality-based wellness center where people can use an anonymous avatar to access free mental health tools in a safe space.
"Innerworld is a scalable solution that's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering real, peer-to-peer support," Jewel tells PEOPLE.
The platform combines evidence-based mental health support with the immersive power of social virtual worlds, offering an alternative to traditional talk therapy. Anyone can attend live mental health support groups in virtual reality on the Meta Quest or via flat screen on Mac, PC, iPad and iPhone. For extra features such as unlimited group sessions, costs start at $8/month.
"If you're acutely triggered, you can log into Innerworld," says Jewel, who is also the company's Chief Strategy Officer. "Everyone has an avatar, and there's a live guide, and there's constant peer-to-peer programming based on established cognitive behavioral methods."
courtesy innerworld
It's the latest way Jewel is helping people in need; 21 years ago she co-founded the Inspiring Children's Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to transforming the lives of at-risk youth in Las Vegas through a holistic approach to physical, emotional and mental health.
"I moved out at 15, and I knew that statistically, kids like me end up repeating the cycle," she previously told PEOPLE. "And I didn't want to be a statistic, but there was really no safety net for someone like me. I didn't have money for therapy or traditional help. I didn't even really have a family system that would support me or could.
"So what we set out to do 21 years ago with Inspiring Children was to see if we could find systems and ways to help people that were like me, that had complex trauma or even just general anxiety, and see if we could make a meaningful difference."
Now she's taking all she's learned and applying it to Innerworld.
"When you log into Innerworld, you go into your own private living room, and then you enter a portal where there's a community center around the fire pit, and there's people from all over the world hanging out in a safe, supported environment."
"You can say to the guide, 'My pet just died. I'm really sad. What do you recommend?' And then they can pull up a visual tool, like the grief cycle, and you can talk about it with the guide, or you can talk to other community members."
courtesy innerworld
Innerworld also features peer-to-peer classes and programming that focuses on different daily topics, from what to do with anxiety to living with chronic illness.
It's also more accessible and convenient than traditional one-on-one talk therapy, which is out of reach for many people due to lack of therapist availability as well as insurance barriers. Innerworld is completely free.
"Accessibility is critical," Jewel says of removing those barriers. "We cannot let happiness be elitist. It cannot be just for the wealthy who can afford a therapist."
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The platform, which became available to the public in 2022, has helped 20,000 people receive mental health support.
"I had the idea for Innerworld after an online gaming community saved my life when I was depressed as an adolescent," says CEO and founder Noah Robinson. "After pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology, I also learned that traditional therapy is inaccessible for all, so I decided to build a peer-based mental health platform in a safe, anonymous and social virtual world."
In August 2022, he met Jewel. "When I met up with Jewel to discuss combining forces to scale peer support in the metaverse, it felt like kismet," he explains. "We're incredibly aligned in our vision for the future of mental healthcare.
"Jewel's capacity for self-reflection led her to develop incredible mental health tools as a result of the trauma she experienced early on in life. Together, we're excited to scale the tools of Cognitive Behavioral Immersion and make mental health support accessible to everyone who needs it."
courtesy innerworld
Jewel is proud to be part of such an impactful project.
"We had a user the other day who hadn't left her home in four years," she says. "She'd been in therapy, and she had gone to the grocery store multiple times since being in Innerworld. Just hearing that this woman used the tool and has now been going out into the world — it's why we do it."
Since Jewel experienced first-hand the depths of depression and homelessness when she was younger, she knows how important it is for people who are struggling to find relief.
"Being a musician is fun," she says. "But helping people want to live is even more fun."
