New Research Reveals Coaching Improves Both Mental Health Symptoms and Emotional Resilience

Modern Health’s peer-reviewed study shows meaningful reductions in depression and anxiety as well as gains in emotional skills following just 2-3 employee coaching sessions.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new peer-reviewed study from Modern Health provides clinically validated evidence that technology-enabled coaching in the workplace improves mental health outcomes for employees quickly and at scale. Published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research (Springer Nature), the study validates coaching as an effective, scalable, and cost-efficient approach to workforce mental health within Modern Health’s unique adaptive care model. Unlike traditional models that default employees straight to therapy, Modern Health’s adaptive care model guides each individual to the right care at the right time and adjusts that support as their needs evolve. This type of approach can improve access, reduce costs, and deliver impact across the entire workforce.

“Employers have long been asked to invest in workforce mental health with the prevailing thought that only high-cost interventions like therapy have been proven to work. This study adds to the body of evidence that proves therapy is just one of multiple options,” said Matt Levin, CEO of Modern Health. “It shows that coaching — when delivered within an adaptive care model — improves mental health outcomes at scale. That’s a breakthrough for employers. It demonstrates that while employees who need clinical care are appropriately connected to therapy, coaching can support a broad range of employees before issues escalate, reduce strain on the clinical system, and deliver measurable impact across the entire workforce.”

The research underscores the dual benefits of coaching: it helps moderate-need employees meaningfully reduce symptoms while giving low-risk employees the preventative support needed to stay well. This combination makes coaching a scalable, cost-efficient lever for employers looking to strengthen workforce well-being and reduce downstream healthcare spending. Because employees with moderate needs often account for the majority of the workforce, early support through coaching can significantly reduce demand for higher-intensity services, prevent crises, and improve overall productivity and engagement.

Coaching’s Clinical Impact and Workforce Support

In as few as two to three sessions with International Coaching Federation-certified coaches, 72% of employees with moderate mental health needs improved or recovered, meeting or exceeding published benchmarks for brief and longer-term therapy interventions. Meanwhile, 96% of lower-risk employees maintained low symptom levels, underscoring coaching’s strength as an early, preventative form of support.

As part of an adaptive care model in which employees with more severe needs are recommended to clinical care, these results demonstrate that coaching effectively reaches and supports the majority of the workforce, including employees who might not seek or need therapy but would benefit from early, preventative support. Unlike many studies focused solely on therapy outcomes, Modern Health’s research is the first among digital health companies to show both clinical and functional improvement from coaching at scale.

Employees with more moderate needs experienced clinically and statistically significant reductions in depression and anxiety, alongside measurable gains in emotional resilience skills like distress tolerance and mindfulness. By strengthening these skills, coaching helps employees navigate daily stressors, reduce burnout risk, and maintain long-term well-being – before symptoms escalate into more costly, high-acuity conditions.

“Our real-world evidence adds to the extensive research that there are many effective options, in addition to therapy, for improving mental health. Coaching can deliver both real improvement in mental health symptoms and meaningful gains in day-to-day functioning at scale,” said Dr. Jessica Watrous, Chief Clinical Officer at Modern Health. “Delivered by trained coaches using evidence-based methods, coaching reduces symptoms while also building emotional resilience skills. Therapy alone isn’t sufficient to address population mental health, and using therapy as a solution for every emotional concern is costly and not necessarily clinically appropriate. This is particularly salient given rising healthcare costs. Adaptive care, where individuals receive the right intervention for their needs, allows clinical resources to focus where they’re needed most, while supporting the broader workforce earlier and more sustainably.”

A Scalable Model For Preventative Support

Traditional mental health benefits often take a one-size-fits-all approach, sending everyone straight to therapy or leaving employees to piece together support on their own. While many mental health benefits offer multiple modalities of support, they’re often delivered as separate, disconnected services, resulting in a fragmented and confusing member experience.

Modern Health takes a different approach. Its adaptive care model is built on the principle that taking care of an entire population means individuals require the right level and type of care -- whether therapy, coaching, or self-guided tools -- that adjusts as their needs change and is delivered in a seamless member experience. Instead of asking employees to navigate a patchwork of disconnected services or defaulting everyone to therapy, Modern Health’s adaptive care model holistically guides members every step of the way through one coordinated care journey.

By ensuring employees receive effective care that is clinically appropriate for their needs and also considers their preferences, organizations achieve both better outcomes across their entire workforce and greater cost efficiency across the system.

Modern Health expands access to coaching as a key care modality through Modern Health Pathways™, a targeted, high-touch 1:1 path designed to accelerate outcomes across specialized areas of need that go beyond mental health symptoms, such as burnout, sleep, and parenting stress. Pathways pairs dedicated 1:1 coaching with an evidence-based structure, self-guided experiences, and topic-specific assessments to measure impact. By offering targeted, preventative care at scale, Pathways helps employees build skills and improve outcomes in life domains that can have meaningful long-term impact for physical and mental health.

To learn more, read the peer-reviewed study here.

About Modern Health

Modern Health is a global leader in adaptive mental health care, dynamically offering multi-modal mental health support that delivers meaningful outcomes at a sustainable, predictable cost. With therapy, psychiatry, coaching, community groups, self-guided tools, and crisis support, we dynamically create individualized care journeys to address a spectrum of mental health needs and preferences with culturally responsive providers in 200+ countries and territories and 80+ languages. Backed by peer-reviewed research and a proprietary blend of technology and live support, Modern Health delivers measurable outcomes, globally equitable access, and sustainable pricing. Our industry-leading Adaptive Care Model and dedicated, human-centered, operationally tuned customer success partners make us a trusted partner for organizations worldwide.

Visit us at http://modernhealth.com to learn how we can help you optimize your people and your business.

Methodology

The study analyzed 266 working adults enrolled in Modern Health’s digital platform who primarily engaged with International Coaching Federation (ICF) certified coaches, with access to therapy and self-guided digital resources as needed. Outcomes were measured at baseline and three months, tracking changes in depression, anxiety, and transdiagnostic emotional processes, including distress tolerance, perceived stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion.