Originally aired on WoodTV8 · September 29, 2026
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Async care – starting with an online dynamic questionnaire and then separate review and diagnosis by a psychologist – isn’t a shortcut — it’s engineered rigor to reduce barriers to access. Done right, it can match the accuracy of in-person care while reaching people who’d otherwise go without.
Our Featured Business Professional
Keith Brophy, CEO
Chief Executive Officer, Mentavi Health
Keith Brophy leads Mentavi Health’s mission to make evidence-based mental health care accessible, drawing on decades of health care innovation leadership to champion a human-first approach to online care.
Our Featured Medical Professional
Dr. Barry K. Herman, CMO
Chief Medical Officer, Mentavi Health
Dr. Barry K. Herman serves as Chief Medical Officer at Mentavi Health, overseeing clinical services and advancing evidence-based mental health care nationwide as a dual board-certified psychiatrist with more than 30 years of leadership across managed care, pharmaceuticals, and digital health.
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HOST: If getting access to mental health care is getting in the way of you getting the help that you need, there is a solution — you don’t have to live near a specialist or wait months to get help. That’s where Mentavi Health, our mental health expert, comes in.
HOST: Today we are talking with Mentavi’s CEO, Keith Brophy, and Dr. Barry K. Herman, Mentavi’s chief medical officer. Gentlemen, welcome to 8 West.
KEITH BROPHY: Thank you.
HOST: So can you start by just kind of explaining to us, for those that are not familiar with Mentavi, what is it that you guys do?
KEITH BROPHY: Mentavi Health provides online mental health screening, free screening, and diagnosis and treatment paths for mental health. We’re all about removing barriers to access. We make it simple and convenient to get started and proceed.
HOST: Okay, Barry, let’s bring you into the conversation. Let’s tackle this skeptic question head on: if someone has done [an evaluation] online on their own time, can it really be as accurate as sitting across from somebody in an office setting?
DR. BARRY K. HERMAN: Absolutely, yes. Asynchronous simply means that you can complete the questions online, in the comfort of your own home, on your own time, without a clinician interviewing you live or sitting in the room with you. It says nothing about how rigorous and accurate the evaluation is. You could be sitting at home at your own kitchen table or in a clinician’s office, and that really doesn’t determine accuracy. We built our evaluation around validated rating scales and questions that are tied to diagnostic criteria. You complete the questions, and then a licensed psychologist reviews the answers, considers the full picture before determining whether a diagnosis is warranted.
HOST: Can you walk us through what one of these evaluations actually involves?
DR. BARRY K. HERMAN: Sure. The patient works through a detailed set of questions at their own pace. They can stop, they can start, they can take a break, they can come back to complete the evaluation. If they were to complete the evaluation in one sitting, it would probably take them anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes, which is an indication of how thorough the evaluation really is. The questions actually adapt to each answer, meaning that each patient’s journey through our diagnostic evaluation is unique to that patient. And then once they finish, as I said, there’s a real licensed, doctor-level psychologist on the other end who reviews the information, determines whether a diagnosis is warranted, and renders a report, which the patient can then access. This is a thorough evaluation. It’s not just a quiz or a simple survey that spits out a result.
HOST: How do you know that it actually holds up? Is there evidence that this is just as reliable as an in-person evaluation?
DR. BARRY K. HERMAN: Right, as I said, accuracy and validity don’t come from the room you’re sitting in. They come from the rigor of the evaluation and the expertise of the clinician who’s reviewing it. We actually tested our adult ADHD evaluation against real clinical interviews conducted by licensed psychologists who have expertise in diagnosing and treating ADHD. The results were published in a highly regarded medical journal. It’s peer-reviewed — the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry — and published in the fall of 2025. Since that time, we’ve presented the data from the study at major scientific conferences, here in the U.S. and abroad. I’m happy to say that they show that our clinician-reviewed, asynchronous online approach is a valid and accurate way to assess adult ADHD.
HOST: Can you give us a real sense of who this is actually helping?
DR. BARRY K. HERMAN: Sure. I’m thinking of someone who feels like something is just off. Something isn’t right. Something isn’t going right in their life. Their life isn’t turning out the way they hoped it would be. Maybe they feel like they’re not the same person that they have been, and they’re not sure what it is or where to turn. They don’t necessarily have to be in a crisis or spiraling out of control to be able to get help with an evaluation. At the same time, they may be living in a geographically remote location that makes it nearly impossible to access mental health care. They may be on a waiting list that’s weeks or months long, and they may be worried about cost.
HOST: So, being a CEO steering the company — what really convinced you that this was the better way to go, not just the easier way to go?
KEITH BROPHY: We knew that there were barriers to access to mental health care — it’s a well-known problem in mental health. Providing an online, asynchronous journey — what’s called an evidence-based journey — was a natural process progression: take it online, make it simple, make it convenient. Most of all, we wanted to make it rigorous, high-quality, patient-safety centered. With the approach we’ve used at Mentavi, all of those came together wonderfully.
HOST: And then, Barry, if someone isn’t quite ready for a full evaluation, is there something less time-intensive that they could try first?
DR. BARRY K. HERMAN: Absolutely. They can start with Mentavi’s free mental wellness snapshot. We designed this as a screener — it’s 15 minutes in length, and it’s built from validated rating scales. It produces an overall aggregate score, which is a mental wellness check, if you will, from 1 to 10. It looks at challenges and areas like depression, anxiety, loneliness, your everyday functioning, and lots of other different considerations. We made it free for any adults in the U.S., because at a time when so many people are struggling to get mental health care, cost really shouldn’t stand in the way of taking the first step. The results are immediate. As I said, this is not a diagnosis — it’s simply a mental wellness check. It’s a way to take stock and decide whether any further exploration would be helpful.
HOST: Okay, Keith, quick last word here — at the end of the day, what is Mentavi all about?
KEITH BROPHY: We’re all about making access to mental health care easy. Take that first step — you can get a free screening, do it right from the comfort of your home — bringing easy mental health care access to your doorstep.
HOST: Okay, Keith and Barry, thank you so much for stopping by 8 West.
Mentavi Health members are interviewed on WoodTV8’s Ask the Expert segment to share who we are and what we do, bringing our mission of accessible, evidence-based mental health care directly to West Michigan viewers. This segment is part of our ongoing effort to raise awareness that a clinician-reviewed mental health evaluation is available online, on your schedule.
Start with our clinically validated Mentavi Mental Health Diagnostic Evaluation†. 3 payments of $73 ($219 total). No fees. No interest. Self-paced, and reviewed by a licensed psychologist. Results typically within about 5 days; timelines may vary.
