Mantra is on a mission to provide young adults with accessible, equitable, and quality mental health and wellness solutions. Through partnerships with higher education institutions and health plans, we’re committed to bringing the highest quality mental health care to college and university students across the nation.

We take care so that we can take care of others.

We listen closely to our partners, patients, and providers.

Our core values are the fundamental beliefs that guide our decision-making. They help form the foundation of how we work, and clarify what we hold ourselves accountable to. They underline what matters to us and what we stand for. Mostly, they guide us on how to show up as individuals and as part of the larger Mantra Health team.

Designed by leading experts in young adult mental health, our solutions are built with college and university campuses in mind. We take a clinically-informed, evidence-based approach to care, with the intention of closing mental health equity gaps in the campus community and providing students with diverse, culturally-informed solutions that match their needs and preferences.

Upon founding Mantra Health, Ed was driven by a passion to understand what a better mental healthcare experience could be like for our generation’s young adults. His sister, like many young adults, battled mental health issues as an undergraduate student and eventually dropped out. He witnessed the hardship of finding the appropriate provider and embarking on the right treatment plan and knew there had to be a better way to address these complex, but common issues. 

Every person is on a mental health journey, but far too many young adults are facing barriers to care and struggling to find the right provider and the right treatment at the right time. Ed wants to help expand access to evidence-based care for individuals who are at the most transformational moments of their lives. With Mantra Health, he believes generational change is possible and knows that a brighter future awaits this next generation of leaders, innovators, and change-makers.

Matt knows firsthand the value of campus mental health care. While he was an undergraduate student at the London School of Economics, he nearly lost his brother in a cliff-diving accident. Six months later, he found his way into the counseling center and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stemming from his experience bringing his brother back to life. Matt was fortunate enough to be connected to an incredible therapist who helped him through this challenging time during his undergraduate studies. After gaining a new perspective and learning the tools to cope, Matt became a much more resilient person.


His hope in founding Mantra Health is that all young adults get the same access to quality care, no matter their situation and no matter the barriers. More so than ever, today’s emerging adults face high levels of mental health concerns, yet more so than ever, many are dedicated to improving their mental well-being. In partnering with higher education institutions across the country, Matt believes it’s imperative for all stakeholders to work together to improve the mental well-being of young adults who will one day lead society.

Dr. Shah helped inform Mantra’s initial clinical protocols and played a crucial part in ensuring that the company developed an evidence-based approach to care. He is the Chief Medical Officer at Geode Health, a company supporting mental health professionals, enabling them to increase access and augment outcomes for their patients. He has invested in Legion Health and Two Chairs, where he serves as a clinical advisor. Dr. Shah is a representative of the American Medical Association House of Delegates and a fellow at the American Psychiatric Association. He earned an AB from Princeton University, an MD University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and an MBA from the Wharton School.

Dr. Feldpausch is the head of medical affairs at Mantra. She worked as a staff psychiatrist at MSU’s Olin Health Center until 2012, when she moved to Fort Collins, Colorado. There she helped develop an intensive on-campus multidisciplinary treatment team for high-risk students at Colorado State University, where she served as the lead psychiatrist for this DBT-informed program. She currently is the Western USA/Western Canada representative to the APA affiliated Association for College Psychiatry.

Dr. Sundsmo leads the Mantra clinic and oversees the therapists in providing quality, evidenced-based, and culturally-responsive teletherapy services consistent with partner campus needs. A licensed clinical psychologist by training, she is passionate about taking a public health approach to providing quality mental healthcare in a way that is accessible to all. College student mental health has been her professional home for the last 15+ years. She was previously the Director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Cornell University. She has also led clinical services for UW-Madison, Dickinson College, and Grinnell College.

Dr. Chugani is responsible for leading Mantra’s new clinical content-based initiatives to support college student mental health in a variety of domains. She completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Pittsburgh in the Adolescent Research in Community (ARC) T32 fellowship program. Dr. Chugani is a Linehan Board Certified DBT Clinician, as well as a current board member and conference co-chair of the International Society for the Improvement and Teaching of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (ISITDBT). She earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Mannes College, The New School for Music, her Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from Florida Gulf Coast University, and her Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of South Florida.

Dr. Rockland-Miller offers key guidance on the landscape of the higher education system and its respective mental health climate. Dr. Rockland-Miller currently runs his own behavioral health consulting practice, but was formerly the Director of Counseling and Psychological Health and Executive Director of Wellness at UMass Amherst for over 20 years focusing on working with students in a university setting. He is a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient from the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors’ (AUCCCD) from his contribution to campus mental health “at the highest national levels.”

Our Mission

Our Values

Our Approach

Mantra in the News

Founders

Ed Gaussen

Co-Founder, CEO

Matt Kennedy

Co-Founder, COO

Ravi Shah, MD

Co-Founder

Clinical Leaders

Nora Feldpausch, MD

Medical Director

Alecia Sundsmo, PsyD

Executive Director of Therapy

Carla Chugani, PhD, LPC

VP of Clinical Content and Affairs

Harry S. Rockland-Miller, PhD

Clinical Advisor

Want to join Mantra Health?