The future of mental wellbeing is with peers, in community.

Kaiya is built by a founder and a team who's been there and gets it.

Our Founder, Maddy Bourgeois had anxiety as a teen and suffered silently, so she's building Kaiya to create a world where no teen feels alone on their mental health journey. Our team comprises esteemed clinicians, industry strategists, leading experts on adolescent development, cultural competence, and more.

Read Kaiya’s Founding Story

The Training & Evidence-Informed Certification of Kaiya Peers

At Kaiya, we've invested in an industry-leading process to train our exceptionally talented peer support workers.

Take a look at the meticulous process our clinical leaders have designed to vet, train and supervise our rockstar team.

Featured

Recruitment

Kaiya's peers are recruited from Top U.S. Undergraduate programs in Psychology, Pre-Medicine, and related fields.

Interview

Candidates are interviewed by our clinical leadership team.

Background-check

Successful candidates are vetted through an official background check.

Training

Peers are trained for 40+ hours by the Kaiya team with a training program informed by California's Peer Support Specialist Competencies.

Ongoing Evaluation

Peer Support Workers are coached by our clinical team, frequent role evaluations, and continued advanced training workshops.

What is the difference between Peer Support & Therapy?

Kaiya Groups are not meant as a replacement for mental health treatment for mental illness. Kaiya Groups are innovative spaces led by trained Peer Support Workers 18+ who teach evidence-based skills & offer emotional support. 💗

  
    Benefits
    Kaiya
    Traditional Therapy
  
    Proximity in age and generational experience
    
    Shared lived experience
    
    Cultural match and cultural diversity
    
    Clinically-informed training and supervision required
    
    Embedded in community support
    
    Affordable group support sessions starting at $19 nationwide

Our Values

Radical Acceptance

When teens come to Kaiya they are accepted exactly as they are, we are a no-judge zone.
Youth Co-Creation

We built Kaiya alongside teens, for teens, and every member of Kaiya has a voice in how we shape the future.
People > Profit

Kaiya is a public benefit corporation to ensure that we can focus on improving human lives above all else.
Reject the Status Quo

At Kaiya, we refuse to accept a world where millions of teens are left behind by the mental healthcare system. We are building new solutions to empower teens with skills, emotional support, and a community that cares.