How NuLife Virtual Is Revolutionizing Behavioral Health Treatment With J.D. Meints

How NuLife Virtual Is Revolutionizing Behavioral Health Treatment With JD Meints

[00:00:00] John Cordray: So we're gonna be talking about behavioral health treatment and that's something that I do talk a lot about and there is a, a problem definitely in the US and I think there is a problem globally. It's just the access to good quality, mental health, behavioral health treatment. So this episode I'm really excited about because I want to be talking to the CEO of New Life Virtual, and we're gonna learn, we're gonna learn about the, the mental health tech company and how it's revolutionizing behavioral health treatment.

[00:00:35] John Cordray: But we're also gonna learn a little bit about the, the backstory, if you. Of jd. So coming up, I'm gonna be talking about how new life virtual is revolutionizing behavioral health treatment with JD Mince. Coming right up. 

[00:00:51] John Cordray: Welcome back to The Mental Health Today Show. My name is John Cordray and I am the host of the show, and I'm also a licensed therapist, and I'm so happy [00:01:00] that you are here tuning in wherever you are, whatever you're doing. If it's early in the morning, in the afternoon, or late at night, I'm so, so glad that you're.

[00:01:10] John Cordray: And this is gonna be a great episode. We're gonna be talking about New life virtual and how it's revolutionizing behavioral health treatment. And I wanna just introduce you to the founder and ceo. His name is JD Mince and he's the founder and CEO of New Life Virtual. And it's a digital behavioral health platform and app.

[00:01:32] John Cordray: And JD has been an entrepreneur in tech for more than 20. First it was in the real estate sector and then an eCommerce company. He was a successful businessman, and that success led in part to a lifestyle of drinking and drug use. And for years, he kept it all together. He partied hard, feeding his addiction, then recovering enough to operate his business and keep his family intact.

[00:01:59] John Cordray: [00:02:00] But in 2012, the walls began to crumble around. First he was kicked out of his own business. Then after a particularly hard night, his wife confronted him with an ultimatum, Get sober or get out. Wow. Jd, welcome to the show and I can't wait to learn more about that story. 

[00:02:23] JD Meits: Thanks John, and thanks for having me on.

[00:02:25] JD Meits: Just really been looking forward to, you know, having this conversation with you and sharing our story and the impact we are both having and, and look to have on behavioral health treatment, you know, going forward and, you know, you hit the nail in the head, you know, you know, my, my background was. Third generation entrepreneur.

[00:02:48] JD Meits: And you know, what I came to learn through, through my own journey is that the, you know, the mind of an entrepreneur type personality [00:03:00] has a lot in common with, you know, the addictive mindset. And, you know, I used substances, particularly alcohol and. You know, to calm me down or to quiet my mind. And ironically, cocaine, which you think wouldn't do that and didn't do that.

[00:03:20] JD Meits: It was hard to keep it all together, you know, over the years. But I managed to do it until it, you know, until I couldn't. And as you said, I ended up getting, you know, finding sobriety in March 17th, 2012. So 

[00:03:35] John Cordray: there's a lot to unpack there and like a lot of CEOs and founders of mental health tech companies that I've talked to, a lot of times it comes out of personal experiences and, and that's kind of the passion and the mission and vision of their company.

[00:03:54] John Cordray: And I can tell already that this is what's happened with you. You were very [00:04:00] successful. And that success as an entrepreneur led you to become addicted to partying, basically. And, and then you got addicted to substance abuse and you thought you had it all together and you were doing it for a while, and then it all caught up with you.

[00:04:20] John Cordray: And so I'm really interested, how did you go from, from being a successful entrepreneur to crumbling and hitting rock bottom to now being the founder and CEO of New Life Virtual? 

[00:04:33] JD Meits: Yeah. Wow. You know, I mean, just imagine drinking and drug use and you know, and traveling. And I had a tech company prior to my current tech company and prior to being in the behavioral health business, and so we would do a lot of traveling and do a lot of clients.

[00:04:53] JD Meits: You know, entertainment and you know, that just led itself to be, you know, this, this [00:05:00] lifestyle of, you know, what's the saying? Work hard, play hard. Right? And that was what I lived by. And, you know, I could hold it together and did so for quite some time. You know, often you, you hear the term functioning alcoholic.

[00:05:13] JD Meits: I, I, you know, particularly love that term. I'm not really sure. You know what, what that means. But what really happened was it just didn't work. At some point for me, John, it just, it stopped, It stopped working. I was on my second marriage. I have, I have two daughters. One is 18 now, and, and, and starting uc, Santa Barbara here next month.

[00:05:35] JD Meits: And that's from my former wife and my current wife. I have a daughter as 14 years old and, and started high school this week and. Back in 2012, so that was 10 years ago. They were eight and four. Right. And things weren't working. And as you said, my, my wife was out of town for this one particular weekend and I had both kids at home and it was [00:06:00] March Madness weekend and, you know, and I stocked up on alcohol for the house and thought that I had it all together and I wasn't gonna have to drive.

[00:06:07] JD Meits: And we would just stay at home and I'd keep them entertained and, and watch games. That's what I thought I was doing. And you know, it ended up being, you know, I drank Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and she comes home Sunday night and I wasn't in the right state of mind. And, and that was the last straw. And you know, what she told me is, Listen, you need to make a decision.

[00:06:29] JD Meits: You know, it's, it's your drinking or it's us. And, you know, she kicked me out for the night and I left that night. And I distinctly remember, I went to a hotel, stayed in a hotel, local hotel. Woke up the next morning, went to Starbucks to have coffee, and I, you know, took out a piece of paper and I said, You know, what are my options here?

[00:06:51] JD Meits: I'm doing all right. I can continue living this way. So I thought, and, you know, move the to Malibu and, and live like Charlie Sheen, [00:07:00] or I can crawl back home and do whatever it takes to not lose my second family. So I made that choice. I went back home and I said, I'm willing to do whatever it takes. And for me that meant, you know, she said, You need to go to treatment.

[00:07:19] JD Meits: I said, I can't go to treatment. I can't go to treatment. I can't leave work. You know, I'm not gonna disrupt my entire life. I didn't really know what treatment was all about at that time, but I had been to AA before. I had seen a therapist before, like, you know, 15, 20 years ago. Imagine that something that persisted.

[00:07:37] JD Meits: And so I said, You know what, I will, I will go to Alcoholics Anonymous, how about that? And she goes, Well, then you're gonna have to go to at least five meetings a week. I said, Well, how about three, You know, and it's always negotiated, right? I'll go to three. I agreed to three. I agreed to that. She didn't say, Yeah, okay, that's, that's it.

[00:07:56] JD Meits: Deal done. We didn't shake hands or sign any kind of agreement, but [00:08:00] that was what I was gonna do. And so the next week I drove. Funny story. I drove, you know, looked up AA meetings in my area, and I live in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. And so there's a lot of meetings and I drove around every meeting and I look at the people outside and I go, That's not me.

[00:08:16] JD Meits: That's not me. I can't go in. And I drive home. And I would say, yeah, meeting was great. You know, it was great. I, you know, and I, I lie and said I went to a meeting and then a couple days later I'd do that again. So I did it for a, Until I went in and then I went into that, into that first meeting and and that changed my, that put me on this new trajectory 

[00:08:36] John Cordray: while you were kicking and screaming the whole way

[00:08:40] JD Meits: Yeah, I mean, so I'm in this meeting and you know, as most meetings you're looking around and as a lot of people would tell you, you know, I'm looking at all the differences between me and everyone else, and. Again, like I like to say now, there is no face of addiction. There is no face of mental health.

[00:08:59] JD Meits: There is no [00:09:00] face to alcoholism. But I looked around and I said, You know, I'm different, right? Everybody feels different. I'm different and I'm in the church, you know, basement. But I sat there and I, and I listened, and then someone, I recognized two people from the gym. I go to imagine that right? At first you're embarrassed and you're like, Well, but if they're here and I'm here, so they're obviously here for a reason.

[00:09:24] JD Meits: And then they introduced me to another meeting and it was such a relief to finally, you know, be somewhere where I felt home and be able to open up and, and say, Hey, I'm jd, I'm, I'm an alcoholic. 

[00:09:38] John Cordray: Wow. What was that like for you the first time you said that? 

[00:09:43] JD Meits: It was very, very difficult, number one to, you know, to admit and to say out loud, but it was such a relief and you know, a lot of people say, we're always the last ones to know, right?

[00:09:58] JD Meits: Most people in my [00:10:00] life, you know, already knew that I had a problem with alcohol. If you had ever, you know, seen me, you know, But my particular situation was, I, I didn't drink every single day, and if you saw me out on the street walking around, I, I wasn't what you would think people would imagine an alcoholic or addict looks like, which is part of the, the problem, the stigma that people perceive.

[00:10:25] JD Meits: And why a lot of people don't, you know, come forward and, and get the help that they need because of that stigma. But once I said it, you know, it was fantastic. But it took me a while to, you know, to settle in and to be open to discussing my situation with these, these strangers in this room. But once I did, I knew I was, I was home.

[00:10:52] John Cordray: Well, that's amazing. It definitely takes a lot of honesty with yourself and a lot of vulnerability [00:11:00] to, to be in a group like that and to admit your weakness. And I think especially for guys, I think guys especially, we can be hardheaded sometimes and we often don't want to admit that we have a struggle or that we need help.

[00:11:17] John Cordray: And I think there was a point in your life it sounds like, where you realize that I can't keep pretend. I have to do this and you did it and you went in and now you're saying that you are glad that you did. So that's a great story. 

[00:11:32] JD Meits: Absolutely. And there's all different types, right? And I'm a prototypical a type personality.

[00:11:39] JD Meits: Played sports was, you know, athletic. Was a proud man. And the one thing that I can safely say, one of the, the wonderful things that have come, and there's so many things that have come through recovery, but is, is being able to, to have a conversation with another man and be, be real, and be [00:12:00] emotional, and be vulnerable.

[00:12:02] JD Meits: And it's amazing to have those conversations. It really is truly amazing. And over the years, you know, leaning into getting into the business, which I, I know we want to, to cover, and what I've learned is it is so powerful because once you open up and talk about things, your own vulnerabilities, you make that a safe space for others.

[00:12:30] JD Meits: To talk about their own vulnerabilities. And it's, and it's so powerful and rewarding to be able to do that, you know, today. And it wasn't something that happened, you know, overnight. And as I sat in these rooms and I looked around, and this was before I was in the business of, of recovery, but as I sat and I looked around and I go, You.

[00:12:54] JD Meits: There's so many people in here that still feel less than and, and they really should. They're just, they're smart, they're [00:13:00] articulate. Maybe they've been dealt some, some bad situations in their life. And I said, My mission needs to be to, to, you know, wear this proudly on my shirt that I'm an alcoholic and there is no face to it.

[00:13:14] JD Meits: And, you know, to show everybody that they shouldn't feel bad about. You know, having this, this disease, they should be, you know, they should feel proud that they are here and they're, you know, addressing it and, you know, improving, you know, themselves. And I'll just kind of wrap on this particular topic just to say for me, Fast forward.

[00:13:38] JD Meits: I see my beautiful family. I see my beautiful daughters, and I can say that I safely have done everything that I could do to break the chain of alcoholism in my family and set a good example for them. And regardless of anything that I ever achieved in my life, that's the number one thing that I, that nobody could ever take away from me at [00:14:00] this point.

[00:14:01] JD Meits: Fantastic. 

[00:14:02] John Cordray: You had something to live for and you had a reason to change. That's awesome. So then what JD what after you, you, you go into the, the meetings and you're do kind of this new discovery of yourself and you're being vulnerable with other men and, and you're realizing that you, not only you, you have a struggle, but you need help.

[00:14:24] John Cordray: Then what happened? Fast forward a little bit and tell us what was next. 

[00:14:29] JD Meits: Yeah, so I, I just found my calling to be, I wanted to figure out a way to help on a bigger, you know, a bigger, a bigger scale. I wanna do. I just was so passionate about this and, and being somebody and, and sitting in these rooms and hearing people talk about them going to treatment and, and recovery.

[00:14:52] JD Meits: I just happened to be, you know, whether, you know, my higher power or, or whatever it was, I was [00:15:00] introduced to a to, to a, to a gentleman who. Had a sober living envi, a sober living home, and he wanted to transform it into a, an actual licensed residential treatment center in detox. Center. And I said, Well and he knew my business background and so he approached me and I said, I don't really know much about it, but, but let me do some, let me do some homework and let me study that the, the business.

[00:15:27] JD Meits: And, and so I spent six months, you know, really learning about the healthcare business, particularly around, you know, behavioral health and ended up. Partnering with this, this guy to open up our first treatment center in this resident residence in Woodland Hills, California. And we opened, you know, I think it was March of or we got licensed in April of, of 2000 or 14 at our first client, May 7th of, of [00:16:00] 2014.

[00:16:00] JD Meits: And I remember picking this person up from the airport. And he was flying in from out, from outta state to, to come to treatment to, to our, to our new treatment center here. And I'm just remember being scared to death. Right now I've got this healthcare business and we're picking up our first patient and everybody is super excited.

[00:16:19] JD Meits: And it was just an amazing, amazing, you know, feeling. And we're driving this young man through LA and, and we had a music studio at our, at our, at this residence because it was, there was a recording studio at this house and I just remember getting back and, and showing this guy the, the recording studio and saying, Hey, we're gonna do music therapy and we're gonna.

[00:16:40] JD Meits: You know, this is all the plans that we've got, and it was just so exciting. And so I fast forward, you know, so we grew that, that, that, that ended up, you know, going well, and we ended up growing the treatment business to, I had, you know, three residential treatment centers and detox centers and one large outpatient program here [00:17:00] in, in Southern California.

[00:17:02] JD Meits: And I absolutely, Loved it. It was my, it was, it was my calling. And it was amazing because we, you know, I would get to see people that would come in, you know, at their worst, right? They needed help and they, you know, whether these were originally had talked to families. At first I was doing admissions, and so I was on the frontline talking to families, talking to.

[00:17:29] JD Meits: You know, the actual people calling in for help and, and, and would get them into treatment, and it was amazing to see the transition that people would make over the first week. You know, the first four weeks and it was just an, an incredible thing. And to get these phone calls from family members, you know, saying, Hey, you've given us our, my wife back, my, my husband, my son, my brother.

[00:17:56] JD Meits: It was, it was so rewarding that I [00:18:00] absolutely, you know, loved it. And so you. We're able to run this successful program and, you know, help hundreds and hundreds of people over the next seven years. But there was problems in the, you know, in the industry there were a lot of, you know, bad providers. There was a lot of what we'll just call patient brokering.

[00:18:22] JD Meits: There were a lot of negative aspects, you know, to the industry that, that that, that I didn't like. But the other thing that was the major problem that I realized, People just didn't have access to care. There were so many people calling in that we couldn't help because they didn't have the right insurance, or they didn't have the right financial, you know wherewithal or financial access to, to pay for treatment.

[00:18:50] JD Meits: And it was just so disheartening. It was like, what do we do? Like, how do we help, you know, more people? And that's when. Telehealth was, [00:19:00] you know, it hit me, Hey, my technology background, can't we do this virtually? And this was in 2017. And so in 2017 I said, I went to our program director and clinical director and I said, Hey, What if we started doing treatment online and, and they were like, I dunno what, what you, what you, what you, whatcha are you talking about?

[00:19:20] JD Meits: You're crazy. You know, what do you, what do you, you know, I could see maybe individually, but what do you mean? How are we gonna do this? I said, Look, just hear me out. Let's contact these sober living facilities around LA and let's say, hey, instead of sending your patients out to these physical outpatient centers, of which we were one of them, Why don't we bring treatment to you?

[00:19:44] JD Meits: What are you talking about? Well, we'll install high definition cameras. We'll create a room in your house. We'll, Wal wallet off, so it's all HIPAA compliant. And now everyone that's living in your home, they just come and they sit on the couch and on [00:20:00] would come our therapist at eight in the morning. And start running our groups right at eight, at nine, at 10, and, and then another, you know, time in the evening and, and then they could do their one on one sessions, you know, via computer that we would send them.

[00:20:15] JD Meits: And that's where it all started, you know, Then started, I started to realize, you know, after people, they were, they, they loved it, you know, after they got through like, Hey, well this is strange. They loved it and it was fantastic, and I realized we could now treat people. That didn't have insurance as well, because they could sit in on these groups and it didn't cost us anymore.

[00:20:39] JD Meits: Hmm. So we were able to give away treatment. We called it our two for one program, . So for every two people you sent to treatment, you know, in a traditional way with insurance, or one person gets. A full treatment program on us, so to speak. Right? And it was our way of giving back and it was [00:21:00] awesome and it worked, and that's when the light bulb went off.

[00:21:03] John Cordray: So when that light bulb went off, was that at that moment when New Life Virtual was created? 

[00:21:11] JD Meits: Yes. It, it, So that's when, that's, that was when, exactly when the thought came. And, and, and so it was one, it was two parts of that. It was the fact that we could treat more people than, than we could in our physical locations, number one.

[00:21:33] JD Meits: But number two, people that were leaving our residential treatment center. Could continue care with the same people. Right now there's laws and regulations and, and a lot of those have come down since Covid, but back then, As long as they've stayed in California, we could continue treating them. And if anybody's familiar with Los Angeles, you could go a suburb over and it could be a half hour [00:22:00] drive.

[00:22:00] JD Meits: So nobody's gonna drive somewhere, even if it's only, you know, a suburb over And, and so imagine then being able to continue treat. With these people, with your care team that you've developed these relationships with already and not have to start over and not have to tell your story again. So what did that do?

[00:22:21] JD Meits: That helped us close one of those gaps or holes or cracks where people fall through when transitioning from inpatient care to outpatient care. Mm-hmm. , because we could tell them, I know you're leaving us. But tomorrow you're gonna be, you're gonna be living at this home, but you're gonna be right online with these same people that you're comfortable with.

[00:22:44] JD Meits: Mm. Right. I love it. I love it. And it made them feel so much better and so much more comfortable because as, as anybody knows, when you're leave treatment and you've been surrounded by people that have been supporting you, and now all of a sudden you have to go back [00:23:00] to your environment that you came from in some cases.

[00:23:04] JD Meits: That contributed to your issues, right? That contributed to why you were there in the first place, whether it's family, work, friends, neighborhood, community, whatever it might be. But then the next thing I realized was, all right. But now these people wanna stay connected and I've, you know, if you've ever seen, you know, people go through treatment together, they develop this incredible relationship and bond in a lot of cases, right?

[00:23:33] JD Meits: I've seen 55 year old banking executives sharing rooms with 22 year old high school dropouts in for, for heroin addiction, right? Develop amazing relationships. Which you would never see. Right? And I said, How do they keep those relationships once they leave? Because the power of the tribe, the power of the community to me was really the [00:24:00] foundation of what makes.

[00:24:02] JD Meits: You're, you're 12 steps, your aas, your nas, your A groups, your anonymous groups. So successful is the fellowship, right? Being surrounded by people that you feel comfortable talking to that support you. So I said, let's build a social networking app. At the time it was called something different. We didn't finish it all the way, but it was like it allowed people to stay connected because they weren't comfortable going to Facebook, or we didn't want them going back to their Facebook because why?

[00:24:33] JD Meits: That's where their negative social influences. Right, Right, right. So let's build a safe social network that has integrated. With, you know, care delivery and community and people in an area that are all there for one reason. Right. Wellness of some sort, right? And that we share this journey. And so that's in essence new life virtual.

[00:24:56] JD Meits: That's, that's how it was formed. And, and, and that's [00:25:00] really the reason I actually ended up leaving the brick and mortar business because I was so passionate about this. I couldn't focus. You know, I couldn't focus on both, and so I chose the virtual space because I, I just wanted to treat people and, and reach so many more people.

[00:25:18] JD Meits: Well, it makes a lot 

[00:25:19] John Cordray: of sense and it does bridge that gap, as you mentioned. And I, I really like the fact that it continues the care. It doesn't stop like it does when treatment is over at a brick and mortar. It just kind of stops. At least the relationships kind of stop. Because everybody goes their own way.

[00:25:36] John Cordray: But with New Life virtual, it's something that they, this is a community that I'm assuming that, that they, if once they're in the community, they can, are they able to stay and, and continue the relationships they have built? Yeah. 

[00:25:50] JD Meits: It, Well, that's the other thing. So, so it was the healthcare industry and the behavioral healthcare industry and, and the spaces, you know, a [00:26:00] setup is such that, If, and, and as, as a clinician yourself and as, as you know, therapists and, and you know, anyone that, that treats this population understands there's a reason there, there's a need and a reason, a good reason.

[00:26:13] JD Meits: We have, we have boundaries and, and a reason that it's not recommended that you maintain connections on, you know, social media or, you know, friendly relationships because boundaries can be crossed and different things like that. But at the same time, That type of thinking also negates the ability for these, you know, these clients and patients to maintain professional relationships with their care team that they went through inpatient and outpatient care for long term.

[00:26:49] JD Meits: Right? So why do we have to start, Stop a long. Relationship. Just because I've left my outpatient treatment program, why can't we [00:27:00] continue a professional. Engagement in relationship with our patients, clients members, however, we want to call the them long term and for life because we know that the longer term, that the longer that someone stays supported, the better chance that they have at longer, you know, at recovery.

[00:27:20] JD Meits: We also know that recidivism is, you know, 80% plus right? In in, in this, and. And so do we. How far do people have to fall? So what the platform and app does is it allows this, the clients, the members, the patients, the care team to, you know, have the proper boundaries, privacy and security. So there's all types of that built in.

[00:27:45] JD Meits: So we built all of that in, but the relationships are what it's all about. That I can maintain my connection. So if I go from one level of care and, and you know, me being, let's say 10 years plus sober, I still need [00:28:00] treatment, therapy, care coaching. Why can't, you know, why can't I continue to get it from, you know, this, this program that helped me get, get well?

[00:28:12] JD Meits: And that's what New life, you know, virtual promotes. And, and it does it for not just facilities and individual practitioners, therapists, counselors set up your entire practice. But build your own community, your own private community, as well as give your clients access to the global community, which, you know, is part of new life.

[00:28:33] JD Meits: W is, is really the foundation. So it's, it's about being able to establish professional to client, you know, relationships as well as peer to peer relationships and to, to also take health measurements and, and assessments and checks along the way so that we know what people need. Where they're at, right?

[00:28:54] JD Meits: So 10 years in, maybe I'm having financial insecurity, maybe I'm [00:29:00] having marriage insecurity. I'm not willing, I'm not, you know, worried about drinking, but, but maybe I need care and, and I need to talk to my coach or clinician about something else. And, and that's really what bridging those gaps between care and then catching people before they fall too far is so important to us.

[00:29:22] JD Meits: Oh yeah. 

[00:29:22] John Cordray: I love that. It makes total sense. So what would be, So if someone's listening to this and, and maybe they're really saying, Yeah, this sounds really interesting. Can you kind of explain the, what the experience would be for somebody who is interested in this? Maybe they're struggling and they want to be a part of this.

[00:29:41] John Cordray: How would they go about. Finding out more information and even getting into the app itself. 

[00:29:47] JD Meits: Yeah, I mean, so new live virtual.com, so it's in you, l i F e virtual.com. You also can search new live virtual on the app store and download the app and you know, [00:30:00] log in into the app and you're gonna see a pretty friendly interface.

[00:30:04] JD Meits: You can, you'll see a social feed much like you see, you know, in, in any, you know, social network. Communities. So if you wanna join a community of mountain biking or a community of gaming or 12 step or, or you know, any type of affinity group communities, they're all available there. And then if you wanna find, you know, services we're gonna be coming out with our, you know, we have providers and in both individual practitioners.

[00:30:30] JD Meits: And treatment centers that run, you know, that have digitized what they do. And they're in private areas, you know, in and on the app. And so you can search and be invited or join these. Treatment center or practices and start communicating with these providers one on one. It's very seamless. It's very, it's very easy if I'm a provider, you know, whether I'm a at my own individual practice or I have a clinic or I have a facility, you also can go to new life [00:31:00] virtual.com.

[00:31:01] JD Meits: Inquire, we, you know, it's a very easy, you know, set up to, to just literally join and you can start inviting your patients. You can start scheduling, you can promote your services, you can run your virtual sessions. You can send out clinical assessments and start measuring outcomes very seamless, very easy.

[00:31:23] JD Meits: And you know, and we're gonna continue to grow this platform out to, you know, to really create, you know, just a wonderful environment where there's a lot of collaboration because a lot of treatment centers and clinics that also want to expand their virtual presence need wonderful. Care providers, right?

[00:31:42] JD Meits: They, they, they need these, these care providers in different areas to help them service their patients. And so we're all about making those connections as well. Well, that's 

[00:31:53] John Cordray: incredible. And, and so I'm assuming that there is, if there's providers out there, therapists out there that may be [00:32:00] interested there's space for 'em or is there a waiting list 

[00:32:02] JD Meits: to get.

[00:32:04] JD Meits: Yeah, there's space. I mean there, you know, there is a little bit of a you know, a waiting list for us to really onboard you, but you can get started, you know, right away. And you know, typically, you know, it takes us less than a couple of weeks to, you know, get to every person and get them, you know, set up properly and get their practice set up properly.

[00:32:26] JD Meits: We like to, we're very, very hands on. So we do a lot of best practice work in making sure that, you know, clinicians of every technology expert, every level of technology experience, you don't need to know anything, right? You just, you know, we, we, we can get you to set up and hold your hand through that, that entire process.

[00:32:45] JD Meits: And, you know, the one wonderful, incredible thing is I have. We have clients in South Africa, we have clients in, in, in, in the uk I have US based clients that are using [00:33:00] practitioners from all over the world. Hmm. Right. It's amazing. And it's amazing to see people post on the feed, you know, about their recovery from all over the, you know, from all over the world.

[00:33:13] JD Meits: And that's what's super interesting. You know, to me is to see, you know, a, a company in, in, in Atlanta using clinicians in Spain, in South Africa and in the US to, you know, help them with their caseloads. Right. And with their patients. It's, it's just truly amazing. Wow. 

[00:33:41] John Cordray: So, One last question here. Cause our time is running out.

[00:33:44] John Cordray: So if, if someone is listening to this and maybe it's a loved one, maybe it's, maybe it's a wife and they're thinking of their husband and they're, they're at their wits end and maybe much like your wife was when she said, Get sober or get out. Yep. Maybe. Maybe its [00:34:00] someone like that is listening about their loved.

[00:34:03] John Cordray: Is there some, is there a way for that person to maybe call and talk to somebody and just to say, What do I do? What, what are, what are some things that I can do to, to try to get my loved one to be a part of this? 

[00:34:17] JD Meits: Yeah. I mean, absolutely. I would say the best way, you know at this point is you can download the app, come in as a friend or family member, join a, join a community of, of family member, you know, friends and family.

[00:34:29] JD Meits: You know, post a, an inquiry. We have hotlines and resources available on the app as well that you can call. And then, you know, at the very least, we can make the connection and the app will make the connection, you know, to somebody that can help you out with you know, a hundred percent. So that's really what we're all about, is helping, you know, the, the, the, the person helping the, I call it the affected in the afflicted, right?

[00:34:59] JD Meits: Yeah. If [00:35:00] I'm afflicted. Substance use or mental health issues, but my loved ones are affected by it because of mine. And then, you know, also the providers and the practitioners. So that's the best way is to, is to either go to our website and inquire or download the app and you know, jump right in and, and pose a question to the community.

[00:35:19] JD Meits: Well, that's pretty easy. 

[00:35:20] John Cordray: , that's an easy thing. And, and so I want to encourage anyone that's out there, either if you are a provider or someone who wants this type of service, go to the app and type in New Life Virtual. So again, the, the new, it's not, not n w, it's n u n U Life Virtual in the App Store.

[00:35:42] John Cordray: And you said jd, the, the website is 

[00:35:45] JD Meits: what? It's same thing, new life virtual.com, So n you l i e virtual.com. 

[00:35:51] John Cordray: Perfect. Excellent. Well, I, I lied. I have one more question, . Absolutely. Well, this is a question that I [00:36:00] ask all of my, my guests and I talk a lot about self care, and one of the things I enjoy doing is learning from I guest what they do for their self.

[00:36:12] John Cordray: And everyone's a little different, and that's why I like it about this question, and not everyone has the same answer. So I wanna pose it to you. What, what are you, what are some of the things that you do JD for your self-care? 

[00:36:24] JD Meits: Oh, excellent question. I love it. I'm gonna tell you, I have a very specific morning routine.

[00:36:30] JD Meits: I suffer with anxiety and and then, you know, being in technology, nothing's ever done. Every morning I wake up. I have a regimen of making coffee and then I go and, and I do some five minutes of breath work. Routine. I do about five minutes of some different yoga stretches, and then five minutes of, of meditation to get my mind right.

[00:36:57] JD Meits: And then I drink four glasses of water, [00:37:00] you know, every day in the morning. And then I will sit down with my a coffee to, to get my day started. So it's, it's very important to me that every day that I, I reflect on what I'm grateful for. I do that breath work and I do that, that that little bit of yoga just to get grounded and to get centered, and then working from home at the end of my day, what I typically like to do to separate the day from the evening is also wrap up the day.

[00:37:33] JD Meits: With another, you know, 10 to 15 minute meditation and, you know, there's exercise. I do a lot of exercise as well. But, but those are my bookends, right? I start the day specifically led way, and I end the day another way because it separates my workday from the evening. And when you work in, you know, working from home, I find that a good way to kind of separate the two.

[00:37:56] JD Meits: Oh, I love it. 

[00:37:57] John Cordray: I love it. Thank you so much. It so [00:38:00] interesting to, to, to hear your discipline and, and how that is helpful for you. Great tips. Thank you. Well I want to end our, our show and I just really want to just extend a thank you to all of you who are listening. Have been listening, and. We're talking about a lot of real life stuff here and, and if you have been listening to The Mental Health Today show for any length period of time, it's all about mental.

[00:38:27] John Cordray: And so I, I hope this has been interesting to you. Even if you may not struggle with yourself yourself with specifics like this or maybe you feel like you may not necessarily need new life virtual, but you may know someone who, who does. Chances are you do know somebody. So you can share this with them.

[00:38:46] John Cordray: You can share the episode or you can. Let them know where they can get New Life Virtual in the App Store. It's really easy, very simple, and it's right there at your fingertips, literally . Well, I'm gonna [00:39:00] let you all go. Thanks again for listening to the show. Just remember to keep working on your mental health and also remember that the Mental Health Today Show has been championing your mental health.

[00:39:11] John Cordray: Since 2015. Take care.