Career banker on mental health mission
Services will be covered in part by Medicare, but patients will also have to rely on private health insurance or out-of-pocket expenses, which are common for mental health services.
Healy, the former head of commercial bank NAB who founded Judo Bank in 2020, was motivated to move into the mental health field after the death of his 24-year-old son George in 2021.
George was struggling with depression and, unable to receive successful treatment, moved to the United States to study as a change of scenery. There, he took a drug containing fentanyl at a party and later died in his sleep.
“I saw a system that was difficult to navigate with my son, and when you did it, it was very impressive,” Healy said. “As a business executive… I have seen mental health issues and tragedies in the workplace, and I have always felt that business and society do not care enough about what causes these problems or how to manage them.”
The tragedy prompted Healy to design Malu; but he had already developed an interest in health, enrolling in masters programs in neuroscience and psychology at King’s College London. After George’s death, Healy’s plans for Malu took shape; This process included a six-week study tour to explore mental health hospitals and clinics in Europe.
In the Netherlands, Healy arranged to take psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, while trying to better understand how it is used in treatment-resistant depression.
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While Healy says access can cost more than $20,000, psilocybin therapy remains controversial and niche. He wants Malu to help change this and challenge the traditional approach to drug therapy seen in the past. By 2025, one in seven Australians will actively use doctor-prescribed antidepressants.
“The healthcare industry can tend to be quite conservative and traditional when evaluating new treatments, but I think we need to keep an open mind. I think psilocybin has a role to play.”
“It is wrong to close our minds to something that can help people who are truly struggling, and they should have the right to access this treatment at a non-prohibitive cost,” Healy said.
Healy hopes Malu will define his legacy despite his long career in banking. “When I die, I want my tombstone to read ‘here lies Joseph the mental health entrepreneur’ rather than ‘here lies Joseph the banker’.”
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