Jewel Takes Her Mental Health Mission To The Metaverse

Jewel is taking her mission to scale mental health support to the metaverse.

The multiplatinum-selling music artist, who for decades has been championing mental and emotional wellbeing through avenues including her Inspiring Children Foundation, is the co-founder of a new platform called Innerworld that makes resources accessible via a social virtual world managed by trained non-professionals and steeped in cognitive behavioral tools.

Innerworld—which is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and available in VR on Meta Quest and on flat screens via Mac, PC, iPad and iPhone—enables anyone seeking support to create an avatar and enter a world where they can find immediate resources on topics including coping with depression, loss, anxiety and ADHD; peer support groups for things like chronic illness and addiction recovery; and one-on-one assistance…