Mental Health Work That Doesn't Break You | Working at InStride Health

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Danielle Van Der Lelie, Chief People Officer at InStride Health, to explore how the company is transforming access to specialized mental health care for children, teens, and young adults struggling with anxiety, OCD, and related disorders.

Danielle shares the powerful origin story behind InStride Health, how the organization evolved from a highly successful clinical program developed within the Harvard Medical system, and what inspired her to join one of the fastest-growing mental health companies in the country.

They also discuss how InStride has scaled from just five employees to nearly 400 while maintaining a deeply mission-driven culture, why the company's mantra of "Never Worry Alone" shapes everything they do, and how they're helping employees grow alongside the business through intentional development, community-building, and AI innovation.

What you'll learn:

• What InStride Health does and how it helps children, teens, and young adults learn to respond differently to anxiety and OCD.
• How the company evolved from a groundbreaking clinical program developed at McLean Hospital
• Why virtual care became a catalyst for scaling access to specialized mental health treatment
• How InStride intentionally builds culture in a fully remote workforce
• How the company approaches professional development and career growth
• Where the company is investing and hiring over the next 12–18 months

InStride Health Highlights:

• Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
• Team Size: ~375 employees
• Founded: 2021
• Workforce Footprint: Employees across 38 states
• Industry: Mental Health Care / Healthcare Technology
• Patient Population: Ages 7–24
• Specialties: Anxiety, OCD, and related disorders
• Care Model: Virtual, evidence-based care teams including psychiatrists, therapists, and exposure coaches
• Culture: Mission-driven, collaborative, supportive, growth-oriented
• Workforce Style: Fully remote

Unique Perks & Programs:

• Four-week paid sabbatical after five years of service
• Flexible PTO
• Comprehensive health benefits starting on day one
• Minimum 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• Two paid volunteer/service days annually
• Annual company retreat focused entirely on relationship-building and mission connection
• Bi-weekly all-hands meetings featuring patient success stories and employee recognition
• AI Change Champion program to support practical AI learning and adoption
• Sponsored local meetups for employees in shared geographic regions
• Strong emphasis on employee development through stretch assignments, conferences, and internal growth opportunities

Current Hiring Focus:

InStride Health is actively investing in:

• Therapists
• Psychiatrists
• Exposure coaches
• Territory Managers and commercial team members
• AI-forward talent interested in healthcare innovation
• Professionals passionate about scaling access to mental health care

Who Thrives at InStride Health?

According to Danielle, the employees who succeed at InStride are those who embrace the company's four core values:

• Give Heart
• Work Smart
• Embrace Community
• Have Humility

People who thrive tend to be highly mission-driven, collaborative, adaptable, solution-oriented, and energized by growth and change. They care deeply about making an impact while helping build a company that's redefining mental health care for families across the country.

To learn more about InStride Health:

Careers Page
LinkedIn Page
Danielle's LinkedIn

Transcript

Jena Dunay: Hello friends, and welcome back to another episode of Culture Uncovered, where we go behind the scenes of the coolest companies to work for. Today, I have the honor and privilege of sitting down with the Chief People Officer of InStride Health, Danielle Van Der Lelie. Thank you so much for joining us, Danielle.

Danielle Van Der Lelie: Hi Jena, it's so good to be with you today. Thank you for having me—the privilege is all mine.

Jena Dunay: Well, let's chat a little bit about InStride Health. Why don't you give us a synopsis of what you all do? That's a great place to start.

Danielle Van Der Lelie: It's honestly the easiest place to start because talking about what we do always brings a smile to my face. At our core, we provide specialized care for kids, teens, and young adults ages 7 to 24 who are dealing with complex anxiety, OCD, and related disorders.

What makes us different from most mental health providers is that every child who comes through our program receives a dedicated care team. That team includes a psychiatrist, a therapist, and an exposure coach. Together, they provide evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy, all delivered virtually.

The other thing that makes our program unique is that it's time-bound. Patients typically graduate within six to twelve months. Our research shows that when they graduate, 97% experience clinical improvement. In other words, they come to InStride and they get better. That's our goal—to help kids get their lives back.

Beyond that, one of the most impactful aspects of our model is that it's covered by insurance. That removes one of the biggest barriers families face—not only finding care, but affording it.

Jena Dunay: You sound incredibly passionate about this work and the mission behind it. It's always fun talking to Chief People Officers who are passionate not only about culture, but also about the actual work their organizations do. Tell us a little bit about the origin story. Why was this company created in the first place?

Danielle Van Der Lelie: The passion you hear in my voice really comes from that origin story. It's actually what drew me to InStride in the first place.

The founding of InStride goes back more than a decade. Our two clinical co-founders, Kat and Mona—a psychologist and psychiatrist, respectively—worked together for over ten years at McLean Hospital, which is part of the Harvard Medical system.

During that time, they built a number of clinical programs, but they became best known for the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program, or MAMP. That program ultimately became the foundation for InStride. It focused on treating anxiety and OCD using a very similar clinical model.

The difference was that it was delivered in person in Boston. Then the pandemic hit, and overnight they had to transition to a fully virtual model.

Jena Dunay: Which I'm sure was incredibly difficult for the type of work you do.

Danielle Van Der Lelie: Exactly. At the time, they were trying to serve only 10 to 15 families at once, and they already had a long waitlist because of their strong clinical outcomes.

What they discovered was that the model worked just as well—if not better—in a virtual environment. They could meet families where they were, in the exact settings where anxiety and OCD were showing up in daily life.

That became the catalyst for InStride. They realized the model could work virtually, they could serve more families, and they could scale a proven treatment model nationally in a more affordable way. That's what led them to partner with insurance companies and ultimately spin InStride out from the Harvard Medical system.

Jena Dunay: That's fascinating. How long have you been with InStride?

Danielle Van Der Lelie: Our five-year anniversary is actually coming up this month. InStride was founded in May of 2021.

Jena Dunay: Very cool. How big is the company now? Give us some quick facts.

Danielle Van Der Lelie: As of this coming Monday, we'll have 375 employees, which is pretty mind-blowing when I think back to where we started. In May of 2021, there were essentially four employees. When I joined, there were five. Fast forward to today, and we've grown almost tenfold.

Jena Dunay: Wow. And where are you located?

Danielle Van Der Lelie: We technically have headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, where most of our founders are based. But because our care is delivered virtually, our entire workforce is remote. We currently have employees in 38 states across the country.

Jena Dunay: You mentioned earlier that the mission is what drew you in. I'd love to hear how you actually came across the company and what convinced you to join.

Danielle Van Der Lelie: In full transparency, before InStride I worked at an executive recruiting firm. At the time, I was actually trying to recruit John, our CEO, for another company I was helping build.

He ended up turning the tables and asked if I would join him at InStride instead.

Jena Dunay: That's incredibly flattering, by the way.

Danielle Van Der Lelie: Totally. I feel very lucky he asked.

Working in executive recruiting taught me a lot about what makes great organizations successful. Three things consistently stood out: product-market fit, mission, and people.

When I looked at InStride, I saw all three.

Kat and Mona had spent over a decade proving the clinical model and generating real outcomes. The mission speaks for itself. And the founding team had the right combination of clinical, technical, and operational expertise to build something from the ground up.

That's a rare combination, especially at the seed stage, and it didn't take much convincing for me to join.

Jena Dunay: That's actually a great framework for job seekers evaluating whether a company is worth investing in. Fast forward five years—how would you describe the culture at InStride?

Danielle Van Der Lelie: I love this question because culture was one of the first things we were intentional about.

When I joined, the founders had already written down a set of values. As we grew to around 20 or 30 employees, we revisited those values because we wanted them to reflect not just the founders' intentions, but also the people who were helping build the company.

Out of that work came a motto that really took off: "Never worry alone."

I think it's the best representation of who we are.

As a fully remote company, culture doesn't happen by accident. You have to invest in it. The idea of never worrying alone shows up everywhere. People genuinely support one another—not just in a friendly way, but in meaningful, tangible ways.

We want people to do the best work of their careers while making a meaningful impact. I believe our culture enables that.

Jena Dunay: Culture isn't just a set of values sitting on a shelf. It evolves as the company evolves. How do you intentionally build culture in a remote environment?

Danielle Van Der Lelie: It starts with how people show up for each other every day. Culture is reflected in our Google Meets just as much as it is in any team-building event.

From a tactical standpoint, we're very intentional. We hold bi-weekly all-hands meetings, which is fairly rare at our size. We want everyone to come together regularly because we don't have those casual watercooler interactions.

Every meeting starts with what we call a Clinical Spotlight, where we share a meaningful patient story and reconnect to our mission. We also end every meeting with shout-outs and recognition.

We also host an annual company retreat. While we're fully remote, there's still something irreplaceable about gathering in person.

What's unique is that the retreat isn't focused on work. We don't spend time reviewing metrics or data. It's entirely focused on relationship-building and mission connection.

We kick off every retreat with a patient and family panel where graduates of our program share their stories. Without question, that's the most meaningful part of the event.

Jena Dunay: I love that idea. Bringing the people you impact directly to the employees doing the work creates such a strong connection to purpose.

Tell me about some of the benefits and unique offerings that help retain people beyond the mission itself.

Danielle Van Der Lelie: One of our most unique benefits is a four-week paid sabbatical after five years with the company.

Given that InStride is only turning five this year, we'll actually have our first employees eligible for it. It's a way of recognizing people who've helped build the company from the beginning.

Beyond that, we offer flexible PTO, comprehensive health benefits from day one, and at least 12 weeks of paid parental leave regardless of where someone lives.

We also provide two paid service days each year so employees can support causes that matter to them personally.

And because we're so geographically distributed, we sponsor local in-person gatherings in areas where we have clusters of employees so they can connect outside of the annual retreat.

Jena Dunay: I love the sabbatical. It feels like a meaningful way to thank people for their contributions, especially during periods of rapid growth.

Let's talk about professional development. How do you think about career growth and learning at InStride?

Danielle Van Der Lelie: I often say that growth opportunities naturally emerge in a scaling company because new challenges are constantly appearing.

At InStride, we view growth and development as a 50-50 partnership. Managers help connect people to stretch opportunities, projects, conferences, and new experiences. Employees are expected to bring their own aspirations and ideas to the table as well.

We also have employee-led programs like our Balance & Belonging group, which supports inclusion and belonging, and the Connection Collective, which creates opportunities for relationship-building and community.

Most recently, we launched an AI Change Champion program.

Jena Dunay: Okay, tell me more about that. AI is a hot topic right now.

Danielle Van Der Lelie: Like many organizations, we're figuring out how to drive meaningful AI adoption.

Rather than making it purely top-down, we identified employees who were already curious about AI and using it in creative ways. These employees serve as AI Change Champions, helping peers learn practical applications and share what's working.

It's been a great way to make AI feel less intimidating and more accessible. It's also helping us understand what resonates with employees before rolling initiatives out company-wide.

Jena Dunay: It sounds like a smart way to introduce AI without creating fear or overwhelm.

Danielle Van Der Lelie: Exactly. We're trying to stay grounded in our mission. We don't want AI for the sake of AI. We want to identify ways it can help us serve patients and families faster and better.

That mission-first approach makes adoption more meaningful.

Jena Dunay: Every company has strengths, but no company is perfect. What are some lessons learned or opportunities for growth you've experienced?

Danielle Van Der Lelie: One of our core values is "Have Humility," so we believe in acknowledging mistakes and learning from them.

If I could go back, I would have communicated more explicitly about what growth and change actually feel like in a scaling company.

The skills and expectations needed at five employees are very different from what you need at 375.

At five employees, we were looking for generalists—people willing to do anything. At 375, we need deeper functional expertise.

That transition can be difficult. Our CEO introduced me to a concept called "letting go of your Legos."

When you're an early employee, you often own everything. As the company grows, you have to hand off responsibilities and focus more narrowly. That can feel uncomfortable, but it can also be energizing if you're willing to embrace it.

I wish we'd talked about that reality more openly earlier on.

Jena Dunay: That's such a helpful framework. Who tends to thrive at InStride today?

Danielle Van Der Lelie: Domain expertise matters more now than it did in the early days, but success still comes down to living our values.

Our four values are:

• Give Heart
• Work Smart
• Embrace Community
• Have Humility

The key word is "and." We expect people to balance all four.

During performance reviews, we evaluate both the results people achieve and how they achieve them.

The people who thrive here care deeply about the mission, embrace change, collaborate well, and focus on solutions.

Jena Dunay: Looking ahead, what does growth look like over the next 12 to 18 months?

Danielle Van Der Lelie: We're continuing to invest heavily in clinical talent. Therapists, psychiatrists, and coaches are the backbone of everything we do.

We're also growing our commercial organization, particularly territory managers who help build awareness among referring providers as we expand into new markets.

Today we're operating in 13 markets, primarily in the Northeast, but we're actively expanding into the South and Midwest.

Finally, we're investing heavily in AI capabilities. Our long-term vision includes building a clinical intelligence platform that helps us scale care while maintaining our exceptional clinical outcomes.

That requires building AI fluency across the organization, so we're looking for people who are excited to learn and grow in that area.

Jena Dunay: Where can people learn more about InStride and find open opportunities?

Danielle Van Der Lelie: The best place to start is our website, InStride.Health. Our careers page includes open roles, information about our values and mission, and employee testimonials.

I'd also recommend following our social channels because they highlight our team, our patients, and the impact of our work.

As for standing out in the hiring process, personalized outreach still makes a huge difference.

Don't rely solely on a resume or cover letter. Reach out directly to the talent team or hiring manager if possible. Explain why you're interested in the role and why you're excited about InStride specifically.

The people who demonstrate initiative and genuine enthusiasm are the ones who get noticed.

Jena Dunay: That's fantastic advice. Danielle, thank you so much for joining us and sharing more about InStride Health and the culture you've built.

For everyone listening, if you're interested in learning more about InStride Health and exploring opportunities there, check out the links included with this episode.

Thank you again, Danielle.

Danielle Van Der Lelie: Thank you so much for having me.

Jena Dunay: Awesome, friends. We'll see you next week on another episode of Culture Uncovered.

We’ll include all the links and information in the show notes, and we’ll see you next week on another episode of Culture Uncovered.

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