Building the evidence base: How BIG Growth support helped Ground Me strengthen digital mental health innovation

Looking to strengthen the research foundations behind its dissociation-focused app, Ground Me joined the BIG Growth Programme to access academic expertise in psychology, research and evaluation.

Ground Me is an early-stage digital mental health company developing a mobile app specifically for people experiencing dissociation. The company was founded by mental health professional and LSBU alumna Bilge Kivrak and IT consultant Tim, who saw a gap in the digital mental health market. While many apps focus on anxiety, depression or general wellbeing, there was little dedicated digital support for people experiencing dissociation.

As the app developed, the founders wanted to make sure there was strong research behind it. They needed to understand how best to measure outcomes, strengthen the evidence behind their approach and make sure data collection and user consent were handled responsibly.

As a small, founder-led business, Ground Me did not have the specialist academic expertise to do all of this independently. The BIG Growth Programme gave the company the opportunity to work with LSBU academics at an important stage of its product development.

The collaboration with Dr Opeyemi Olusegun Atanda and Dr Georgina Bartlett ran for four months, with Ground Me receiving 51.5 hours of academic support, alongside additional project and progress meetings.

Creating a new approach to digital mental health

Ground Me was created to address a specific gap in digital mental health support. Existing apps often focus on anxiety, depression or general wellbeing, but the founders saw an opportunity to create something specifically for people experiencing dissociation.

For Bilge and Tim, developing the app was about more than creating useful features. They wanted to build something that could demonstrate its value to users and in time provide a strong foundation for working with universities, wellbeing services, mental health organisations and other partners.

That meant answering some important questions. Which measures could be used to understand whether the app was helping? How should future research be structured? And how could Ground Me collect and use user data in a way that was transparent, ethical and responsible?

These were areas where the founders needed specialist support.

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Building a stronger evidence base

Through the BIG Growth Programme, Ground Me worked closely with the LSBU academic team to explore these questions and understand how existing research could inform the development of the app.

The project included a systematic literature review looking at dissociation and grounding, as well as research into validated tools for measuring dissociation, including the Dissociative Symptoms Scale  Brief(DSS-B).

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The team also reviewed Ground Me’s data collection practices and developed a research-grade protocol for future pilot testing.

The collaboration also looked at consent, anonymised data handling and transparency, taking into account NHS Research Ethics Committee guidance, British Psychological Society standards and GDPR requirements.

What mattered to Ground Me was being able to turn that research into something practical, recommendations the founders could actually use as they continued developing the app.

“Working with LSBU through the BIG Growth Programme was extremely valuable for Ground Me. The team brought a strong level of academic expertise, but also understood entrepreneurship, innovation, and the realities of building an early-stage business.”

— Bilge Kivrak, Co-Founder, Ground Me Limited

The collaboration also opened up research and informationthat the founders had not previously identified, giving them new perspectiveson dissociation, grounding techniques, outcome measurement and future research.

Turning research into a clearer roadmap

One of the biggest benefits of the project was helping Ground Me understand what the next stage of research could look like.

The team explored how validated dissociation measures could be used alongside other possible indicators, including wellbeing and self-efficacy. This gave Ground Me a stronger starting point for measuring the impact of its service as the app develops.

The research also led to recommendations around grounding techniques, psychoeducation and the user journey, helping the company think about how the app could better support emotional regulation, present-moment awareness and self-monitoring.

Just as importantly, the project gave Ground Me a clearer idea of how it could approach future data collection and evaluation, including whether a service evaluation or pilot study would be the right next step.

From the programme’s perspective, the project also demonstrated the value of bringing academic expertise into an early-stage business at the right point in its development.

“Ground Me is exactly the kind of early-stage founder team this programme was set up to support, strong clinical and technical instincts, but without the in-house capacity to build a research foundation on their own. Watching that translate into a genuine evidence base and research roadmap for the app has been a great example of what academic-industry collaboration can doat this stage of a business.”

— Alex Hokin, Project Manager, BIG Growth Programme

Preparing for the next stage of growth

The recommendations from the project have not yet been implemented into the live app, but Ground Me now has a clearer plan for how to take the work forward.

The founders plan to prioritise the recommendations around grounding techniques, psychoeducation, outcome measurement, consent, data collection and user engagement. The company is also targeting the launch of an enhanced, research-informed offering by 15 February 2027.

The work has strengthened Ground Me’s readiness for future partnerships with universities, wellbeing services, employers and mental health organisations, as well as potential funding, investment and commercialisation opportunities.

The relationship with LSBU is expected to continue, with potential future collaboration around pilot testing, service evaluation and measuring the impact of Ground Me’s work.

The project was also delivered through a structured approach, with clear work packages, ongoing engagement between the academic and Ground Me teams, and a documented final report and outcomes.

“This project ran smoothly from a delivery and compliance perspective clear work packages, strong engagement from both LSBU and Ground Me throughout, and a well-documented final report and outcome evidencing at the end. It's a good example of how structured academic support can benefit a very early-stage business.”

— Anna Kulhan, Business Support, BIG Growth Programme

The collaboration has given Ground Me a stronger foundation from which to continue developing its product and exploring future research and partnerships.

“Working with a highly skilled team who understood both psychology and business was one of the most valuable opportunities we have had as an early-stage mental health start-up. The LSBU team helped us strengthen our research direction, open up new perspectives, and build a clearer foundation for the future development of Ground Me.”

— Bilge Kivrak, Co-Founder, Ground Me Limited

About the BIG Growth Programme

The BIG Growth Programme connects South London businesses with academic expertise from London South Bank University, providing tailored collaborative support to help businesses innovate, improve productivity and explore opportunities for growth.

The Ground Me project was delivered through a structured four-month collaboration, with 53.5 hours of total support, including academic collaboration, R&D, feasibility and progress meetings. The work covered seven areas, including project design, literature review, ethics review, study protocol development, final reporting and outputs handover.

The programme is funded by the Mayor of London and the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which supports local economic growth and investment in communities across the UK.

If you’d like to collaborate with our experts, get in touch.

About Ground Me

Ground Me is a digital mental health technology company developing a mobile app focused specifically on supporting people experiencing dissociation.

Co-founded by Bilge Kivrak, a mental health professional and LSBU alumna, and Tim, an IT consultant, Ground Me is combining clinical understanding, technology and research to develop a dedicated digital approach to dissociation support.

The GroundMe app is available on the App Store.

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