Why we built Umbrella Journal

Hello, and welcome to Umbrella Journal.

I started Umbrella Journal because too much of mental health support still disappears between sessions, between appointments, and between the moments when someone realizes they need help and the moment they can actually get it. People are often left trying to hold everything in their head: the thought they wanted to challenge, the feeling they could not name, the homework they meant to finish, the journal entry they never had time to write, the form they needed before therapy, the small habit they were trying to build, or the conversation they wished they could continue when life got hard again.

Umbrella was built to close that gap.

We are building a therapy-ready platform for the work that happens between sessions: guided journaling, structured CBT tools, Ella chat support, check-ins, exports, therapist-ready forms, and practical workflows that help people reflect, organize, and keep going. Some people use Umbrella on their own. Some use it alongside therapy. Some use Ella for emotional support and continuity. Others use TheraPrep, Smart CBT, Focus Timer, or Tiny Habits. Together, they are one product family built on the same privacy-first foundation.

Our belief is simple: mental health tools should be clear, useful, and available when people actually need them. Not just inspiring. Not just beautiful. Useful.

That means helping people capture thoughts quickly, notice patterns, work through distortions, prepare for therapy, track progress, and return to the same thread of support without starting over every time. It means building products that are structured enough to help, but gentle enough to use when someone is overwhelmed.

We also believe trust has to be earned. Privacy is not a feature we add later. It is part of the foundation. We design Umbrella so people can reflect honestly, keep control of their information, and use these tools without feeling watched, pushed, or manipulated. We want the experience to feel calm, respectful, and practical.

We are not trying to replace therapists, clinics, or real human care. We are trying to build better support around them. The goal is to make therapy work easier to start, easier to continue, and easier to carry into daily life.

Umbrella Journal began in Toronto, but the problem we care about is global. Too many people need support that is more private, more immediate, more structured, and more accessible than what they have today. We are building toward that future carefully: with better workflows, more languages, stronger clinical utility, and products that can serve individuals, therapists, students, and care teams without losing the human side of the work.

Thank you for being here and for trusting us with your time and attention. We are still early, but the direction is clear. We want to build tools people can return to in real life, on hard days, in ordinary moments, and over the long arc of getting better.

With gratitude,
Mark Anyang Founder & CEO, Umbrella Journal