What if technology could make therapy more human, not less?
In Episode 83 of Women Disrupting Tech, Diana Oganesian shares how her personal journey, from witnessing her family’s struggles after a devastating earthquake to leading the AI-powered platform Sestive, is reshaping mental health care for patients and therapists alike.
Key Takeaways from the episode
In this episode, we discover:
📊 Why therapy needs data-driven insights to improve.
👩🏽💻 How tech-savvy therapists are reshaping mental health.
🌪️ The perfect storm that inspired Diana to build Sestive.
🎧 Curious how Sestive is using AI to make therapy more tailored, effective and informed? Hit play below and dive into the conversation.
Using AI to Transform Therapy & Mental Health Outcomes with Diana Oganesian | Ep. 83 – Women Disrupting Tech
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- Key Takeaways from the episode
- Want to help build a more inclusive tech industry? Change starts here!
- What’s magical about the episode 🪄
- The Two Zero-Cost Ways to Support Women Disrupting Tech
- What Stood Out to Me
- About Diana Oganesian
- About Sestive
- Diana’s book tips (blog)
- Let me know what you think!
- What’s coming up?
- More episodes like this?
What’s magical about the episode 🪄
45% of psychotherapists face burnout. Therapy’s effectiveness, around 60%, hasn’t improved in 40 years.
With demand for mental health care skyrocketing, the system is struggling. And both therapists and patients deserve better.
Diana Oganesian saw this up close. After both her grandfathers struggled with trauma following an earthquake, she realized therapy was in dire need of a reboot.
That’s why she’s building Sestive, a platform that uses AI to make psychotherapy work better for everyone.
In episode 83 of Women Disrupting Tech, Diana and I discuss:
🔍 Why being a therapist is far more than just taking notes
🤖 How AI can improve conversations, diagnoses, and treatments
🔒 What Diana and her team do to keep our sensitive health information safe and secure.
What stood out to me? Psychotherapy isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s a personal process that takes effort and understanding from both sides. Making it better with AI takes time, knowledge, and care.
🎧 Ready to learn how AI is reshaping mental health care? Check out Episode 83: How Sestive Uses AI to Transform Therapy and Mental Health Outcomes with Diana Oganesian on Spotify!
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What Stood Out to Me
Three things stood out to me: an absurd coincidence, the depth of Diana’s mission, and the generational gap between old and new therapists.
First, the coincidence: Diana’s grandfather was dismissed from the Soviet army for refusing to shoot down a civilian plane. Decades later, on Christmas Day, a Russian officer shot down an Azeri airplane, mistaking it for a drone. Though recorded before this tragedy, it made me wonder: what if the officer had acted with the same courage as Diana’s grandfather?
Second, our discussion about therapists and technology (around 35 minutes in) highlights a generational divide. Newer therapists, raised in the age of AI, approach therapy differently than those of us who remember a pre-digital world. Diana believes these shifts will lead to new therapies tailored for tech-savvy patients.
Finally, the depth of Sestive’s mission is striking. Therapy isn’t one-size-fits-all. Diana explains how successful outcomes rely on layers: the right therapy, the right therapist, and a strong connection between them. And that’s just the beginning.
Want to hear the full episode? Tune in to the episode on Apple Podcasts, or click the image with the quote to watch the episode on YouTube.
“We’re creating the space when therapies in daily life can be more tailored, effective and informed.”
Sestive co-founder and CEO Diana Oganesian.
About Diana Oganesian
Diana Oganesian is the Co-founder and CEO of Sestive. Prior to founding Sestive, Diana led initiatives across Telco, IT, FMCG, and Creative sectors in Switzerland, the USA, Armenia, Romania, and the Netherlands.
Her passion for mental health began in childhood after both of her grandfathers fell into a deep depression following the 1988 earthquake.
This personal experience helped her understand the transformative power of talk therapy. In 2024, leveraging technological innovations and her entrepreneurial experience, she saw a clear path to turning this vision into reality. That’s how Sestive was born. You can connect with Diana on LinkedIn.
About Sestive
Sestive is on a mission to transform psychotherapy by integrating Vertical AI to improve therapist effectiveness significantly. Their tools help therapists give data-driven, impactful therapy experiences, supporting therapists in overcoming burnout and client dropouts while enhancing productivity. You can learn more on the website and follow the journey on LinkedIn. And if you’re interested in using the platform as a psychotherapist, you can email Diana.
Diana’s book tips (blog)
During the episode, we mention two books that touch on the topics that we discussed. The first is The Anxious Generation which is especially relevant for parents who want to learn more about the impact of smartphones, social media and big tech on their children. The second is Men, Machine and Modern Times, which is relevant for startup founders who want to understand how societies respond to changes.
Let me know what you think!
After hearing Diana’s story, what do you think the future of therapy should look like? Should Artificial Intelligence have a role, or should therapy stay human-driven? Share your views, questions and observations in the comments.
If you would like to suggest a guest that I absolutely must have on the podcast, please let me know via email or send a DM on LinkedIn.
What’s coming up?
I’m proud to say that we have some amazing episodes coming your way in the next weeks. In episode 84, Carla Canino explains how we can make Artificial Intelligence a force for good. After that, in episode 85, we learn from Gaurav Gupta and Iris Bloemsma how Blockverse helps companies up-skill diverse talent for a more inclusive tech world.
So, stay tuned for more inspiring stories on Women Disrupting Tech in 2025!
Until we meet again in the next episode, keep being awesome.
More episodes like this?
It’s always difficult to compare, but if I could recommend three episodes related to the role of AI in medical fields, it would be these:
– In episode 56, Jacqueline Kazmaier explains how her company, Autoscriber, helps doctors get better clinical notes and better health outcomes using AI and sentiment analysis.
– In episode 47, fellow Armenian Liana Hakobyan tells us how to use AI in our marketing.
– In episode 4, Faviola Dadis and I discover the world of Serious Brain Games and how they help people with traumatic brain injuries recover faster and better.
Women Disrupting Tech | The Podcast 