Resonance

Inspiration

A few of us have experience with therapy in the past, and the challenges it can bring about, such as feeling alone/misunderstood in individual therapy, or like our growth is strictly time-blocked to those sessions.

What it does

Resonance is a platform that integrates AI into online anonymous group therapy sessions to allow individuals to be heard and facilitate open conversation in a safe environment, allowing therapists to focus solely on helping patients get better. Here’s How it Works:

1. Tell us what's on your mind: When you first join, you're not handed a clinical intake form. You're asked a simple question: "What's been on your mind lately?" You can describe it in your own words, or choose from common experiences — grief, loneliness, burnout, relationship struggles. From there, our system builds a picture of where you are.
2. You're matched to your pod: Based on what you share, you're placed into a small group of 4–6 people navigating something remarkably similar to what you're going through. Not just "grief" — but grief after losing a child. Not just "anxiety" — but anxiety rooted in burnout and identity. The specificity is the point. You're not in a room with strangers. You're with people who get it.
3. Sessions led by a real therapist: Your pod meets in structured, therapist-led group sessions. A licensed professional guides the conversation, keeps it focused, and ensures it stays safe. The format is intentional — not an open mic, but a space where everyone is seen and heard.
4. AI works quietly in the background: An AI co-monitor supports every session without ever taking the wheel. It tracks participation patterns, surfaces emotional themes, takes structured notes, and flags moments the therapist might want to revisit. After each session, the therapist gets a full overview — and each participant receives a personalized recap of what they shared, what surfaced for them, and what to reflect on before next time.
5. Support doesn't stop between sessions: Your pod stays connected through an ongoing private group chat — a space to share updates, check in on each other, and maintain the momentum of the work you're doing together. Peer support, built into the rhythm of care.
6. You can see yourself grow: Over time, the platform builds a picture of your progress. You'll see how your participation has evolved, what patterns keep coming up, and where you've shifted. A journaling feature lets you respond to reflections from your sessions, turning insight into something you can actually hold onto.

How we built it

Claude Code and Codex were instrumental in building functionality.

Challenges we ran into

It was challenging to refine on a problem statement that was unique and important enough to the theme of social impact. Ultimately, we settled on our topic by thinking about the issues of each of the 3 kinds of current therapy (individual, group, and AI-facilitated), and revealed that an AI-moderator with human in the loop was the best ‘middle-ground’. It was also challenging to find free API keys for relevant text speech or AI APis.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The demo is quite interesting, and building in such a short time block was pretty cool, unlike other hackathons. I think there is legitimate need for the problem space with a truly safe space for people to talk and listen to others in similar situations.

What we learned

We learned more about the therapy landscape, including AI-facilitated options, and the downsides of each. We learned more about options for text to speech.

What's next for Resonance

Some interesting next steps are actually implementing this into a video platform, such as with the Cornell-built Koov AI (that slots directly into Facetime and alternatives). Also, mid-week AI-check in emails with a cron-job can help keep accountability and goal-tracking between sessions. Also AI sentiment tracking and pattern recognition for more intricate insights, especially with video calls.

Scaling this is an interesting challenge, including marketing it for the specific target groups (including groups without the funds or with stigmas for therapy).

Built With

• deepgram
• gemini-flash
• next.js
• pod-matching
• postcss
• resend
• safety-analysis
• shadcn/ui
• tailwind
• typescript