Chris Gaeta is the Founder and CEO of Insite Health, a behavioral health platform dedicated to supporting K-12 school districts through a hybrid model of technology and specialized clinical services. Chris is a Gen-Z investor passionate about improving access to care since the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership, Insite Health has evolved into a comprehensive solution that integrates mental health screenings, on-site therapy, and psychiatric support to address the complex needs of students and educators nationwide.

Chris Gaeta, CE, Insite Health

The Pulse: To begin, what first sparked your interest in healthcare?

Chris Gaeta: I grew up thinking I was going to be an ER doctor. Throughout college, I had a very strong interest in emergency medicine and worked as an EMT. Being in the emergency department really opened my eyes to what I like to call “hands-on healthcare”—seeing patients at their most vulnerable and having the ability to support them during those times. Over the last several years, I had the opportunity to dive deeper into the digital health space, which eventually led to what we are doing now at Insite Health.

The Pulse: Could you talk more about that transition? What specifically led you to start Insite Health?

CG: My prior company focused on the “return to school” process during COVID-19 by providing telehealth programs to public school districts. That was my first entrance into the K-12 healthcare space. As the pandemic began to wind down, school districts shared a glaring need for behavioral health support. In 2022, I met with roughly 80 school district leaders across the country. They consistently listed behavioral health as a top priority and a major area of challenge. It became apparent that while many districts had various “point solutions,” there was a massive opportunity to support them with a more holistic and integrated program.

The Pulse: What were some of the major challenges those administrators highlighted, and how does Insite provide a more holistic alternative?

CG: One district in a rural part of New Jersey really encapsulated the problem: they were using six different provider solutions on any given day. They had one platform for behavioral threat evaluations, a local hospital for psychiatric assessments, and another group for IEP (Individualized Education Program) evaluations. This fragmentation was the norm regardless of district size.

I like to use the analogy of a general surgeon opening a practice. You wouldn’t task that doctor with being the contractor, the electrician, and the plumber while also managing disparate software platforms; you want the surgeon focused on fixing the appendix. In many districts, administrators were being forced to manage that complex “back-end” of healthcare. Insite acts as the specialist for the district, combining child psychiatry and behavioral health expertise with a platform that handles everything from district-wide mental health screenings to care navigation and on-site clinical staffing.

The Pulse: You mentioned a wide range of services—from screenings to on-site psychiatry. How did you build out these niche capabilities as a young company?

CG: We were very particular with our ramp-up. We wanted to ensure we had national experts building each segment, so we developed almost all of those verticals in-house. This included everyone from leading behavioral threat assessment experts to child psychiatrists who have managed psychiatric IEPs for 30 years. Reputation and quality are everything in K-12. We aren’t dealing with widgets; we’re dealing with kids. We’ve been very selective about which programs to launch and which to hold off on until we felt we had true clinical and operational excellence.

The Pulse: The healthcare workforce is a major theme for our conference this year. How are you navigating the shortage of mental health professionals, especially for on-site care?

CG: It is certainly an industry-wide challenge. At Insite, we try to align with provider groups that value our unique mission. We focus heavily on reducing administrative friction through technology and fostering mission alignment. Many clinicians have a strong affinity for school-based work, but they also want camaraderie. We offer a hybrid presence that includes mentorship and a “buddy system,” encouraging team-based collaboration and helping providers build stronger connections to the organization. 

The Pulse: Could you expand on that buddy system and the mentoring aspects of your workforce?

CG: Because we have an in-person presence, we can facilitate peer-to-peer case reviews. Clinicians in a given region come together weekly for case presentations and professional development. We bring in national experts to discuss trending topics—like technology addiction, school refusal, and social anxiety. This allows our team to build clinical expertise while maintaining the in-person peer connections that remote-only roles often lack.

The Pulse: Technology addiction is a fascinating topic. What are you seeing on the front lines regarding social media and student wellness?

CG: Our National Medical Director actually has a clinical interest in gaming addiction, so it’s something we watch closely. While it may not be the most frequent primary diagnosis, it is almost always part of the context in cases of anxiety and depression. We are seeing more social media posts being included as part of intake collateral for patients. It’s a nascent field, but it’s not going away. We’ve also seen significant legislative action recently, with many states and districts implementing cell phone bans in classrooms. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the outcomes of those policies.

The Pulse: Insite recently expanded its focus to include adults. What prompted that shift?

CG: Our goal is to support communities with access to care. As we grew within school districts, it became clear there was a need for longitudinal care that extended to the families and the broader community. Our outpatient programs now offer psychiatry, therapy, and intensive outpatient services. While the majority of our work remains district-based, these community resources allow us to support the entire ecosystem, ensuring care doesn’t just stop at the school gates.

The Pulse: Looking ahead to 2030, what is your strategic vision for Insite Health?

CG: Our goal is to build the nation’s largest wellness platform in K-12. We believe that combining a service component with a software component is what enables us to do this effectively. In the next five years, we will continue to focus on “depth over breadth”—investing deeply in the regions where we operate and partnering with local nonprofits and hospital systems. We want to be the “operating system” for student wellness.

The Pulse: If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing in the policy environment, what would it be?

CG: The interstate nature of provider licensure. It is an incredibly complex and expensive process. I would love to see a federal-level licensure so that a team member could support students in Virginia, New Jersey, or New Hampshire without the months of delays and tens of thousands of dollars in costs. From an access-to-care perspective, that would have a profound and immediate impact.

The Pulse: Finally, how do you see emerging technologies like AI shaping the behavioral health landscape?

CG: I think of COVID as the great demarcation for adoption—it accelerated telehealth by a decade. Now, the shift is moving toward clinical decision support and operational efficiency. We’re seeing tools like AI scribes and copilots that reduce administrative burden and provide informed care planning.

Longer term, I’m interested in the role of asynchronous AI and how it will redefine the therapy experience—from intake to aftercare. While the therapeutic relationship with a human clinician remains integral, the experience around the session and that relationship will look dramatically different by 2030. Healthcare is beginning to reach its own “mobile check deposit” moment—similar to how banking shifted from in-person transactions to seamless, always-available digital workflows. That shift provided a net benefit to remove friction from the system. In the same way, automation in care delivery will reduce barriers, increase continuity, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.