CASE STUDY (Serenis): How to Address Mental Health Through a PR and Media Relations Strategy

1. THE CLIENT.

Serenis It is a licensed online medical center that offers services in psychotherapy, psychiatry, nutrition, sexology, coaching, and general medicine, all accessible online through an app. With over 3,000 carefully selected and specialized professionals—psychotherapists, psychiatrists, nutritionists, and doctors, with an average of over 11 years of experience—it is Italy’s leading digital resource for those seeking support for their physical and mental well-being.

The online medical center allows you to manage the entire process in an integrated way: scheduling appointments, chatting with a professional, journaling, personalized nutrition plans, and your health records. Our mission is to make physical and mental well-being more accessible by addressing the economic, technological, social, and cultural barriers that prevent people from seeking professional help.

Founded by Silvia Wang (CEO and co-founder) and Daniele Francescon (Co-founder), Serenis closed an investment round in September 2025, ranking among LinkedIn’s Top Startups in Italy 2025 and in Forbes’ Top 100 Italian Startups list. The collaboration with Disclosers has been ongoing since 2023 and covers all aspects of communications: from press releases to research surveys, from partnerships to industry insights, and even interviews with the founders and the clinical team.

2. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE COLLABORATION

Disclosers' mandate for Serenis operates on two levels that coexist throughout the collaboration and reinforce one another.

The first involves positioning Serenis as a leading digital medical center: establishing Serenis as an authoritative voice in the public debate on mental health in Italy, going beyond simply promoting the service. The goal is not to generate product mentions, but to build a consistent editorial presence on socially relevant topics—stigma, access to therapy, youth distress, work-life balance, and sexual well-being—that positions the brand as a trusted source for journalists, editorial teams, and readers.

The second level focuses on building the company’s reputation: communicating Serenis’s business trajectory—investment rounds, new services, partnerships, and awards—through business and industry media, thereby building credibility with an audience of stakeholders, investors, and potential partners, as well as with consumers.

In addition to these two levels, there is a constraint that permeates every strategic decision: mental health communication requires a specific level of editorial rigor. The topics covered are highly sensitive, often stigmatized, and easily misunderstood if addressed with imprecise or overly commercial language. The main challenge of the collaboration was finding the right angle each time: one capable of capturing the attention of editorial teams without trivializing the subject, and of generating coverage without slipping into content that could be harmful to readers.

3. THE STRATEGY: HOW TO COMMUNICATE ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH

There is no single approach to mental health communication.

A topic that touches on people’s intimate experiences must be able to speak different languages depending on the moment, the publication, and the chosen narrative angle. The strategy developed for Serenis is structured around six distinct approaches, each with its own logic and a specific function within the overall editorial plan.

Research and Surveys: Data as a Tool for Agenda Setting

The most effective way to get mental health coverage in publications that don’t normally cover the topic is to turn it into news using previously unpublished data. Surveys conducted with qualified partners—BVA Doxa, Marketing Espresso, Hays, and the University of Padua—have made it possible to craft press releases featuring original, unpublished figures that are hard for newsrooms to ignore. The BVA Doxa study on the mental health of Italians produced two waves of data (July 2023 and February 2024), ensuring narrative continuity over time. The Gen Z vs. Millennials survey conducted with Marketing Espresso on nearly 5,000 respondents—revealing that 8 out of 10 Gen Zers fear they won’t be able to build a fulfilling life—generated coverage in 2026 in La Repubblica, Famiglia Cristiana, Leggo, Adnkronos, Rai Radio 1 and *Io Donna*, reaching audiences that vary widely in age, interests, and orientation. The Workplace Well-Being Observatory, conducted in collaboration with the University of Padua, has instead opened the door to publications such as Corriere della Sera, Business & Finance – La Repubblica, Style and *Il Messaggero*, where mental health is viewed through the lens of corporate policy and productivity.

Newsjacking and Thematic Press Releases: Capitalizing on Current Events

Mental health is a cross-cutting issue that touches nearly every area of life. The strategy leveraged this cross-cutting nature to create press releases that could tie in with special occasions, cultural trends, and current events, offering newsrooms expert psychological insight into topics already on the media’s agenda. The press release on notriphobia—the fear of not being able to go on vacation—capitalized on the pre-summer surge in interest in travel and vacations, generating coverage in Io Donna, Marie Claire, Amica, Cosmopolitan, Fanpage, Luce-La Nazione, and Starbene. The press release on summer guilt followed the same seasonal logic, yielding similar results in Style, Io Donna, and Cosmopolitan. This approach makes it possible to reach lifestyle and women’s magazines—which are generally reluctant to feature purely clinical psychology content—through a format that meets their editorial needs: a nameable phenomenon, data, an expert voice, and practical advice.

Partnerships as Thematic Amplifiers

Collaborations with brands and organizations have served a dual purpose: expanding our reach through our partners’ channels and editorial teams, and addressing topics that would have been more difficult to cover on our own. The partnership with MySecretCase introduced the topic of sexual well-being—for which Serenis developed a dedicated sexology service—with a press release based on a survey of 25,000 people that reached consumer, women’s, and health publications. The partnership with Hays brought the topic of workplace well-being to Donna Moderna, Forbes, Affari & Finanza – La Repubblica, ANSA, Il Sole 24 Ore. The partnership with the Italian Federation for Overcoming Disabilities (FISH), on the other hand, has expanded our coverage to include mental health and disability issues, with articles published on Corriere.it InVisibili, Avvenire, and Milano.Repubblica.it.

Interviews with founders and corporate thought leadership

Serenis’s authority is also shaped by the voice of its leader. Interviews with Silvia Wang e Daniele Francescon They covered topics ranging from women in entrepreneurship to the business model of digital medical centers, from perspectives on mental health in Italy to trends in the HealthTech sector. In 2025 and 2026, these interviews led to articles in La Repubblica, Corriere della Sera, Affari & Finanza, Il Sole 24 Ore, Wall Street Italia, TgCom24  e Forbes. Interviews with Martina Migliore (Director of Training and Development, head of the clinical team) in *Il Sole 24 Ore*, *Cosmopolitan*, *Silhouette Donna*, and *Starbene* have shaped the clinical team’s public profile, setting Serenis apart from the competition through the visible expertise of its professionals.

Themed Clinical Articles: Expertise as an Editorial Format

A significant portion of Serenis’s coverage is generated not by press releases, but by technical articles provided to newsrooms on specific topics. The analysis of the effects of hyperconnectivity on young people for Safer Internet Day, the commentary on data regarding the psychologist bonus, and reflections on mental well-being in sports contexts as part of partnerships with the National Amateur League: in all these cases, the contribution of a Serenis professional has provided access to newsrooms and thematic contexts that a traditional press release would not have reached. This approach transforms the clinical team into a permanent editorial resource for journalists, building ongoing relationships with newsrooms.

Corporate Communications and Positioning as a Growing Startup

In addition to thematic communication, the strategy supported the company’s growth milestones with a dedicated narrative plan. The investment round closed in September 2025 generated over 40 exits, with appearances on Il Sole 24 Ore, La Repubblica, Forbes, Il Messaggero, Corriere della Sera, La Stampa, Italian Tech, and Milano Finanza. The launch of the new general practice service in February 2026 led to coverage of Serenis in *Il Messaggero* and *Radiocor – Il Sole 24 Ore*. These corporate moments serve a specific purpose: to build Serenis’s economic and institutional credibility among an audience that is not the typical one for mental health communications, and which judges the company based on criteria of financial stability, growth, and market relevance.

4. RESULTS.

Between 2023 and May 2026, the PR activities carried out for Serenis generated more than 1,500 total releases, published in national, women's, industry-specific, local, and international publications.

2025 was the year with the highest volume: 760 releases, including 176 Type A publications—top-tier newspapers such as Corriere della Sera, Il Sole 24 Ore, La Repubblica, Forbes, Milano Finanza, Avvenire, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, and Io Donna—and 383 Type B publications, namely vertical publications focused on health, work, lifestyle, and industry. In the first five months of 2026, there have already been 424 issues, 85 of which are Type A.

The nature of the media coverage has changed significantly over time. In 2023, coverage was primarily in specialized psychology and health publications; in 2024, it expanded to general-interest women’s and current affairs publications, thanks to surveys and partnerships; in 2025 and 2026, Serenis also established a steady presence in business and financial media—Il Sole 24 Ore, Corriere della Sera, Milano Finanza, Forbes, and La Repubblica—with content on company growth, investment rounds, and awards. This gradual expansion of its media reach is the clearest indicator of a successful repositioning: from an online mental health clinic to a major player in the Italian HealthTech landscape.

5. SELECTION OF TYPE A GRADUATES, 2025–2026

6. CONCLUDING REMARKS

The Serenis case demonstrates how communicating a structurally challenging topic—mental health, with its associated stigma, sensitivity, and risks of trivialization—can become a tool for precise positioning when approached with editorial rigor and a diversified content strategy.

The most significant result is not the volume of publications, but the gradual expansion of the media landscape: from specialized psychology publications to business media such as *Il Sole 24 Ore*, *Corriere della Sera*, and *Forbes*, reaching major women’s and news publications. Each expansion was driven by a specific narrative angle—research findings, a significant partnership, or a milestone in the company’s growth—that made mental health relevant to that particular publication and its specific audience.

The other significant achievement concerns the team’s growing credibility. Interviews with Silvia Wang, Daniele Francescon, Martina Migliore, and clinical professionals have transformed Serenis from an online medical center into an authoritative voice: journalists are beginning to contact the spokespersons not only to cover news about Serenis, but to obtain expert input on broader mental health issues. This shift—from being the subject of news coverage to becoming a news source—is the clearest sign that the brand positioning is working.

The ongoing challenge in Serenis’s communication remains one of balance: finding, each time, the right angle to generate media attention without slipping into oversimplifications that could be harmful to readers. In this sense, the rigor of the clinical team—which is always involved in drafting press releases—is not a constraint but a resource that sets Serenis apart from those who communicate about mental health in a superficial way.