A few questions people ask us.

MyWhatIf Foundation is a veteran-led applied-research nonprofit, developing a hope intervention for trauma recovery and rehabilitation. A Hero brings a meaningful What if question, and a structured, personalized narrative process works from that question and is designed to strengthen hope, agency and purpose. It runs in a browser. The Approach page walks through how the question becomes a session.

No. MyWhatIf is a structured trauma recovery and hope intervention. It is not psychotherapy, not a substitute for it and not a diagnostic tool. It is designed to produce measurable psychological outcomes, and potentially clinically meaningful ones, which is why the Foundation runs clinical studies rather than asserting the result.

No, and it is not an open-ended AI conversation. Generative AI is one component inside a broader proprietary intervention architecture. A non-generative control layer, HERS, sets the trajectory and bounds what a narrative may do. BNO, the narrative component, writes within those bounds, and a safety layer scores every candidate before it is delivered. In short: HERS decides the trajectory; BNO writes within its bounds; a safety layer scores every candidate. AI is part of the engine. It is not the intervention. That structure is also what makes the experience possible to hold to a protocol, and therefore possible to review and study.

A Hero is what MyWhatIf calls a participant. The word is deliberate. They are not here to be fixed. They are here to take an active role in what comes next.

Because the first move belongs to the person. A Hero’s own question sets the direction, which keeps the work on possibility they chose to explore rather than a future the system decided for them. The entry point also has a lineage in solution-focused practice.

“What-if is the miracle question that opens the door to the possibilities for therapy. It does this by simply asking people to consider what an alternate reality might look like – one in which things are different, better, and problems are resolved”

It is intended for people affected by trauma and by the disruptions in hope, future orientation, agency and purpose that often follow. It is not limited to people with a diagnosis, and anyone who feels stuck or uninspired, or who is looking for hope, meaning and purpose, may find it relevant. Whether it helps, and for whom, is what the studies are testing, and benefit has not yet been demonstrated for any group. It is also used inside approved hope intervention programs run with partner organizations, and eligibility for a specific study or program is set by that program.

No. MyWhatIf is designed as its own structured intervention. It can also sit alongside other care where that is appropriate, and it does not replace therapy for people who are in it.

No. MyWhatIf does not require anyone to recount or relive a traumatic event in order to take part. A Hero chooses what to explore and what to share. Difficult material can still surface when a person looks honestly at their own future, so the experience is built to move at the pace the Hero sets.

Something you actually care about. Questions can be about the past or  future, identity, relationships, work, meaning or what comes next. There is no correct form. The most useful question is usually the one you would not say out loud. A Hero gets to ask just one new What if question per week, which keeps each one meaningful and carrying real emotional stakes.

It is a structured program. The initial length is 6 to 12 weeks, set by a baseline resilience score, and most people should plan on approximately 20–30 minutes per week. A Hero who needs more time can request it and will be granted additional weeks. Length can also vary by implementation, since a specific study or partner program may set its own.

A phone or a computer. MyWhatIf runs in a browser, so there is nothing to download and nothing to install.

English, Hebrew, Arabic, Ukrainian and Russian are the five currently supported languages and cultures. We add support by request, following the partner organizations and countries that invite us to collaborate.

Only one study is enrolling at the moment: the Mount Sinai study in adults with PTSD, which is IRB approved and enrolling. Other studies are approved or still in development and are not yet open to participants, and eligibility is set by each protocol. Two programs, for family caregivers and for civic leaders in Hope Lab, are open now; they are programs, not clinical trials. Projects lists the work underway and its status. If you represent an NGO or organization that would like to bring members into future studies on trauma, depression, chronic pain and related conditions, write to us.

Yes. HIPAA compliance is one part of a broader privacy and trust model, which Safety and privacy sets out in full.

What the Hero gives it. Text and voice are in use today. Video, facial and behavioral signals are in development through the research program and are not deployed as a current participant measurement input. Inputs are used to personalize the experience. Safety and privacy describes each input and what it contributes.

Voice analysis contributes signals and biomarkers relating to emotion and to stable psychological characteristics, using licensed, proprietary third-party technology. No single signal describes a person, and none is treated as a complete profile on its own. These signals are not a diagnosis and are not used to make one.

Yes. If you ask us to delete your data, we delete your personally identifiable and protected health information. Safety and privacy explains what that covers.

Not automatically. Using MyWhatIf and taking part in research are two separate decisions. If you consent to research, relevant anonymized data may be shared with researchers under the applicable ethics board and IRB approvals. Researchers do not receive your personally identifiable or protected health information.

No. MyWhatIf is not emergency care and is not monitored as an emergency response service. Anyone in immediate danger should contact their local emergency services. A formal crisis-response pathway is in place, supported by a safety protocol developed with the Clinical Development Board and Dr. Ziv Ben-Zion, alongside peer/community pathways with STAR Network Foundation.

Yes. Research collaborations with universities, hospitals and research partners are testing MyWhatIf, and several of them are still in development. Projects lists what is running, with whom and at what stage.

Not yet. We have encouraging early signals from an uncontrolled proof-of-concept cohort. Controlled and longitudinal studies are testing efficacy, durability and who benefits most.

We are building evidence toward potential FDA authorization and reimbursement. Authorization has not been granted and is not assumed, and reimbursement work depends on validation and regulatory milestones. Authorization is not required for every deployment. MyWhatIf can also be deployed as a hope intervention where that is legally and operationally appropriate.

Yes. Collaboration can take the form of research, a clinical study, an implementation, or a program built for a specific population. Not every MyWhatIf project is a clinical study. The useful starting point is a conversation about the people you serve and what your site can host.

No. It is designed to extend access to a structured intervention, not to replace clinical judgment or human relationships. Where clinical involvement is appropriate, MyWhatIf is meant to work with it.

Because we wanted the mission to stay in charge. The Foundation is built so access, evidence and public benefit drive decisions rather than engagement metrics or the highest price a person in distress will pay. The organization should be aligned with the people it serves, so we optimize for outcomes and impact rather than engagement or profit. This form is also what lets us protect the mission and the ethical use of our technology and data. Philanthropy is catalytic: it builds evidence, infrastructure, safety, measurement, access and implementation capacity. Our goal is for MyWhatIf's core operations to become self-sustaining by 2030 through diversified, mission-aligned institutional revenue, while philanthropy continues to help expand access, research and replication. It is a goal, not a commitment or a forecast, and no single source, including reimbursement or licensing, is assured to get us there. Pathways could include sponsored access, institutional and government partnerships, reimbursement where validated and authorized, and mission-aligned replication. None of these pathways is settled today.

MyWhatIf Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 99-1882303. Donations may be tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Through partner organizations we can also accept tax deductible support for our programs in Israel, Canada and the United Kingdom. We accept gifts of cash, stock, crypto and in kind. We are not able to give tax advice.

Development of the intervention, the clinical research program, real world implementations, access for people who could not otherwise reach it, and the privacy and safety infrastructure all of it depends on. MyWhatIf is always free to participants. About $100 sponsors one participant today. That is a current operating estimate, not a permanent marginal cost and not an outcome claim, and the economics of a future replicated deployment may differ. Impact sets out what is funded now and what the next stage needs.

Yes. MyWhatIf was built by people who brought what they knew. Clinical and research collaboration, technology, storytelling, design, translation, introductions and community access are all useful. Tell us what you have and what you would want to work on.

The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors. Its Clinical Development Board helps define the clinical judgment model and safety protocols and challenges assumptions, methodology, risk and evidence. The Foundation is operated by its leadership team.