Aaron Fobian, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and founder of ReACT FND Health The University of Alabama at Birmingham startup ReACT FND Health has been rapidly expanding access to specialized care nationwide through telehealth for functional neurological disorder, a condition affecting brain-body communication, marked by involuntary symptoms like functional seizures, movement difficulties and speech problems. The disorder is often misunderstood and can lead to years of disability and repeated emergency care before patients find effective treatment.
Since its launch supported by the Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2024, ReACT FND Health has treated 155 patients from 30 states through more than 900 treatment sessions utilizing Retraining and Control Therapy®, and has graduated more than 40 patients from treatment.
“Through ReACT, patients learn concrete, skill-based strategies to prevent symptoms from occurring or stop them once they begin,” said Aaron Fobian, Ph.D., professor in the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, creator of ReACT, and founder of ReACT FND Health. “This approach helps patients regain a sense of control over their bodies, resulting in meaningful reductions in the frequency and severity of symptoms.”
ReACT FND Health provides direct-to-patient telehealth treatment, allowing individuals to receive specialized, evidence-based FND care regardless of location. The startup currently offers services in all states that participate in the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact, an interstate compact that enables licensed psychologists to practice telepsychology across more than 40 states and territories.
ReACT FND Health recently launched telehealth treatment services in New York and California, two large non-PSYPACT states where access to research-supported FND care has been limited.
In 2025, the startup launched a new patient portal, expanding its ReACT Precision Treatment Tool®. The platform assists psychologists in tailoring ReACT to each patient’s symptoms, and allows patients to securely access training materials, practice exercises between sessions and track progress over time. This makes between-session practice easier and helps patients develop skills more quickly.
Demand for ReACT training continues to increase, with more than 500 providers across 17 countries currently on the training waitlist. In April 2025, ReACT FND Health conducted its first international training in Iceland, certifying six psychologists.
“For Iceland’s centralized health care system, the training helped lay the groundwork for national-scale implementation of research-supported FND treatment,” Fobian said. “We plan to continue expanding ReACT training opportunities both domestically and internationally in 2026 and beyond.”