ABOUT
We started with a question the industry hadn't answered.
Why do so many injured workers fail to recover — even when the medicine is right, physical therapy is complete, and every clinical box has been checked?
The answer, supported by two decades of research, is psychosocial. The beliefs, fears, and attitudes an injured worker carries into recovery predict outcomes as powerfully as the injury itself. Empatha was founded in 2017 to fill that gap.
Clinical innovation. Practical execution.
We are a multidisciplinary team of psychologists, rehabilitation professionals, licensed clinical providers, and technology specialists — united by a single goal: getting injured workers back to the life and work they left behind.
- Founded 2017
- Headquartered in Austin, Texas
- Guideline recognition: MTUS, ODG, AMA Guides
- National telehealth delivery — all 50 states
Leadership
Darrell Bruga — CEO & Co-Founder
A clinical executive with 25+ years in work disability, biopsychosocial care
management, and evidence-based program development. One of the first
Americans trained in PGAP® and a nationally recognized expert on
psychosocial drivers of delayed recovery.
Heather Bruga — COO & Co-Founder
Leads clinical operations, provider network, and program quality. 20+ years in care coordination and disability management.
Jane Reeder — CTO
Technology platform leader. Oversees RecoveryCM+, Empatha Predict, and the technical infrastructure connecting clinical programs to payer systems.
Erik Klinger — CFO
Finance leadership and capital strategy. Responsible for investor relations and financial operations.
The science behind what we do.
Empatha programs are built on peer-reviewed research. Our core clinical protocol, PGAP®, was developed at McGill University’s Centre for Research on Pain and Disability and has been used in over 65,000 cases worldwide.
The four psychosocial risk factors at the center of our work — catastrophic thinking, perceived injustice, fear avoidance, and disability beliefs — have been validated across dozens of peer-reviewed studies as the most powerful predictors of prolonged work disability.
The four psychosocial risk factors at the center of our work — catastrophic thinking, perceived injustice, fear avoidance, and disability beliefs — have been validated across dozens of peer-reviewed studies as the most powerful predictors of prolonged work disability.
We measure what matters.
78%
Return-to-work rate among program completers
7x
ROI for payers on high-cost delayed recovery cases
46.9%
Improvement in depression symptoms
77%
Morphine equivalent dosage reduction
87%
Patient satisfaction