Our Story
Lingwell was built on a simple conviction: intentional language shapes better outcomes in all contexts, but especially when our core humanity feels at stake.
The words we know how to say, or don’t know to say, influence how we connect with those around us, how we navigate illness, and how we recover from trauma. Lingwell was created to make those words more available when they matter most.
Lingwell grew out of the work of founder Matthew Leavitt Brown, who has spent nearly two decades developing a language-based methodology for reflection, recovery, and resilience. Focusing on elements of Expressive Writing Therapy, Narrative Medicine, Cognitive Linguistics, Systems and Process Theories, and the Philosophy of Language, his research and practice began alongside his teaching at Middle Tennessee State University in 2009, when he created an organization to engage veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This work expanded to the creation of specialized groups for survivors of various forms of violence, patients, refugees, frontline workers, grief support, and others navigating life-changing stress. Along the way, he earned an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Writing and Language Studies, exploring a qualitative assessment of best practices for using language itself as a vital form of care.
From these roots, Matthew built Lingwell: a guided, AI-supported system trained not only on research, but on the voices of the people it serves: teachers, nurses, veterans, survivors, caregivers, etc.
With early support from the National Science Foundation and validation at Vanderbilt University’s The Wond’ry (Center for Innovation), Lingwell has moved from a research project to a working tool. Today, we have done early pilot studies with chronically ill patients, veterans, and first responders. Lingwell is working on partnerships and beta tests with physical therapy clinics and prominent universities to support reflection, communication, and more human-centered care.
Lingwell is a new kind of reflective technology: structured, human-centered, and designed to help people find their own words in the moments they need them most.
We believe that when people find the language for their experience, they find the ground for healing, understanding, and connection.
Our Development
Lingwell was shaped through collaboration with veterans, survivors, clinicians, educators, and caregivers. The language model was trained on the real voices of those who have spent time on the front lines of human experience, like doctors, nurses, firefighters, refugees, and others. It was refined through hundreds of guided conversations. This ensures the tool is responsive, respectful, and grounded in lived experience.
Our Partners
Supported in early-stage development by the National Science Foundation and refined in partnership with Vanderbilt University’s The Wond’ry (Center for Innovation), Lingwell’s growth is guided by both rigorous research and deep empathy.
Our Commitment
Lingwell is designed to meet people at depth. It is not therapy, a chatbot, or journaling. It is a new class of reflective technology that treats language as care in itself.
