Adolescent treatment from Baltimore County Public Schools

Posted on: December 19, 2023

You may have heard talk of a teen mental health crisis in the US, and unfortunately it’s not just talk. The data and observations of Talkspace therapists show that many teenagers are not well. According to latest CDC data42% of high school students reported feeling very sad or hopeless, and in a survey of Talkspace providers who work with teens, 63% report that they believe the mental health of high school students has worsened in the past two years (and only 8% say that it has improved).

Maryland is no exception—in fact an alarming 17% of Maryland youth had attempted suicide, according to CDC data from 2021. We know that, nationally, too few teens in crisis are getting the support they need and nearly 6 in 10 young people with major depression do not receive any mental health treatment.

Baltimore County Public Schools counselors and administrators want to do what they can to support the mental health of high school students in their district, so they’ve partnered with Talkspace. Now any high school student age 13 and older in a Baltimore County public high school can receive text therapy with a licensed Talkspace therapist and access a clinically proven online mental health program that they can complete at their own pace.

Adolescent Therapy

Specialized online therapy for ages 13-17

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Here’s how BCPS high school students can sign up:

Visit talkspace.com/bcps and enter your preferred email and keyword to qualify. The keyword can be found on the Focus Student Portal announcements page.
Answer a few questions about your feelings and state of mind and you’ll receive a personalized support program through the Talkspace Go app. You’ll find mental health education and self-guided exercises designed for teens. You can complete exercises and online courses entirely at your own pace.
If you choose to receive 1-on-1 messaging therapy, within a day or two you will be matched with a licensed therapist in Maryland. Talkspace technology matches you with a therapist based on factors like what you’re dealing with and the therapist’s specialty.
You can message your therapist on Talkspace 24/7. Therapists generally respond every day, 5 days a week.

Messaging therapy takes place on Talkspace’s secure and encrypted platform, accessible from teens’ smartphones, tablets or computers. They can contact their therapist at any time with an unlimited number of private messages at no cost. The effectiveness of Talkspace’s message-based therapy has been validated by 20+ published studies conducted in collaboration with major research institutions such as Columbia University and New York University.

Teens love the option of messaging and daily access to their counselor, which is a huge plus of what Talkspace offers. Many teens seem more comfortable with texting therapy—its availability seems comforting to them.
Talkspace therapist Minkyung Chung, MS, LMHC

Talkspace’s team of therapists available to work with Baltimore County public high school teens have received special training in working with teens and have expertise in a wide range of conditions including depression, anxiety, OCD, and more. But therapy isn’t just for teens with specific mental health needs—the service is available to any student who just wants someone to listen and help them deal with the typical stresses of modern teenage life. Seeking therapy and other forms of mental health support even when there is no immediate issue to address can prevent the development of mental health problems by giving teens the tools they need to regulate their emotions and manage stress in healthy ways. way.

There is no simple solution to the mental health challenges facing America’s teenagers, but giving them a space to be heard is a fundamental first step. Baltimore County Public Schools provides this for their students, and we hope that by putting understanding and caring professionals in the hands of these teenagers, so that support is always a message away, their students will be able to feel better now and develop insights and coping skills to support mentally healthy futures.

For more information about the program, including registration and parent/guardian consent, visit talkspace.com/bcps.

Interested in finding out how Talkspace can support adolescent mental health in your school, area or community? Reach out to learn more.

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