Many teenagers today are not OK — that’s the gist of both government data and the observations of Talkspace therapists. According to the CDC, 42% of high school students reported feeling very sad or hopeless, and 22% had seriously considered trying to kill themselves. In a research Talkspace providers who work with teenagers, 63% report that they believe the mental health of high school students has worsened over the past two years (and only 8% say it has improved).
It is not easy for teenagers to get mental health support. School counselors are often severely overworked, treatment is out of reach for many teens, and even those who can pay for treatment find that therapists have months-long waiting lists due to a nationwide shortage. But teens can’t wait: Nearly 6 in 10 severely depressed youths don’t get any mental health treatment, and, tragically, 12 American teens kill themselves every day.
With numbers like these, it’s clear that adolescent mental health challenges are more than a personal problem, they’re a public health emergency. Now, the nation’s largest city is making a huge move to provide its young people with potentially life-saving support: With a new program called NYC Teenspace, the New York City Department of Health is offering every city resident ages 13-17 free mental health care health. from Talkspace.
This first-of-its-kind citywide initiative makes mental health treatment and education available at no cost to any New York teenager, regardless of income, insurance status, and where or whether they attend school. This is how it works:
- Teens 13-17 can visit talkspace.com/NYC from a computer or mobile device and enter their date of birth and address to qualify.
- They choose to start with an online mental health assessment and education and self-guided exercises designed for teens, or they can sign up for one-on-one therapy with a Talkspace therapist licensed in New York and experienced in treating teens.
- When a teen chooses therapy, they’ll need to enter a parent or guardian’s details so that Talkspace can obtain parental consent, then the teen will answer questions about the issues affecting them so we can match them with a therapist which will be suitable.
- Teens can message their therapist at any time through the secure Talkspace platform, and therapists usually respond 5 days a week. They can also schedule a 30-minute live virtual session with their therapist each month.
Studies conducted by major research institutions have shown that Talkspace message-based therapy is as effective as face-to-face therapy for common mental health conditions. The convenience and privacy of text-based therapy is especially appealing to many teens, who appreciate being able to text their therapist in the moment whenever they need to vent or seek support.
“Teens love the option to text and have daily access to their therapist,” says Talkspace therapist Christine Lamirande, LCMHC..
“Many teens seem more comfortable with texting therapy—it’s different for every teen, but availability seems to be comforting for them,” adds Minkyung Chung, MS, LMHC.
Talkspace’s team of therapists available to work with New York teens have a wide range of specialties and areas of expertise. They can support people with conditions such as depression, anxiety, OCD and more, and are also available to teenagers without a mental health condition who just need a private and objective person to talk to about school, relationships and stress everyday life.
New York City is one of the most diverse populations on the planet, and our therapists are diverse, too: About 35% of Talkspace’s NY-licensed therapists identify as BIPOC, 30% are either LGBTQIA+ or have experience working with LGBTQIA+ and speak 30 different languages (we can also provide real-time translation support in 120 languages).
Although Talkspace is not a suicide or crisis prevention hotline, our platform monitors messages in real time to detect signs that a teen may be at risk of self-harm and alerts the therapist that there may be a problem. If necessary, we have procedures in place to escalate any immediate crisis situation.
Because the teen mental health crisis is as complex as the teens themselves, there are no simple solutions. But there’s one thing our therapists know for sure: “Teens are clearly expressing their desire for more support, attention, understanding—just to ‘have someone in their corner’ or ‘have their back,'” says Elizabeth Keohan, LCSW. -C, LICSW. “That’s not ambiguous – teenagers usually say it. Their desire in the midst of disappointments is to be heard, but also for someone to take the time to understand.”
NYC Teenspace offers NYC teens that person to listen, that space to be heard, and a path to gain a greater understanding of themselves and how to navigate their worlds. We hope that by making this level of professional support convenient, private and more accessible to a teenage population than ever before, Talkspace will play a role in both preventing some of the most tragic outcomes of teenage challenges and helping young people build strong spiritual foundations health. From this foundation they can face the pressures of today and work to design brighter futures.
Interested in finding out how Talkspace can support adolescent mental health in your school, area or community? Reach out to learn more.
