Recently, the NYC Department of Health announced the launch of NYC Teenspace, a free online mental health care platform for teens aged 13 to 17. To participate, NYC teens complete an information form, and if they choose to receive therapy, they provide parent consent before they are then paired with a New York State licensed therapist who they can message and meet with virtually.
According to Talkspace, the online therapy company behind Teenspace, the motive for creating this platform was to give a solution to a “public health emergency” concerning a rise in teen mental health issues following the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to spread awareness and access to mental health resources for students of all backgrounds.
Guidance Counselor Ana Patete said, “from my understanding, the Mayor and Department of Mental Health Commissioner came together to bring about this program for the city, and I think it was [due to] what they saw as an increased need for mental health support. Especially after the pandemic, they saw a rise in depression and anxiety rates in NYC teenagers, so they wanted to mitigate that by providing an online resource free of cost.”
The Bring Change 2 Mind (BC2M) club at Townsend Harris High School also works to bring awareness to mental health issues through their weekly meetings. Senior Joelle Gopaul, President of BC2M, said that she hopes to bring attention to Teenspace in future meetings. “Because our club focuses so much on disseminating mental health [resources], informing our members of Teenspace so they can take care of themselves and others is of utmost importance.”
This free resource permits students to find help with ease. Sophomore Ayesha Patel said, “Students [may] prefer remote and easily accessible things, and since this platform could be reached through any device, I think students would prefer this over something in person.” Time and energy could be reserved for the session itself, and not months waiting for an in-person appointment.
“Overall, I think everyone—not just Townsend Harris students—stand to benefit from taking advantage of these free resources. It’s really important for people to take care of their mental health, and students aren’t an exception,” said senior Susan Yang.
Users receive a monthly 30-minute meeting with a licensed therapist with unlimited text messaging services. Teenagers do not need to be insured to access Teenspace services, but are required to have parental consent.
