Baltimore County high school students offered free telehealth therapy. Here's how it works
BALTIMORE - Students are dealing with stress from homework to friends, and now the holiday season.
It can be very overwhelming for many who don't have someone to speak with about their issues.
Students tell WJZ they hope programs like "Talkspace" will help them and their peers navigate through it all.
Renxian Shere-Wolfe, a 10th-grader, knows school and life outside of it can sometimes be challenging.
"I think it's mainly stress, and on top of that, you know, a lot of tests and being tired on top of the stress," Shere-Wolfe said.
Stress from schoolwork, social media, politics, and for some, problems at home, can be a tough task for any high schooler to navigate. And searching for someone to talk to can be even harder.
"A lot of students don't feel like they have an adult at school they can talk to," Shere-Wolfe said.
This week, Baltimore County Public Schools announced a partnership with "Talkspace," an online teletherapy provider that will now offer free services to 32,000 high school students -- all day, every day.
"We saw a rise in students saying that they were feeling depressed," said Dr. Kim Ferguson, Director of Emotional Support with the Baltimore County Public Schools.
Ferguson says data shows more than 40% of students, grades 9 through 12, say at some point they've felt sad or hopeless, with 20% of students seriously considering suicide.
"This is an opportunity for our students to get ahead of that, whether it be grades or friends or parents, any situations they want to talk through and get some guidance on," Ferguson said.
Students start the process by completing an online survey with "Talkspace."
Then, they're matched with a licensed therapist they can talk to at any time of the day.
"I think talking about anything is helpful, because, you know, it may not be some thing you're dealing with at the moment, but maybe you have something on your mind that's just eating away," Shere-Wolfe said.
To be eligible for this program, teens must be over the age of 13 and enrolled in a Baltimore County Public High School.
You can find more information on the Talkspace Website.
