Talkspace Expands Its Specialized Support for Teens with Launch of New Peer-to-Peer Community Product

September 04, 2024 at 08:00 AM EDT

New offerings to include launch of Teenspace Community, as well as new partnerships with BeMe and PM Pediatric Care to bring comprehensive care to K-12 students

Talkspace, a leading online behavioral health care company, announced it will bolster its teen offerings through the launch of Teenspace Community, a product built into its existing platform that allows teens to talk and share in a safe forum and connect with other teens anonymously. Additionally, Talkspace has entered into partnerships with BeMe, a leading digital platform focused on adolescent one-to-one coaching, and PM Pediatric Care, a leading national pediatric urgent care. Together, this expansion of Talkspace’s offerings brings comprehensive care to K-12 students.

The United States is experiencing an unprecedented teen mental health crisis. According to the latest CDC data¹, the percentage of students who felt persistently sad or hopeless has steadily increased. In 2023, 4 in 10 high school students reported experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 2 in 10 seriously considered attempting suicide, and nearly 1 in 10 made an attempt. In the midst of this crisis, mental health support tailored specifically for teens has never been more critical.

“We’re on a mission to address the teen mental health crisis using every tool at our disposal. With Teenspace Community we are truly meeting teens where they are, by creating a safe and non-judgemental space where they can express themselves and receive the validation from peers they seek,” said Jon Cohen, MD, Talkspace Chief Executive Officer. “In addition, our partnerships with BeMe and PM Pediatric Care allow us to expand the range of evidence-based care we can offer school districts, state and local governments as they serve their teen populations.”

Teenspace Community

Talkspace is augmenting its therapy services with Teenspace Community, a safe and affirming online space where teens gather anonymously to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences–all within the Talkspace app. This product feature will be available to organizations, school districts, governments and agencies administering care to teen populations to add onto the core therapy offering. Teenspace Community revolves around a daily question, posed by our clinical team. Teen members can respond, send and receive supportive messages to each other–all anonymously–as well as share their own reflections back with their Talkspace therapists for continued exploration. Teenspace Community will be moderated by a combination of smart technology and clinically-trained experts who specialize in teens. This includes AI-generated risk alerts, coupled with clinical support protocols for clients in crisis. The community will be actively supported by a group of teen mental health ambassadors who utilize their training in Mental Health First Aid to cultivate a truly supportive peer to peer environment.

“The power of peer support lies in connecting people with shared experiences to create a safe and encouraging space,” said Liz Colizza, LPC, Talkspace’s Director of Clinical Content. “Clinically speaking, peer support has a variety of benefits for participants, including an improved sense of hope and control over their lives, and decreases in depression and anxiety.²”

Partnership with BeMe

In time for the 2024 academic year, Talkspace is partnering with BeMe, a leading digital platform dedicated to adolescent mental health. BeMe provides a safe space for users to receive one-on-one text-based coaching and access to mood-specific content and interactive care activities. With BeMe’s offering, Talkspace will now be able to offer personalized, ongoing support for lower acuity issues.

“With BeMe’s deep understanding and experience serving youth populations with one-to-one coaching and Talkspace’s extensive network of licensed therapists, we can now bring teens a wider range of support,” said Natalie Cummins, Chief Business Officer at Talkspace. “This is just the beginning of revolutionizing teen mental health care through earlier intervention in modalities that we have seen teens thrive.”

Partnership with PM Pediatric Care

Talkspace will also partner with PM Pediatric Care, the nation’s largest provider in pediatric urgent care and leader in behavioral health care. Through their school health program, they offer behavioral health services to students K-12, including on-demand crisis consultation and intervention and psychiatric evaluations, and professional development for school staff.

This partnership allows Talkspace to serve an expanded population of students from pre-K through 8th grade, as well as the ability to see students both in-person or at school, and during and after school hours.

Talkspace will host a panel discussion for organizations/school districts and municipalities on September 26th at 12:00pm ET, to include more information on student mental health challenges and Talkspace’s teen offering. Guests can register here. For more information on Teenspace Community, visit our blog.

About Talkspace

Talkspace (NASDAQ: TALK) is a leading virtual behavioral healthcare provider committed to helping people lead healthier, happier lives through access to high-quality mental healthcare. At Talkspace, we believe that mental healthcare is core to overall health and should be available to everyone.

Talkspace pioneered the ability to text with a licensed therapist from anywhere and now offers a comprehensive suite of mental health services, including therapy for individuals, teens, and couples, as well as psychiatric treatment and medication management (18+). With Talkspace’s core therapy offerings, members are matched with one of thousands of licensed therapists within days and can engage in live video, audio, or chat sessions, and/or unlimited asynchronous text messaging sessions.

All care offered at Talkspace is delivered through an easy-to-use, fully-encrypted web and mobile platform that meets HIPAA, federal, and state regulatory requirements. More than 151 million Americans have access to Talkspace through their health insurance plans, employee assistance programs, our partnerships with leading healthcare companies, or as a free benefit through their employer, school, or government agency.

For more information, visit www.talkspace.com.

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1}CDC, The Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report, August 2024

² From Social Network to Peer Support Network: Opportunities to Explore Mechanisms of Online Peer Support for Mental Health (JMIR Mental Health, 2023)