Teen Therapy from Baltimore County Public Schools

Here’s how BCPS high schoolers can sign up:

1. Visit talkspace.com/bcps and enter your preferred email and keyword to qualify. The keyword can be found on the announcement page of the Focus Student Portal.
2. Answer a few questions about your emotions and mental state 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.
3. If you choose to receive 1-on-1 messaging therapy, within a day or two you’ll be matched with a therapist licensed in Maryland. Talkspace technology pairs you with a therapist based on factors such as what you’re struggling with and therapist speciality.
4. You can send messages to your Talkspace therapist 24/7. Therapists generally respond every day, 5 days per week. 

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

Teens love the option of messaging and having daily access to their counselor which is a huge benefit of what Talkspace has to offer. Many teens seem more comfortable with messaging therapy—the availability of it seems to be comforting for them.

Talkspace therapist Minkyung Chung, MS, LMHC