Emotions, especially as an adolescent, can often feel overwhelming and unmanageable. While some young adults or teenagers have social, academic, and extracurricular systems that support them during highs and lows, it isn’t uncommon for adolescents to lack the skills and knowledge to manage their feelings.
According to the Washington state department of health, 20% of 10th-12th graders reported having considered attempting suicide in 2021. The statewide Children’s Alliance says that 80,000 youth in Washington are experiencing major depression without any access to professional care.
Margo Reger, Lincoln’s mental health therapist, gave some insight on the scale of student mental health issues she works with. She said that “At the very beginning of the school year, my caseload is typically small. It grows as the year progresses until I am working with about 30 students in total.”
In the last year the Seattle government has been assessing these major teen health concerns and taken real action. In December of 2024, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced a new resource that could supplement the glaring lack of youth support in the city: a partnership between Talkspace and the Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning.
Talkspace is an online therapy platform that connect users with licensed providers in their state. Typically, these services start at $69 per week for live sessions, but a $14.55 million partnership between Seattle Public Schools and the city has opened up Talkspace for all Seattle teens and young adults – at no cost whatsoever!
Anyone between the ages of 13 to 24 is eligible to take advantage of this mental health resource, and once the sign up process has been completed the steps are pretty simple. First, members will be matched with a licensed therapist in Washington, who will respond to inquiries within the day. Once connected to a provider, members will benefit from one free video session every month.
A second benefit of signing up is complete access to Talkspace Go. Talkspace Go is a platform where teens can navigate their own mental health journey through its ample resources. Ranging from live online classes to self-guided therapy sessions, Talkspace Go has a variety of resources available to all users.
The first step on the road to recovery is recognizing the problem and asking for help. Talkspace could likely be the change we need and it’s important to take advantage of help when it’s offered. Free, good quality resources like this are rare and Talkspace applies to so many people, even just at Lincoln.
Want to sign up? Scan the QR code or follow this link: http://www.talkspace.com/seattle
Additional free mental health resources include:
- The Lincoln Teen Health Center
- Joon (another virtual therapy platform that has partnered with the City of Seattle)
- Teen Link (a confidential support line for Washington State teens that offers peer-to-peer support and resources)
- The Trevor Project (a nonprofit organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ+ youth)
