Alleviating anxiety via internet

The state of Wisconsin has launched a pilot initiative that aims to help farmers who are dealing with job stressors access mental health services including "a 24-hour wellness hotline, tele-counseling sessions and vouchers for in-person visits with participating mental health providers." While some of the services have proved more successful than the others, as a whole, use of the counseling services has increased, especially as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

To better address the increased likelihood of people experiencing stress and anxiety due to the coronavirus pandemic, Richland County mental health providers have launched a hotline for children and families to call for counseling, free of charge. The hotline is staffed by counselors and case managers and is in addition to other crisis intervention phone lines already in place.

To help alleviate the psychological toll of protesting against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos, two advocacy groups spearheaded a helpline that connected callers with counselors and listeners. The helpline uses task-sharing, so that calls are routed to either trained mental health counselors or psychotherapists and psychiatrists, depending on the severity of the concerns.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic limited access to health care facilities, health specialists across Africa were already beginning to turn to technology-based mental health services to offer care with fewer barriers for patients. Despite its growth in use during the pandemic, some doctors caution that it does not necessarily replace in-person consultations, but is still very useful.

A community health care clinic in Oregon’s Wallowa County has been able to offer mental health services to its clients during the coronavirus pandemic thanks in part to an already-established virtual practice. In place to better serve the rural community, the clinic's telehealth option has gained even more popularity since social distancing became a necessity. Although the practice isn't without its limitations, such as access to internet, overall, the expanded access has helped reduce the impacts of isolation.

Wisconsin’s teen suicide rate and affiliated mental health concerns have increased, challenging school systems to maintain the quality of life for students. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has launched a Mental Health Project that allocates funds to different counties to focus on crisis, suicide, violence, and substance abuse prevention in schools. PATH is one successful program from this initiative—with cost-saving measures, increased student productivity, and improved quality of life.

An Alberta Health Services’ text messaging service called Text4Hope is giving people text messages to help them cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The texts, written by mental health therapists, use cognitive behavioral therapy, helping people disrupt the constant stream of negative thoughts that happen during traumatic times. So far, over 30,000 people have signed up.

After shortages of mental health options for kids and untold grief, counties in Wisconsin have responded with new kinds of support for at-risk youth. Wisconsin communities have increased access with reduced wait time, and have used horse therapy, support groups, charity golf that raises awareness, school-group therapy, as well as mobile live chat sessions, among others.

The "Let's Talk" program, originally developed at Cornell University in 2006 to address mental health stigma among students of color, offers free drop-in sessions with licensed clinicians at UConn and more than 100 colleges nationwide. The program removes common barriers to mental health care by requiring no appointment, insurance, or long-term commitment, and intentionally stages services in high-traffic campus areas to reach underserved students.

In the early 2000s, Minnesota implemented a systematic approach to address inadequate mental health access for students by contracting with outside agencies to place licensed mental health providers directly in public schools. The state expanded funding from $4.7 million in 2008 to over $20 million today, growing from therapists in just five schools to now serving 82% of the state's public school districts.