Our Mission
We are dedicated to revolutionizing access to mental health care for adolescents from marginalized communities.
About Hopebound
At Hopebound, we believe all children deserve to access one-on-one mental health services regardless of their family or school’s ability to pay for this support.
We provide weekly, video-based teletherapy to under-resourced middle school and high school students at no or low-cost. In addition to working directly with families, we partner with schools and afterschool programs in Georgia and New Jersey to support adolescents through affordable and proven therapy interventions.
Our therapy services are provided by pre-licensed therapists, who are master’s students studying counseling, social work, clinical psychology, or marriage and family therapy, and pursuing licensure. They provide talk therapy services under professional supervision in order to earn hours. The supervisor is a licensed mental health clinician who meets with Hopebound counselors weekly to review their cases and support them to serve their clients in the best manner possible.
Why Therapy for Middle and High Schoolers?
Did You Know?
In the United States, 50% of lifetime cases of mental illness begin by the age of 14. Yet 14 million children attend schools with no mental health staff.
It is not easy to be a young person, especially today. Middle and high schoolers face challenges everyday to fit in with friends, succeed in school, get along with family, and make other big decisions. And children face more obstacles than their parents did at their age, with the constant availability of social media apps along with COVID-19 stressors. In fact, adolescents have reported higher stress levels on average than adults.
And the problem is only growing.
One in six high schoolers reported making a suicide plan in 2019. And the number of Black youth attempting suicide rose by 50% since 2009. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased these stressors among young people.
Mental health problems in adolescence do not always simply resolve themselves.
But there is good news. Young people are resilient.
Adolescents can adapt to life changes and new ways of thinking. The brains of adolescents are flexible. Of course, when a young person shows signs of struggling with stress or anxiety, the earlier they can get help, the better.
Did You Know?
According to the CDC, in 2019 about 1 in 3 high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, a 40 percent jump from 2009.
Did You Know?
After our year-long program, our clients report a 21% improvement in their mental health functioning, twice the amount of the most comparable youth mental health program.
Mental health therapy and other interventions are proven to help. Yet, less than half of youth in need receive any mental health treatment. We know what works, as long as youth can get access to these helpful resources.
Hopebound is committed to being part of the solution for young people.
Check this link to determine if your child could benefit from therapy.
Even when surrounded by loved ones, the world can be a lonely and scary place for young people. We are here to help.
Our Approach to Therapy
We provide affordable, one-on-one virtual mental health services to adolescents in need. The majority of the youth we work with are between the ages of 10 and 17 years old. We partner with individual families as well as middle schools, high schools, and afterschool programs in Georgia and New Jersey. About half of our clients come from partner schools and half come from independent referrals from their families. If you are located in New Jersey or Georgia, and interested in our services, but your school does not partner with Hopebound, please feel free to contact us independently.
After our school-year-long program, our clients report a 21% improvement in their mental health functioning .
Who are the counselors?
Hopebound is committed to using pre-licenced therapists in our program. Our pre-licensed therapists are masters and doctoral-level graduate students pursuing licensure to become clinical psychologists, counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists.
All therapists must complete a certain number of supervised hours before they are eligible to be fully licensed in their state. The Hopebound program offers graduate students studying therapy the chance to fulfill these hours.
Research shows that pre-licensed therapists are highly effective, yet they are an under-utilized resource in the mental health community. Our counselors typically have a special interest and experience with under-resourced communities or young people and we provide opportunities for them to provide services to the communities they care about. They are highly passionate about working with the Hopebound population and providing high quality services to fulfill their course requirements.
Each week, for the school year, they meet one-on-one with their clients via secure video-based teletherapy.
Pre-licensed therapists interested in interning with our program can learn more here.
To sign your child up for services or explore a school or community partnership, visit the links below.
