If you’re worried about your teen and want them to speak with a mental health practitioner, check out the information below. You’ll find explore six simple ways to find the mental health services your kid needs.

1. Ask Your Pediatrician

When looking for mental health services, try speaking with your teen’s pediatrician. Pediatricians know therapists and might be able to refer you to a colleague.

But if your pediatrician doesn’t have someone in mind, then contact your health insurance for a provider in your network. By selecting a therapist within your network, you know a percentage of your child’s sessions are covered.

2. Do a Google Search

Conducting a Google search is a great way to find anything. While researching for a mental health practitioner, look at their reviews and testimonials. It’s good to read up on client experiences before scheduling an appointment.

3. Talk to a Guidance Counselor

Guidance Counselors are a great asset to schools. Contact your adolescent’s Guidance Counselor for a recommendation. If they don’t know of a specific person, they might know of an organization with multiple counselors, therapists, psychologists, or psychiatrists.

4. Contact the Teen Center

If you live in New Jersey, Iowa, or a few other states, your teen’s school might participate in a School-Based Youth Services Program. The school-based model provides federal and state funding for teen centers to run on school grounds. Teen Centers offer educational, health, mental health, and recreational services free to all students. Although every Teen Center is different, the case managers and mental health clinician work to ensure your kids receive the proper attention and linkage to resources. If the mental health clinician can’t treat your teen’s issue, a referral will be made to an outside agency or practitioner.

To learn more about Teen Centers, check out the soon to be released book Crying, Learning, and Laughing: Why Students Visit the Teen Center.

5. Call the National Alliance on Mental Illness Helpline

The National Alliance on Mental Illness offers a helpline at 1-800-950-6264, Monday to Friday, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM eastern standard time.

They also provide a Crisis Text Line 24 hours a day. You’ll be linked to a counselor by texting NAMI to 741741.

NAMI is also available through email at info@nami.org to help you locate the mental health services necessary for yourself or your teen.

6. Use Talkspace for Teens

Before the Covid-19 pandemic forced us to remain indoors and separated, Talkspace for Teens burst on the scene to change the look of therapy for adolescents. Talkspace for Teens allows your son or daughter to receive counseling through the convenience of an app.

To learn more about the sign-up process, parental consent, and using the app, please follow the link to read “Introducing Talkspace for Teens.”

It might be scary for you to place your adolescent into mental health services. But the potential outcome of unmanaged disorders is more frightful than the stigma often associated with counseling and therapy.

Mental illness is a form of sickness that should receive treatment like a person with cancer, Crohn’s disease, or Hypothyroidism. No explanations are required to get well. Make the right step in being a good parent or caregiver and find a mental health practitioner for your adolescent.