How Telehealth Can Help Counsel Students in Distress in the Aftermath of Mass Shootings

With deadly mass school shootings becoming more commonplace, and an increasing number of students are suffering from increased stress, anxiety, mental health problems, and subsequently, lower test scores.

Such is the case as Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where “substance abuse and mental health problems surged following last year’s deadly mass shooting” according to a POLITICO article.

Due to these circumstances there are a growing number of students requiring help from mental health professionals and seeking guidance from administrators, school counselors, and therapists. Another school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas that resulted in eight students and two teachers being killed last May also demonstrates the increased need for assistance with student mental wellness.

POLITICO stated “Santa Fe High School officials said that by the end of the school year that followed the shooting, approximately 60 percent of all students had visited with a counselor experienced in trauma, and the counselors provided more than 3,400 hours of support. In Parkland, since the shooting, requests for added support related to mental, physical and behavioral problems rose by 78 percent.”

The trauma support required after these events stretches beyond what schools are able to provide in-house. Let’s Talk Interactive’s Telehealth solutions are there to help. By offering online HIPAA compliant counseling services, Let’s Talk can help students and counselors manage the influx of need for mental health counseling after these tragic events.

Let’s Talk Interactive alongside the Florida Department of Children & Family Services (DCF) and the State of Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Hope for Healing initiative, unveiled 63 Telehealth Kiosks and 63 Telehealth Portals to help provide children medical assistance.

The Telehealth Kiosks and Telemedicine Software Portals will enable more than 35,000 school-aged children to access much-needed care for those affected by increased stress, anxiety, and mental health problems. Every public school in the Florida Panhandle will be equipped with a portal in time to start the 2019-2020 academic year.