Wisconsin’s Lake Holcombe School District has introduced remote mental health advising to students. Holcombe announced its plan to introduce telehealth counseling services to their schools. This new plan is aided by easy access to therapists through video conference and aims to help students of all ages through a critical time in their lives in which mental health can play a big role.

Mental health has been overlooked for long enough. This plan to begin addressing it during the ages where it can be most detrimental could fix serious problems.

According to 2015 Children’s Mental Health Report, of 74.5 million children in the United States, 17.1 million of them have mental health disorders. Half of them arise before the age of 14. This shows how crucial it is for kids in school to get early help.

The Child Mind Institute also says 80% of children with anxiety, 60% of kids with depression and 40% of kids with diagnosable ADHD do not get treatment.

Inspite of the magnitude of this problem, lack of awareness and the stigma attached to it keep majority of young people from getting help as mentioned on the Institute’s website.

This program would work great in primary school district and in a secondary institution as well. Mental problems have to be treated; they don’t go away with time. Triggers that can cause the arrival of problems don’t disappear.

Counselling of this form through remote video chat, students unfamiliar with the health community in Madison can reach out for help more easily, and also more effectively because the program’s accessibility caters so well to the busy schedule students seem to have.

Wisconsin Public Radio mentioned that telehealth services will be covered in the Lake Holcombe district by parent’s health insurance or Medicaid, making it easier for their kids to have it.