Transcript: Mayor Adams, DOHMH Commissioner Dr. Vasan Launch 'TeenSpace,' Tele-mental Health Service For NYC Teens

November 15, 2023

Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom, Health and Human Services: Good afternoon, everyone. I am Anne Williams-Isom. I'm the deputy mayor for Health and Human Services, and we are here today to share another exciting announcement about what the city is doing to support some of the most important people in our city, our young people.

But before I turn it over to the mayor, let me acknowledge who is here today. Just hot off the presses. Where is he? He's taking off his coat. He's right behind me. The city's doctor, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, First Deputy Chancellor Dan Weisberg. We have ACS Chief Medical Officer Angel Mendoza, we have the OCME Executive Director Eva Wong, DYCD Commissioner Keith Howard, Talkspace CEO Jon Cohen.

Thank you to Groundswell for hosting us here today and for all of the work that you're doing. And without further ado, I'm going to turn it over to Mayor Adams to give us the details of this very important announcement today.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Thank you so much. And really, the partners here, TeenSpace, and this is something that Dr. Vasan and I, we talked about. Our young people are on their telephone. They use the Internet, they use social media, and we have to really find ways of turning that device into a positive instead of trying to push back on the natural flow of how young people utilize their social media platforms to communicate in so many different ways.

And I remember Dr. Vasan and I sitting down and that he brought this amazing idea of how we can put help in the hands of our young people. We started to see the trends of young people experiencing suicidal thoughts, young people dealing with depression, young people dealing with some real stresses, really even before the pandemic. But post pandemic, there was real indicators that we had to meet this head on.

I was actually speaking with some good friends today. Their young daughter is now in college and she missed her last two years of high school because of Covid. And those socialization skills are real and we cannot ignore them.

There's something that has happened to the Covid babies and the Covid children that we are not going to ignore and we're not going to act like it is not impacting. The numbers are clear. So, Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom, thank you. We took office nearly two years ago and we promised all New Yorkers that we will build a healthy city together.

Last week we talked about some of those health indicators, and this is just a continuation of how we're going to really dig into the overall physical and mental health. When we talk about health, we often focus on the physical health. We don't really engage in a conversation of mental health.

This is something Dr. Vasan has really dedicated his life to doing, and he's bringing that energy to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. And it means that we must invest in mental health just as much as we invest in physical health.

We've all seen the isolation and trauma that children have experienced over the past several years, and our young people have been feeling sad or hopeless, anxious and depressed in increasing rates. We're watching it play out in many different ways.

And on the last 10 years, suicidal ideations has increased among teens, over the last 10 years, Black and Latino high schoolers are especially affected and unfortunately, many of those who need help the most cannot afford or access it. It is clear that our kids are not all right, and it is our duty to address the problem, not to ignore the problem and pretend as though it didn't exist.

And so earlier this year, we pledged to make mental health support available at all New York City for all New York City teens. Now we are delivering it on that promise. Promise made, promise kept.

And so beginning today, all New York City teenagers, 13 to 17 years old, can talk, text or make video calls to licensed therapists for free through the city's new online TeenSpace service in amazing, amazing way for us to deal directly with young people so they can feel comfortable and the mechanism that they utilize.

In our days, it was always a joke about your lay on the couch of a psychiatrist and talk to them. Well, their cell phones, their iPhones, their Samsungs, and their other devices, their use of Internet. That is their modern day couch on who they communicate to their therapist.

This service will introduce young people to the value of mental health support. In many of our communities of color, it is often looked down upon, unfortunately, when someone states they need mental health support.

And we are saying it is all right to acknowledge that you have a moment that you need to communicate with someone in a real way and in real time. And it is convenient. Teams can connect to help at whatever time and from wherever works best for them.

When designing the platform in partnership with Talkspace, it was critical that we sought advice from the experts. So, we convened groups of young people to understand their needs and how to make our service more effective. And this was part of many of the town halls we had with young people and also the accumulation of young people that we brought together.

Over the next few weeks and months, we'll be launching an education and outreach campaign geared towards young people and parents throughout public schools and other city agencies that serve our youth. We're here also with Commissioner Howard from DYCD, who has played a major part in getting this information out.

The licensed therapists on TeenSpace would give our young people a place to share their problems and concerns and learn coping skills and resilience without having to travel or pay for therapy. TeenSpace therapists will connect our high schoolers to additional services if they are needed.

Our young people should never feel alone. We are here for them and we want all young people to be able to lead happier lives, to grow and thrive. We want a city where we can raise healthy children and families, and it starts by using every form of technology or innovation that is available. This is a part of their input and this is our response in a real way to address a real pressing issue that is currently impacting our young people.

The numbers do not lie, and it's time for us to not ignore what is in front of us. So again, thank you, the entire team, for your participation. Let's continue to lift up our young people any way possible. 

Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom: You're actually reminding me of the time when I was at the Harlem Children's Zone and how many of the knuckleheaded African American boys who were 16 that would say, Ms. Anne, why would I go into therapy? Right?

And I would say, well, because if I'm in therapy, you need to be in therapy. But they wanted some way to connect. They wanted someone who looked like them to connect to, and so something that's culturally competent.

So, I'm really happy at this moment, and also as a mom of one of those Covid babies that graduated on the couch and went to college after all that time, the isolation. Anybody who has kids, we see it in our 20 year olds and our 16 year olds and our 15 year olds.

This is a moment and a step in the right direction that we can all really feel proud of as New Yorkers. And so just to talk about this a little bit more, I'd like to bring up the city's doctor, Dr. Ashwin Vasan.

Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Thank you, deputy mayor. Thank you, mayor. When we brought this idea to you, yes, it was almost a year ago now, you immediately embraced it, and I think that's consistent with your focus on meeting people where they are, but also bringing technology to people. So, appreciate that very much.

Thank you to Groundswell, thank you to Talkspace and Jon. We've been talking about this for a long time and working together. I think I met Jon just as he took over as CEO of Talkspace, and I'm so glad we're bringing this to life. This is a good day.

Young people across our city are, of course, our most valuable resource and our future depends on their wellbeing, and that's what today represents, an investment in our teenagers so that they can be the happiest and the healthiest that they can be.

We know that when our mental health is strong, when our resilience is fortified, when our hearts and minds are connected, we can truly embrace the joys of life and face any challenges before us and exceed even our biggest dreams. And that's what we want for our kids to achieve their dreams.

Taking care of our mental health is not only necessary, but essential. Being a teenager is not easy. These years can be confusing, they can be stressful, and they can be lonely.

We know this both from our experiences, we were all teenagers once, but also from the data. In 2021, nearly 40 percent of New York City high schoolers said that they felt so sad or hopeless during the past year, that they stopped doing things that usually made them happy.

And over the last decade, as the mayor says, the percentage of local high schoolers who experience suicidal thoughts is up by more than 30 percent. As a father, as a doctor, as your health commissioner, this is a crisis. I see this as a crisis and one that demands immediate action because we're seeing youth mental health worsen every day in our homes, in our schools, in our playgrounds and in our communities.

It's impacting things like school performance, home life prospects for the future. And the pandemic, of course, has been uniquely stressful, and I've seen that play out in my own home.

My four-year-old, my son, my middle son was four years old at the time that the pandemic hit. And you can imagine pulling a four-year-old boy out of his most trusted, safest social network without really any clear explanation that he could understand. I'm still seeing the impacts of that.

The news is not all bad, though. There's help and there's hope. And now with NYC TeenSpace is right at your fingertips. Just as healthy food choices can set up a child for healthy habits, healthy eating for a lifetime, learning how to ask for and to seek mental health support early in life can change the trajectory of the years that follow.

The simple or, frankly, not so simple act of asking for help and receiving help can start the journey of building resilience and coping skills that we need throughout our lives. Opening yourself up, keeping yourself safe, releasing yourself from fear of judgment and shame is brave, and it requires courage to admit you're in pain and to seek relief in healthy and restorative ways.

Talk therapy helps. Knowing that you're not alone helps and many teens are feeling what you and I are feeling, and they are trying to reach out for help. And today, the city is stepping up to say we are here to respond.

NYC TeenSpace is a landmark initiative where government and the private sector, working together, is stepping up for this city's teenagers, ensuring that whenever you need help, it's right there in the palm of your hands. It puts counseling, psychotherapy and psychosocial support at the fingertips of young people, without an adult or another third party in the way.

When you need help, it's right there. And when you need more help or when you need more complicated help, they will get you to where you need to go. Its digital design is no accident. We want to reach young people in a way that's most familiar and most comfortable.

We are normalizing mental health for young people, we are digitizing mental health for young people and we are democratizing mental health access for young people. This is a commitment we made to you when we launched our mental health plan earlier this year, and we're following through on this commitment.

I want to just talk to young people for just a minute, and I know it's always awkward to have a bunch of adults appear to say, hey, young people, it's my birthday today, and I'm feeling not less… I'm feeling less young, not more young.

Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom: Happy birthday.

Commissioner Vasan: Thank you. You are going to have a profound impact by engaging with NYC TeenSpace, not only on yourselves and your community, but on generations to come. And it's specifically designed to help you. And no issue is too small to reach out about.

You do not need to wait to ask for help. We have developed this for you and we want to ensure that it's meeting your expectations. So, hold us accountable, hold us accountable to that. We do not just want, but we need your feedback.

Your voice will help guide and shape this resource. If you use it and you like it, tell your friends. If you use it and you don't like it, tell us. We'll fix it. Your voice will help make it safer and easier for others to reach out for help.

And if you feel good about what you're getting, keep using it over and over and over again. Your voice will grow strong and it will join a chorus of young people across this city to help advance mental health.

You the young people who use NYC TeenSpace will have a lasting influence that goes well beyond the teenage years at every level. We thank you and we're excited to get the journey started.

Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom: Thank you so much, Dr. Vasan. Happy birthday. Mine's on Friday, so we can party this weekend.

Commissioner Vasan: Let's go.

Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom: At its core, when you love a young person, you want them to be good, and so today is about healing, it's about hope and it's getting us closer to raising young people who are happy and healthy.

So, right now, I'd like to bring forth the CEO of Talkspace, Jon Cohen, to talk a little bit about Talkspace. Thank you, Jon.

Jon R. Cohen, CEO, Talkspace: Thank you. And thank you, Mayor Adams. Tragically, today, like most other days, 12 teenagers across this country will decide that life is not worth living and will die by suicide. Unfortunately, their parents are most likely unaware as to the depth of their child's depression or were unable to access the support their child needed.

To his credit and to his insight, Mayor Adams has recognized the significance of this issue and has placed a huge stake in the ground to offer help to every teen in the city. Commissioner Vasan and Executive Deputy Commissioner Avula have worked tirelessly to deliver on the mayor's vision to address this escalating crisis.

We at Talkspace are grateful that New York City has tapped Talkspace to power the New York City TeenSpace program, offering teens, 13 to 17 years olds, free virtual therapy and mental health support, regardless of which school they attend, where they live, household income or insurance coverage, just free to any teen who wants it or needs it.

The message from the focus groups were consistent. We want to get something off our chest. We want a vent. We just want someone to be available to talk with. On our platform, teens are matched with therapists that can message 24/7 as many times as they want.

Here is how it works. Eligible teens can sign up at talkspace.com/nyc. They can choose from free self-guided sessions and multiple anonymous online courses, which they can take at their own pace or get started with therapy immediately.

If they choose therapy, they will need parental consent or legal guardian consent in accordance with New York State law with several exceptions. They take a brief assessment that includes questions such as, what do you need support with? Sadness, depression, body image, friend drama, family issues, bullying, identity and others.

They're matched based on their preferences within hours with a dedicated New York state licensed therapist for one-on-one support. Our network includes providers that identify as BIPOC and LGBTQ.

Our professionals can provide therapy in over 30 different languages: Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Polish and Hindi, as well as live translation support in 120 other languages. Once they're matched, teams have a choice of messaging or live video. 

It all takes place on Talkspace secure HIPAA-compliant platform, which they can access from their smartphone, tablets or laptops, again, at no cost. We have learned that when teens face something stressful, messaging is a powerful tool at their fingertips.

Of special note, Talkspace has a proprietary tool that alerts the therapist if the teen is at risk for self-harm. If needed, we have processes in place to elevate any immediate crisis situation.

This is a groundbreaking program. However, it could only be successful if we make teens aware of the program and get them to utilize the service. I'm hoping that all of you here today will help us in that effort. It could make a huge difference in the lives of thousands of New York City teens.

Thank you again, Mayor Adams, Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Vasan, Executive Deputy Commissioner Deepa Avula for your commitment to making this program a reality.

Mayor Adams: Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom: Thank you so much, sir.

Question: Mr. Mayor.

Mayor Adams: Yes.

Question: I wonder if you wanted… Well, two things. I wondered if you wanted to share any personal stories of any experience you have with mental health support, therapy, either in the present or when you were a teenager, whether that's something you wish you had had access to. And then on a very separate topic, I know we had the off topic yesterday…

Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom: Let's keep it to… 

Question: But I don't know if you want to wait until next Tuesday. I just want to ask you if you wanted to say anything about Winnie Greco [inaudible] staffer [inaudible] been accused of some pretty serious ethical violations, including frustrating some of your supporters to donate to her nonprofit?

Mayor Adams: Yes. I'm not familiar with anything with Winnie Greco, so I can't speak on something I'm not aware of. But leaving the Police Department, I really thank my son who played a major role.

I didn't realize the stress that I experienced for those 22 years because when you're in it, you don't really know what you're going through. But when you all of a sudden off the field of the battle and you have time to reflect, you realize… I saw some of the most inhumane things that man can do to man.

And it really just came down on me. And my son was the one that said, dad, I really think you should sit down and talk to someone. And I really thank him for just acknowledging the shift in my mood and how I was responding. That's why it's important for people who are in your orbit to see that shift in mood and personalities and give you the advice and we should take it up on.

And men, I think in general, we specifically believe that suck it up, tough it out. And that is just the culture of men in general, but I think specifically Black and brown communities, you're told to just internalize it. You'll be all right, brush it off, but you know what, you're not all right. And so I just really thank my son for his role once I left the Police Department.

Question: Yes. Mr. Mayor, I was wondering about staffing and budget for this initiative, if there are any numbers on it. In addition, just so I understand the program correctly, the free part of it is being able to connect digitally or over the phone with a licensed professional, right?

Like if you need to be referred to an actual licensed therapist for in-person services, that would cost money, right? And then to Bobby's point, I just wanted to also ask if, have you received a grand jury subpoena as part of the FBI…

Mayor Adams: Dr. Ashwin will go into the cost aspect of it. The goal is to get as many young people as possible to use it and to get the information out. That is so important. We want to use the traditional networks of getting the information out and ensure that we can get as many young people as possible to see and be the endorsers of the product.

The more and more young people endorse the product, the more and more they give us feedback. I think Dr. Ashwin was right. If it works, share with a friend. If it doesn't, share with us so we can rectify how to make it better. This is an evolution, and I think this is the beginning of using technology in a very real way.

I'm a big believer in telemedicine. I pushed it pre-Covid and we embraced it during Covid, and we want to continue to use these devices in a real way. Doctor, you want to talk about it?

Commissioner Vasan: Sure, and happy to get budget numbers to you, but it's free at the point of care, which means any young person can log on to the platform, get the help they need. And so you can think about it as a number of different pathways. Number one, you ask for help, you get it, and that's it. End of interaction. I got my problem taken care of.

Number two, you form a relationship and you actually start to see a therapist over time. And that relationship stays primarily online through the platform. And we'll support you through that for however long that takes.

And then number three is, okay, you've got longer-term or you've got more complicated issues or more acute issues, right? You might be at risk for a crisis. The Talkspace therapist will get you where you need to go. What does that mean? It could either get you to acute psychiatric care or to an in-person counselor at one of our Article 31 partners all across our city, and that is subject to the same insurance and payment that the rest of the mental health system is.

Most young people are on their parents' insurance, and so whether that's Medicaid or otherwise, and so it's all eligible through our normal brick and mortar system. This is the front door to a system that, for too many young people, is too complicated to interact with.

Mayor Adams: As we stated, we are in full cooperation with the reviewers and we're going to continue to do so. You know more than I do. I'm going to continue to provide service to the service providers. When people reach out to me for assistance, we're going to continue to do so, and that's my role as the mayor.

So, when people reach out and ask how to navigate the complexities of government, I think that's what Dr. Vasan just pointed out. Young people don't know how to navigate the complexities of getting services. We want to use a friendly city, and I'm going to continue that.

We're going to continue to be as transparent as possible. But listen, I’m a former law enforcement officer, I said it over and over again, I am not going to interfere with a review. I'm going to let the review take its course. Thank you.