Counslr, the text-based mental health support platform, announced today that it is launching a pilot with Long Island’s Half Hollow Hills Central School District (HHH). As of the start of 2024, the student body at both HHH high schools will have full access to the Counslr platform, and will be able to hold unlimited sessions with Counslr’s live, licensed, and vetted mental health support professionals. This partnership addresses the ever-growing need around the country for more accessible mental health resources for high school students. As it so happens, the founders of the app are HHH alumni, having both graduated from its High School East.
“We are pleased to be able to work with our alma mater, and a community that gave us such strong foundations for becoming the people we are today,” said Josh Liss, CEO of Counslr and a member of the Class of 2013. “We are proud to be helping HHH address the growing need for mental health resources and ultimately be part of the solution. Our data shows that most students (83%) who begin using Counslr had never previously engaged with school mental health resources. This is a highly indicative datapoint, and thus we look forward to helping Half Hollow Hills reach these under-addressed students.”
“Tyler Fisher and Josh Liss were great students in high school! I had no idea what path in life each would take, but I am glad their pursuits led them back to HHH,” said Dr. Jeffery Woodberry, Assistant Superintendent for Districtwide Administration in Half Hollow Hills. “As their former principal, I am proud to have played a small role in their development and I am excited to partner with them in this endeavor to provide mental health resources for our students. It is crucial to support mental wellness in young people and we are pleased to provide Counslr as another avenue.”
Liss met Counslr COO Tyler Fisher, also from the Class of 2013, nearly two decades ago at Half Hollow Hills’ West Hollow Middle School. Liss and Fisher joined forces in 2019 to help create Counslr and provide mental health support in a way that is convenient, affordable, and effectively reaches the traditionally unreachable. The duo designed the app deliberately intending to destigmatize mental health support and help bridge various gaps within the care continuum. By establishing organizational partnerships, cost and insurance burdens are removed from the end user, as are many logistical hurdles. By providing 24/7/365 unlimited access to Counslr’s quasi-anonymous services, and making sessions available on-demand or by appointment, care barriers related to inconvenience and stigma are also eliminated.
“Academic pressures, omnipresent social media, and concerning world events all contribute to heightened stress levels and mental health challenges among adolescents, while provider shortages continue to impact an already strained mental health support system. The need for a platform like Counslr has already been there for years, and that need has only risen since the start of the pandemic.” Fisher said. “We are thrilled to help meet the demand at high schools and colleges across the country, but it’s a particular honor to be working with our own school district. We want to empower all students to take preventative steps and better prioritize their mental well-being, and it’s extremely satisfying to know that many of those students are now friends, families, and other members of the community where we grew up.”
For more information on Counslr, please visit: www.counslr.com.
ABOUT HALF HOLLOW HILLS:
An education-oriented community with high academic expectations, the Half Hollow Hills Central School District is located in a residential area of 50,000 people in the central part of Long Island, approximately 40 miles from New York City. Providing for the education of approximately 7,300 students, the school district has five elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. Half Hollow Hills High Schools are fully accredited by the New York State Department of Education. The district is committed to providing all students with equitable opportunities to excel in academics, athletics and the arts.
ABOUT COUNSLR
Counslr is a text-based mental health support application that provides unlimited access to live texting sessions with licensed professionals, 24/7/365. Users can access support on-demand within two minutes of opening the app, or by scheduled appointment. Through real-time texting, users enjoy one-on-one, private communication with a licensed counselor that can be conducted anytime, anywhere. Counslr was designed to help individuals deal with life’s day-to-day issues, empowering individuals to address concerns while they are “small” to help ensure that they stay “small”. Counslr partners with organizations of all shapes and sizes (companies, unions, nonprofits, universities/colleges, high schools, etc) so that these entities can provide Counslr’s services to their employees/members/students at no direct cost. For more information, please visit www.counslr.com.
