Industry-first research shows critical and immediate need to expand access to virtual care to address youth mental health crisis
SAN MATEO, California, March 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Clear line, the leader in virtual behavioral health care for children and families, today announced the first peer-reviewed study demonstrating the effectiveness of virtual behavioral health offerings in improving clinical outcomes in children, teens and their caregivers. Published in JMIR Formative Researchhighlights how a scalable virtual solution can address the worsening youth mental health crisis by improving much-needed access to behavioral health care for families.
Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing pediatric mental health emergency continues to deteriorate by almost any measure. From heightened anxiety to depression, substance abuse and suicidality, children, teens and their families today face unprecedented challenges when it comes to mental health. However, demand and access are misaligned as there are limited ways for parents to access evidence-based pediatric behavioral health care for their children and teens.
Brightline’s nationwide virtual behavioral health service, which removes the biggest barriers to care, has now published the first study of its kind on virtual behavioral health care for young people. Conducted between February and September 2022, Brightline’s study illustrates the effectiveness of virtual pediatric behavioral health services in improving clinical outcomes for children, teens and their caregivers:
- Most children and teens showed significant overall improvement after receiving care through virtual therapy (69%) and coaching (75%) programs;
- More than 70% of children and teens experienced reductions in internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression after virtual therapy and coaching sessions;
- Caregivers reported significant reductions in stress associated with caring for their child’s behavioral health needs at all levels of virtual care.
“These findings underline the tremendous opportunity for virtual behavioral health care to provide immediate relief to not only children and teens, but also caregivers amid the ongoing childhood psychiatric crisis,” said Dr. David Grodberg, Chief Psychiatric Officer at Brightline and author of the study. “As a leading provider of virtual pediatric behavioral health, Brightline is able to make a real difference to the lives of children and families who currently lack affordable access to essential pediatric behavioral health services.”
Recent increases in support for employer-sponsored behavioral health programs have produced positive results. However, these programs focus on the needs of adults rather than the specialized behavioral health care needed to treat children, teens, and families. Brightline’s seasoned caregivers have years of experience working with children of all ages, delivering expert virtual therapy, psychiatry and coaching across the country. Based on real-world protocols designed specifically for children, teens and caregivers, Brightline is uniquely positioned to provide an affordable and scalable virtual solution to meet the demand and needs of children and families who are have access to quality pediatric behavioral health services.
“As recent data on the youth mental health crisis has shown, there is an urgent need to provide families with access to timely, high-quality mental health care. By leveraging the power of technology in conjunction with experienced pediatric and adolescent behavioral therapists to provide evidence-based based care, we are able to fill gaps in access to care that are so badly needed,” he said Jennifer LaGuardia, PhD, Vice President Healthcare Innovation at Brightline. “This study helps demonstrate the immediate impact that innovative virtual care models like Brightline can provide for children and families.”
Following the publication of his first peer-reviewed study last year, Brightline continues to conduct rigorous research to better understand youth health needs and further develop its solution to meet the diverse needs of children, families, employers and health plans. This latest study, entitled “Clinical and Psychosocial Outcomes Associated With a Tele-behavioral Health Platform for Families: Retrospective Study,” is published in JMIR Formative Research.
About Brightline
Brightline is the first virtual behavioral health solution designed specifically to care for children, teens and their families with a wide range of needs. With multidisciplinary care teams consisting of coaches, therapists and psychiatrists, evidence-based programs and a family-centered approach, Brightline provides care to families across the country, when and where they need it. Founded by leading digital health entrepreneurs Naomi Allen And John Collela, MD, the company is backed by leading investors GV (formerly Google Ventures), KKR, Oak HC/FT and Threshold. Brightline is recognized as the pioneer of virtual behavioral health for families and was listed as one of Fast Company’s 2022 Most Innovative Companies and Fierce Healthcare’s 2022 Fierce 15. Brightline is headquartered in San Mateo, California, United States, and is available nationwide. More information on hallorightline.com.
About JMIR Publications
JMIR Publications is a leading, born-digital, open access publisher of more than 30 academic journals and other innovative scientific communication products that focus on the intersection of health and technology. The magazine’s flagship product, the Journal of medical internet researchis the world’s leading digital health magazine in terms of content breadth and visibility, and the largest health informatics magazine.
For more information on JMIR publications, visit https://www.JMIRPublications.com.
View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brightline-study-virtual-behavioral-health-offerings-improve-clinical-outcomes-in-children-teens-and-their- caregivers-301774702.html
SOURCE Clear line