BH Outpatient Clinic News September 2022

TCHATT: Improving Mental Health One Chat at a Time

Following the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, politicians and mental health professionals in Texas collaborated on an initiative to help with children's mental health in the state. During this collaboration, they established several programs to expand access to care for children and adolescents in Texas. One of the programs created was Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT)

TCHATT is a program that provides limited, free telemedicine therapy to all children in Texas school districts expressing emotional needs that exceed the care the school counselor can provide. The program assists students in all Texas public, private, religious, or charter schools. The program allows children to receive free evidence-based emotional health therapy by phone from home or school. The child meets with a licensed therapist or psychiatrist and completes four to five sessions to help improve their overall mental health. After reaching the limited amount of sessions, children will have the opportunity to further their services with an outside mental health service.

"Being a part of the TCHATT program from the beginning has been so special because I have been able to contribute to the mental health services we'll be providing to families,"

Laura Chicaiza, LMSW, QBA, TCHATT, Therapist said. “As a TCHATT therapist, I'm not only helping the community, but I'm helping support families endure the mental health crisis this new generation is facing."

The TCHATT team consists of the clinical supervisor, Tisha Calhoun, manager, Constance Siegel, two case managers, and seven therapists. The therapists are on the frontline of the TCHATT program because they are the child's first point of contact, so they must help the child feel comfortable during the process.

Through the collaboration of the Senate, JPS Health Network, and the University of North Texas Health Science Center, they have created a program to improve the life of each Texas child dealing with changes in their behavior or mood, experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-injury, or challenges in their relationships.

"What a lot of people don't realize is it can take up to six months in Texas to see a child therapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist,” Siegel said. “This program fills that gap." The start of school is the perfect time to reach out to children to inform them of the services offered.

The TCHATT program serves children five and up, including adults still in school who deal with the struggle that comes with college entrance exams and the transition into adulthood. "Kids going into adulthood need us, and that is the beauty of TCHATT," Siegel said.

The TCHATT professionals suggest parents and school personnel reach out when they first see a shift in the child's behavior. "We will accept families that meet the criteria for the level of care that we provide, and we welcome every family to reach out to us so they can start their healing," Chicaiza said.