Behavioral Health: Insights for Expanding Care and Addressing the Teen Mental Health Crisis

The Solution

We consulted directly with the pediatric health system’s brand and behavioral health leaders and proposed a multi-faceted qualitative study on parents and teens who were both active and potential users of therapy. Initially, our client proposed traditional focus groups for both audiences, but we advised a more tailored approach to effectively capture teens’ perspectives given the highly sensitive and complex nature of the business questions.

Meeting teens where they are:

Recognizing the vulnerability teens might feel in a group setting, we recommended using moderated online discussion boards instead of in-person focus groups. Teens could engage anonymously by selecting avatars and answer questions designed specifically to meet them where they were cognitively and emotionally. This approach fostered open and honest feedback about their therapy experiences and mental health needs and allowed us to gather insights that would have been difficult to capture through traditional methods.

Providing parents with a supportive, in-person focus group setting:

After seeing the success of the online discussion boards with the teens, our client considered extending the online approach to parents. However, we advised against it. Instead, we emphasized the value of in-person focus groups, where parents could share their struggles face-to-face, building a sense of community and support. These sessions gave parents the space to openly discuss challenges in accessing care for their children.

They, too, openly shared their struggles with finding the right care for their children, often noting that they felt alone in this journey. By coming together, they were able to exchange stories and gain confidence in the solutions available, something that would have been lost in an online setting.

The Wins

Our insights provided the health system with critical intel to guide their behavioral health strategy. The findings revealed key barriers to seeking help and identified opportunities to expand services and improve access. Parents voiced their frustration with navigating the behavioral health system, while teens expressed a mix of anxiety and optimism about therapy, depending on their past experiences. 

Additionally, we found that negative perceptions about the process of finding a therapist, lack of knowledge about available resources, and strong emotions and stigma associated with the idea of therapy often impacted decision-making around seeking treatment.

As a result of our insights, recommendations, and consultation, the health system moved quickly to:

• Expand their behavioral health services: This included acting on several opportunities we uncovered to be a resource and provide assistance and expertise along the road to seeking therapy to aid in the decision-making process. It also included opportunities to increase access and expand virtual therapy offerings.
• Launch a targeted behavioral health program: This included identifying seven initiatives to help address the growing mental and behavioral health crisis facing teens and parents across communities. Those initiatives covered school-based therapy, early interventions, and a robust integrated care model.
• Develop a comprehensive marketing campaign: The campaign specifically targeted barriers early in the process and aimed to reduce stigma around therapy and normalize mental health conversations for both teens and their parents.

Because of these efforts, the health system has made significant strides in the growth of their behavioral health offering and community impact. Their swift action on these insights transformed the way they meet the mental health needs of teens and families, driving measurable improvements across the state in which they operate. The system is now ranked among the top 50 pediatric and adolescent behavioral health systems in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.