Text-based support Signals a Shift in School Mental Health Access
NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Counslr, a leading B2B mental health and wellness platform, announced today a series of strategic developments that reflect significant national growth and momentum across K-12 education, strengthening Counslr’s mission to support the mental health needs of middle school and high school students, educators, and staff. These initiatives are designed to expand access to mental health resources, particularly for those who may have previously faced barriers to care due to cost, stigma, or accessibility challenges.
Counslr has formed new academic partnerships with Elkhart School District USD 218 in Elkhart, Kansas, and Willmar Public Schools in Willmar, Minnesota, officially entering a new state and expanding its national footprint. These districts join a growing network of schools using Counslr’s unlimited text-based mental health support and wellness resources to remove barriers to care and ensure that students and educators can access support without stigma, scheduling challenges, transportation limitations, or logistical obstacles.
Counslr further addresses the mental health challenges that schools face today and examines how text-based mental health support overcomes the barriers that prevent students from accessing traditional services in a newly released white paper. Some key takeaways highlight that:
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- Text-based platforms engage first-time help-seekers at significantly higher rates than traditional modalities. One study found that 50.7% of students using text-based support had never received formal mental health support, compared to 33.3% of phone users.
- Among Crisis Text Line users (predominantly under age 25):
- 77% do not receive help from a doctor or therapist during crisis
- 28% report having no additional sources of help at all.
These findings demonstrate that text-based support reaches students who would otherwise navigate mental health challenges alone. The white paper also notes that 85% of teens already seek support through online sources, reinforcing the importance of meeting students in the digital spaces they already use. Text-based care eliminates common access barriers by allowing students to receive support without transportation, without missing class, and without navigating appointment scheduling or school space constraints.
Counslr will be exploring the most pressing mental health challenges in education and discussing ways to empower entire school communities at the AASA National Conference on Education in Nashville, TN, from February 12-14. Attendees can experience live demonstrations of Counslr’s text-based mental health support and wellness platform at Booth #326. In addition, Counslr CEO Josh Liss and Bristol Warren RI Superintendent of the Year Ana Riley will further examine ways to expand access and support unreachable students and faculty during the School of the Future Live Presentation on Friday, February 13th, 1:05 PM – 1:25 PM.
“We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to partner with schools and visionary educational leaders to advance a more accessible, inclusive model of mental health care,” said Josh Liss, CEO of Counslr. “Together, we are building systems that reach the students and staff who need support the most, especially those who may never ask for help, by removing barriers, reducing stigma, and meeting school communities where they are.”
ABOUT COUNSLR
Counslr is a text-based mental health support application that provides unlimited access to robust wellness resources and 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.
For media inquiries, contact Kristen Nihamin 917-509-9028, [email protected]
