As an educator for 16 years, I have witnessed firsthand the worsening student mental health crisis, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Our school counselors are overwhelmed, often juggling caseloads of 400+ students. Students are struggling but many do not feel comfortable confiding in counselors or parents yet.
That is why I was thrilled to interview the team from Alongside on my podcast, My Ed Tech Life. Alongside has created an innovative chatbot that meets students where they are - on their devices - to provide mental health support in an easily accessible, judgement-free way.
Alongside's Scott Freschet and Dr. Clark Hayes demonstrated the platform's chatbot for me. Students simply log in on any device and start chatting with a friendly llama avatar. Clinicians design the bot’s empathetic responses to make students feel heard. It asks questions, suggests coping skills, shares activities, and creates action plans for students to follow up on.
This is the type of tier one universal support schools desperately need today. Alongside saves counselors' time so they can focus on higher risk cases. Students who may not be ready to talk to the counselor or a parent can take the first step by chatting with the llama anytime about an issue like test anxiety or friendship problems.
I loved seeing how this personalized support meets students where they are. As Scott explained, Alongside prioritizes designing an experience students actually want to use, not just what adults think they need. The high school interns at Alongside pitch ideas to improve the platform based on real student feedback.
Counselors at schools using Alongside have shared that it manages frequent flyer students on Monday mornings, freeing up their time. Students have given positive feedback too; with 90% reporting they enjoy the platform. This confidential mental health support on student devices is a game changer.
After witnessing the student mental health crisis escalate firsthand, I am thrilled to see neighboring districts start using Alongside. Counselors cannot tackle these systemic challenges alone. Alongside has created an innovative solution that empowers students and partners with counselors.
This is the future of mental health support in schools. I encourage all educators and school leaders to learn more about how Alongside is meeting the moment and supporting students' mental health journeys. The shift to tier one universal tools like this cannot come soon enough.
To hear more about my insightful conversation with the Alongside team and see a demo of their chatbot, listen to the full episode here: https://www.myedtech.life/alongside/.
