Through the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) program, members of the University of Texas Medical Branch Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department provide free mental health services to students in school districts across the region.
TCHATT is an initiative of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium, which was established by the state legislature in 2019 to address urgent mental health challenges and improve the mental health care system for children and adolescents in Texas.
A school-based telemedicine service that provides mental health support to students at no cost to the student, their family or the participating school districts, TCHATT is available to students ages four to 21 enrolled in participating school districts.
“Every school in Texas has access to this if they choose to,” said Dr. Kimberly Gushanas, assistant professor and licensed psychologist with UTMB. “Some schools have opted out but a very large amount of schools have been covered, in our area specifically.”
To initiate and utilize services, a referral to UTMB TCHATT must start with the school counselor. Assuming parents and guardians consent, the student is then connected with a child and adolescent mental health clinician for an assessment followed by a limited number of visits. Parental/guardian consent is not required for students 18 years of age or older.
All UTMB TCHATT visits are virtual, with the option for a school-based or a home-based appointment. Initial evaluations last approximately 90 minutes, with all follow-up visits being between 30 minutes to an hour.
Over 4 million youth across Texas have access to TCHATT, which works to identify and assess the behavioral health needs of children and adolescents and provide access to mental health services.
The services through the program are focused on targeted interventions, Gushanas says, they also work hard to connect people to other resources available to them in the community.
Though offered through school districts, the program is not dependent on school being in session and runs year-roun
For more information, visit the TCMHCC page within the UTMB website.