Brightline Study: Virtual Behavioral Health Offerings Improve Clinical Outcomes In Children, Teens, and Their Caregivers

Industry-first research demonstrates the critical and immediate need to expand virtual care access to address the mental health crisis among youths

SAN MATEO, Calif., March 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Brightline, the leader in virtual behavioral health care for children and families, today announced the first peer-reviewed research demonstrating the effectiveness of virtual behavioral health offerings in improving clinical outcomes in children, teens, and their caregivers. Published in JMIR Formative Research, the study highlights how a scalable virtual solution can address the worsening mental health crisis among youths by improving much-needed access to behavioral health care for families.

Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing pediatric mental health emergency continues to worsen by almost every measure. From increased anxiety to depression, substance abuse, and suicidality—children, teens, and their families are facing unprecedented challenges today when it comes to mental health. However, demand and access are not aligned, as there are limited ways for parents to get evidence-based pediatric behavioral health care for their children and teens.

Brightline's nationwide virtual behavioral health care service, which is eliminating the biggest barriers to care, has now published the first study of its kind on virtual behavioral health offerings for youths. Conducted between February and September 2022, Brightline's study illustrates the effectiveness of virtual pediatric behavioral health services in improving clinical outcomes for children, teens, and their caregivers:

• Most children and teens showed significant overall improvement after receiving care through virtual therapy (69%) and coaching (75%) programs;
• More than 70% of children and teens experienced reductions in internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression following virtual therapy and coaching sessions;
• Caregivers reported significant reductions in stress associated with caring for their child's behavioral health needs across all levels of virtual care provided.

"These findings underscore the immense opportunity for virtual behavioral health care to provide immediate relief to not only kids and teens, but also caregivers amid the ongoing youth mental health crisis," said Dr. David Grodberg, Chief Psychiatric Officer at Brightline and author of the study. "As the leading provider of virtual pediatric behavioral health, Brightline is capable of making a real difference in the lives of children and families currently lacking affordable access to essential pediatric behavioral health services."

Recent increases in support for employer-sponsored behavioral health programs have demonstrated positive outcomes. However, these programs focus on the needs of adults rather than the specialty behavioral health care required to treat children, teens, and families. Brightline's seasoned providers have years of experience working with children of all ages and deliver expert virtual therapy, psychiatry, and coaching nationwide. Based on real-world protocols designed specifically for children, teens, and caregivers, Brightline is uniquely capable of providing an affordable and scalable virtual solution to meet the demand and needs of children and families who lack timely access to quality pediatric behavioral health services.

"As recent data on the youth mental health crisis has shown, there is an urgent need to provide access to timely, high-quality mental health care to families. By leveraging the power of technology coupled with experienced pediatric and adolescent behavioral health providers to deliver evidence-based care, we are able to fill in gaps in access to care that are so needed," said Jennifer La Guardia, PhD, Vice President of Care Innovation at Brightline. "This study helps demonstrate the immediate impact that innovative virtual care models like Brightline can provide for children and families."

Following the publication of its first peer-reviewed research last year, Brightline continues to conduct rigorous research to understand youths' behavioral health needs better and further develop its solution to meet the diverse needs of children, families, employers, and health plans. This latest study, titled, "Clinical and Psychosocial Outcomes Associated With a Tele-behavioral Health Platform for Families: Retrospective Study," is published in JMIR Formative Research.

About Brightline

Brightline is the first virtual behavioral health solution built specifically to care for children, teens, and their families across a broad range of needs. With multidisciplinary care teams comprised of coaches, therapists, and psychiatrists, evidence-based programs, and a family-focused approach, Brightline brings care to families across the country right when and where they need it. Founded by leading digital health entrepreneurs Naomi Allen and Giovanni Colella, MD, the company is backed by leading investors GV (formerly Google Ventures), KKR, Oak HC/FT, and Threshold. Recognized as the pioneer in family virtual behavioral health, Brightline was listed as one of Fast Company's 2022 Most Innovative Companies and Fierce Healthcare's 2022 Fierce 15. Brightline is headquartered in San Mateo, CA, United States, and is available nationwide. Learn more at hellobrightline.com.

About JMIR Publications

JMIR Publications is a leading, born-digital, open access publisher of 30+ academic journals and other innovative scientific communication products that focus on the intersection of health and technology. Its flagship journal, the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is the leading digital health journal globally in content breadth and visibility, and it is the largest journal in the medical informatics field.

To learn more about JMIR Publications, please visit https://www.JMIRPublications.com.

SOURCE Brightline