City of Memphis Announces Free Behavioral Health Services for All City Employees

Following The One Year Anniversary Of The City’s First COVID Case, City Of Memphis Will Provide Free Counseling And Therapy To Employees Through Talkspace, A Leading Provider Of Tele-Mental Health

New Survey Of 6,000 City Employees Reveals Majority Feeling Anxious, Stressed And Tired; Overwhelmingly Want More Mental Health Support

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following the one year mark since the City of Memphis’ first COVID case, Mayor Jim Strickland today announced a new city employee benefit from Talkspace, a leading provider of tele-mental health services. Talkspace will provide free mental health support for over 6,000 city employees, ages 18 and over. The program includes unlimited text messaging and one video appointment per month with a dedicated, licensed therapist. This effort is part of a continued program to support city employees as they grapple with the ongoing impact of the COVID pandemic.

“For too long, the mental health crisis has been one of the most challenging obstacles for our community, and as a city, we saw it as imperative to identify and address these concerns,” said Mayor Jim Strickland. “Through Talkspace, we hope that City of Memphis employees can have a safe space to access critical mental health support.”

In a recent year-end 2020 survey of approximately 6,000 city employees, an overwhelming number reported feeling anxious, stressed and tired. Talkspace’s platform, which is confidential and conveniently accessible from the comfort of a personal phone or device, meets people where they are at and provides a safe and stigma-free therapeutic environment.

“We are excited about the partnership with Talkspace and the opportunity to provide continuing mental health support for city employees,” said Alex Smith, CHRO. “We see this as a great initiative to extend more support for city employees at a time when they need it the most.”

“The COVID pandemic has brought about extraordinary mental health challenges for millions of Americans across the country. After a year of unprecedented stress, anxiety and depression with expected recovery to take years, it’s critical for Americans to have access to urgently needed mental health support now,” said Talkspace Chief Medical Officer Dr. Neil Leibowitz. “We want to acknowledge the City of Memphis employees who are going above and beyond during this crisis. We hope all take advantage of this new benefit and commit to bettering their mental health.”

Local therapists are invited to join the Talkspace network to help them connect to new clients and provide care through a secure, virtual platform. Interested providers can visit talkspace.com/join-our-network/therapist for more details. For more information about Talkspace’s online mental health treatment options, please visit this page.

The City of Memphis Fire Department was the first in the city to offer Talkspace through a grant program to extend mental health services for their employees. Talkspace’s municipality relationships include the City of Reno, City of Irvine, and County of Riverside, among others.

About Talkspace

Talkspace is a digital platform that connects thousands of licensed therapists and psychiatrists with people seeking mental healthcare. As a digital healthcare company, all care is delivered through an easy-to-use and HIPAA-compliant web and mobile platform. Today, the need for care feels more urgent than ever, and when seeking treatment, whether it's psychiatric, adolescent, or couples therapy, Talkspace has treatment options for almost every need. With Talkspace, clients can send their dedicated therapists text, video, and voice messages anytime, from anywhere, and engage in live video sessions. To date, over 2 million people have used the service, and over 40 Million lives are covered for Talkspace through insurance. For more information about Talkspace commercial relationships, visit https://business.talkspace.com. To learn more about online therapy, please visit https://www.talkspace.com/online-therapy.