[Online text-based psychosocial intervention for Youth in Quebec]

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Health
• Digital Mental Health
• Telepsychology

Background:

• Tel-jeunes established a pioneering text messaging intervention in 2013 for youth aged 12-17.
• This service was the first in the nation to provide text-based psychosocial interventions by professional counselors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify youth motivations, contexts, and issues leading to SMS service use.
• To characterize the nature of text-based brief interventions.
• To evaluate counselor experiences, including advantages and difficulties.

Main Methods:

• A multimethod research approach was employed from November 2013 to May 2014.
• Included four focus groups with 23 adolescents and two focus groups with 11 counselors.
• Content analysis of 13,236 text messages (601 conversations) was conducted.

Main Results:

• The SMS service successfully meets youth needs, with text messaging preferred for support and information.
• Dominant issues addressed were romantic relationships, psychological health, and sexuality.
• Youth valued the anonymity and privacy of text-based communication, while counselors noted difficulties with complex cases and emotional assessment.

Conclusions:

• Text-based interventions are crucial for reaching youth seeking help, but require model adaptation.
• Adjustments involved considering youth needs, ongoing counselor dialogue, and platform improvements.
• Future challenges include engaging boys, younger adolescents, and managing urgent web-based requests.