Free online psychological help for adolescents
New talk2ok.by platform launched in Belarus
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UNICEF in Belarus, in partnership with the Republican Center for Psychological Assistance of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University, launched talk2ok.by online platform, aiming to help adolescents and young people confidentially receive free qualified psychological assistance.
Strengthening the mental health and well-being of adolescents is one of UNICEF priorities in Belarus. In addition, UNICEF is investing in technological solutions that can impact the lives of the most vulnerable children and adolescents. That is why psychological support for young people will now be provided in the form of online audio and video consultations comfortable for modern adolescents.
“While developing the platform, we have interacted closely with adolescents and young people. We wanted to better understand what worries them, what kind of help they are expecting, and how best to provide this help to them. Now talk2OK.by is a space where adolescents can turn for help and support in a crisis situation; where they can find information and try to address the concerns on their own. They also have the opportunity to directly contact a psychologist for a consultation or get advice from a peer consultant,” UNICEF in Belarus noted.
About 30 qualified psychologists with at least three-year professional experience collaborate on the platform. All of them have been trained on how to effectively work with the platform and counseling adolescents.
If an adolescent has not decided whether he or she is ready to talk about a problem with a specialist, there is an opportunity to chat with peer consultants on talk2ok.by website. Peer consultants are students and future psychologists. These peer counselors share personal experiences on how they tackled concerns and are available to discuss any situation adolescents may find themselves in. “I know how you feel” - these words help teens to have an honest discussion about a problem.
In addition, the platform provides access to information and educational content. You can read publications on a topic of interest, think about your situation and make a decision. There are also quick tips: how to increase self-esteem, what to do if you are bullied at school, or how to decide on a career choice. There is a section with articles for parents of adolescents.
You can watch a video about the platform here.
For a month the platform will work in testing mode to collect feedback from users and improve its performance.
