NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Counslr, a leading mental health and wellness platform, announced today that it has expanded its footprint, partnering with many school districts across the country in anticipation of the 2025-26 school year as budget cuts erode school mental health initiatives, resulting in school communities to explore alternative cost-effective solutions. Schools overwhelmingly cite insufficient funding (54%) and inadequate staffing (55%) as the primary barriers to delivering comprehensive mental health services, with rural school districts especially impacted.

"As a school leader in a rural community where resources are limited and stigma runs deep, I’m hopeful that Counslr’s text-based support will provide our students and staff meaningful and accessible mental health care, which is something many of them have never had before," Wendy Reed, Director of Federal Programs, Mineral Springs School District, AR.

A recent study found that digital mental health apps like Counslr can play an important role in expanding access to mental health support, especially for school communities. Most users turned to Counslr through on-demand sessions, showing just how valuable it is to have someone available in the moment when support is needed most. Interestingly, more than 80% of sessions happened between 7 PM and 5 AM, a time when traditional counseling services are usually unavailable. This suggests that Counslr helps fill a critical gap, offering students and school community members a reliable way to talk to licensed counselors around the clock. The app was also used for a wide range of concerns, highlighting its potential to meet diverse mental health needs through both immediate and scheduled support.

“Counslr’s text-based support will help decrease the stigma that surrounds seeking help,” states Dr. Pepper Bonay-Martin, Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Wyandanch Union Free School District, New York. “By increasing comfort levels in seeking support with a convenient and discrete modality, we anticipate our students and staff will reach out whenever they need or want help.”

The partnerships with Mineral Springs and Wyandanch school districts are just two of many schools that have expressed a growing need for additional mental health support in their school community. In fact, schools across the country launched or renewed with Counslr this summer in anticipation of the upcoming school year from rural areas such as Southwest Region School District in Alaska and to populated suburban regions like Big Hollow School District in Ingleside, IL and Illinois Valley Central School District in Chillicothe, IL.

“Budget cuts are impacting schools across the country in all types of communities while at the same time factors such as academic pressures, social media influence, burnout and world events are contributing to an increase in mental health challenges,” said Josh Liss, Counslr CEO. “As the demand for innovative mental health solutions continues to grow, we look forward to working with school districts to help reach those who need support because mental health knows no boundaries or budget.”

ABOUT COUNSLR
Counslr is a text-based mental health support application that provides unlimited access to robust wellness resources and live texting sessions with licensed professionals, 24/7/365. Users can access support on-demand within two minutes of opening the app, or by scheduled appointment. Through real-time texting, users enjoy one-on-one, private communication with a licensed counselor that can be conducted anytime, anywhere. Counslr was designed to help individuals deal with life’s day-to-day issues, empowering individuals to address concerns while they are “small” to help ensure that they stay “small”. Counslr partners with organizations of all shapes and sizes (companies, unions, nonprofits, universities/colleges, high schools, etc.) so that these entities can provide Counslr’s services to their employees/members/students at no direct cost. For more information, please visit www.counslr.com.

Kristen Nihamin
kristen@counslr.com 
917-509-9028

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ee2ed3be-b108-49a9-9c03-bdfff8524b39