Greensboro-based Cone Health is expanding its school-based telehealth program to offer remote mental health services for the first time. Students struggling with anxiety, depression, or other mental or behavioral health issues can now be connected to a therapist during the school day, with services delivered via video or audio similar to Cone Health’s existing physical health telehealth program.
School officials identified the need after seeing a significant number of frequent presenters at clinics with physical complaints that often connect to underlying mental health stress. Research shows that 40 to 90 percent of mental health issues experienced in adolescence can be identified in early childhood, according to psychologist Emily Odjaghian, executive director of Lucy Daniels Center. The most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children ages 5 to 17 are anxiety problems, behavior disorders, and depression.
The program will be piloted at Alderman Elementary School in Greensboro, with Montlieu and Union Hill elementary schools in High Point, Moss Street Elementary in Reidsville, and Hillcrest Elementary in Burlington expected to be added later in the school year. All are high-poverty schools with students on waitlists for mental or behavioral health services. Community care workers present during sessions help coordinate with families and teachers, working to identify barriers such as finances or transportation that prevent access to care.
Cone Health’s broader school-based telehealth program, which started in 2021 with a pilot program, now serves 40 schools across three counties after expanding with 12 new sites this year. At least one in six children ages 6 to 17 experience a mental health disorder each year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Ninety percent of students who participate in a telehealth session return to class that day, and participating schools have seen improved attendance overall.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/09/04/cone-health-adds-remote-therapy-to-school-telehealth-program/