Question 1

What is Supportiv?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv connects students with online support anytime, anywhere. Users are matched into topic-specific groups using simple statements such as “My friends all have dates to homecoming, I don’t want to go alone” or “I just want to hide because everyone is staring at my acne”.

Question 2

How does it work?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv matches teens, in less than one minute, with other teens struggling with something similar. Everyone in the chat can immediately relate and help each other as peers. Your child can chat about any topic, and everyone is always anonymous. All chats are guided in real-time by a professionally trained moderator to ensure safety and keep the conversation on track. As your teen chats and expresses what they’re going through, they will see resources like articles, videos, worksheets and community programs that are useful for coping, problem solving and healing.

Question 3

How will my child benefit from Supportiv?

Accepted Answer

When people enter Supportiv’s live chats, they are feeling upset, unheard, alone, angry, sad, and not sure what to do. They will be welcomed by a trained moderator who will encourage them to vent and share how they are feeling. They will hear from peers dealing with a similar struggle. The trained moderator will facilitate group problem solving while also giving each user useful and free information and resources that can be accessed after the chat. When your child leaves the chat they will feel understood, supported and equipped with ideas and resources to help them deal with their struggles.

Question 4

Is Supportiv a form of counseling or therapy?

Accepted Answer

Some of the most familiar forms of peer support are grief support groups and Alcoholics Anonymous® where regular people band together to help each other through a common struggle. Supportiv has expanded that concept of peer support to cover every possible mental, emotional, and social struggle we go through in everyday life. Unlike therapy, there is no therapist present to diagnose or treat participants. Instead, Supportiv provides a real-time moderator who facilitates the chat among peers to ensure everyone feels safe and secure and who guides the conversation forward.

Question 5

Who can access Supportiv?  How will my child access Supportiv?

Accepted Answer

Kansas high school students (ages 13+) in selected districts (Haysville, Wichita, Eli-Saline, Salina, Southeast of Saline, Chanute, Erie-Galesburge, Chetopa-St. Paul, Humboldt, Iola, Marmaton, Ellis, Hays and Victoria) are eligible to use Supportiv at no cost to them. Supportiv is not an app and can be accessed from any computer or mobile device such as a smartphone or iPad. Your child will be given a website address to type into their computer or mobile device browser (Safari, Firefox, Google, Brave, DuckDuckGo, and many more), or a QR code that can be scanned with their phone’s camera.

Question 6

Will there be adults in the chat session, or is it only for teens?

Accepted Answer

Students will only be placed into a chat session with other teens ages 13 and up. The only adult in the session will be the Supportiv moderator. Because all chats are anonymous and participants can join a chat from any browser using the www.supportiv.com/kansas URL address, an adult could unintentionally get into a chat. All chats are kept safe by trained moderators who can and will remove any and all participants typing inappropriate comments or questions. Student safety is our top priority.

Question 7

How will my child hear about Supportiv?

Accepted Answer

Your child may hear about Supportiv from other students via social media posts during school events, or even outside of school where they meet with friends and participate in afterschool activities.

Question 8

When does free access start?  When can my child access Supportiv?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv will be available at no cost beginning March 1, 2024. Students can access Supportiv anytime of day, any day of the week, including Saturdays and Sundays. Students will be connected to a moderator and a peer-to-peer chat session within 30 seconds of requesting help.

Question 9

Why is it free?  Who is paying for it?

Accepted Answer

The UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kansas has provided a one-time community grant available to select Kansas high school districts. UnitedHealthcare is a national provider of health insurance and healthcare services with a mission to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to improving the mental health of youth by improving access to affordable and effective mental health services. UnitedHealthcare has validated the effectiveness of peer-to-peer support and sees a need in Kansas to support the communities they serve.

Question 10

What happens when the grant runs out?

Accepted Answer

UnitedHealthcare will be evaluating the effectiveness of Supportiv six months after making the service available to select school districts in Kansas. If the program is determined to be successful, UnitedHealthcare will seek to continue funding the program in 2025.

Question 11

Does my child need parental approval?

Accepted Answer

No. Students ages 13 and up do not require parental consent. Students only need a computer or mobile device to access Supportiv to answer one simple question: What’s your struggle? If a participant self-reports they are under the age of 13, they will be removed from the chat. Supportiv does not provide therapy. There is no therapist present to diagnose or treat participants.

Question 12

How is my child kept safe during the chats?

Accepted Answer

All chats are facilitated by highly trained moderators who keep your child safe from trolls and cyberbullying. If anyone in the chat is ignoring the chat rules for peaceful participation, acting judgmental, or dominating the chat, the Supportiv moderator is there to mute them or remove them as needed to maintain the flow of the chat in a supportive way.

Question 13

Who are the moderators?  How are they trained?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv moderators are psychology students (graduate and undergraduate) who’ve completed extensive training in all aspects of facilitating and safeguarding the chats. They can ask questions, mute or remove any troublemakers, route people to crisis services, and share resources with the group, among other functions.

Question 14

Is my child’s identity really kept anonymous?

Accepted Answer

Yes, everyone is 100% anonymous. Users do not create accounts. No one can know who your child really is because they are never asked for a name, ID#, school name, school ID, credit card, or any contact information.

Question 15

What if a child brings up a more serious concern in the chat room?

Accepted Answer

The moderator is trained to detect and deal with crisis situations. The moderator will take the student out of the chat and engage with them away from other chat participants. The moderator is trained to ask a series of questions to assess the threat. In emergency situations, users are referred by the moderator to a push button-dial screen on their mobile device for:

911 – Medical Emergency
988 – Crisis Support Services
National Suicide Prevention Hotline
National Sexual Assault Hotline
National Domestic Violence Hotline

Supportiv is meant to be a supplement to current resources already available to students, not a replacement. But just in case of emergency situations, these hotlines are readily available for the student to get help in the moment a crisis occurs.

Question 16

How can I contact Supportiv?

Accepted Answer

The best way to reach the Supportiv team is via email at info@supportiv.com or by phone at 1-800-845-0015. Please keep in mind that emotional support is only available by chat.

Question 17

How can I help to get the word out and get my child to use Supportiv?

Accepted Answer

It’s important that kids hear about Supportiv from other teens like themselves to establish trust and credibility. If you are a sponsor of a student-led club or organization that you think would like to get involved in promoting Supportiv to other students, you can access resources from this website (www.supportiv.com/uhc-kansas) by clicking on “Download Tools” at the top of the page. Here you will find downloadable posters and flyers to use to promote awareness of Supportiv.

Parents & Guardians - FAQs Answered

What is Supportiv?

How does it work?

How will my child benefit from Supportiv?

Is Supportiv a form of counseling or therapy?

Who can access Supportiv? How will my child access Supportiv?

Will there be adults in the chat session, or is it only for teens?

How will my child hear about Supportiv?

When does free access start? When can my child access Supportiv?

Why is it free? Who is paying for it?