This week's Teen Tuesday profile is a bit different. TeenCentral.Net isn't a traditional market but a place for teens with problems or concerns to share their true personal stories. Below, Julius Licata of KidsPeace answers questions about the website, their services, and their goals.
What was the driving force behind creating TeenCentral.Net?
The driving force behind creating TeenCentral.Net is that KidsPeace has a great continuum of care. We deal with kids and teens in all aspects of treatment, whether it be out-patient, residential, Psychiatric Hospitalization, Family Therapy, Foster Care, Adoptions and so on. The one area we realized was lacking was intervention and prevention. So it was decided in the early 90’s to address this issue. The internet was just beginning to boom so it took a team of programmers, designers, therapists and others several years to develop and create TeenCentral.Net. We were looking for a way to reach as many teens as we could and, truly, never imagined how successful this site would be.
The driving force behind creating TeenCentral.Net is that KidsPeace has a great continuum of care. We deal with kids and teens in all aspects of treatment, whether it be out-patient, residential, Psychiatric Hospitalization, Family Therapy, Foster Care, Adoptions and so on. The one area we realized was lacking was intervention and prevention. So it was decided in the early 90’s to address this issue. The internet was just beginning to boom so it took a team of programmers, designers, therapists and others several years to develop and create TeenCentral.Net. We were looking for a way to reach as many teens as we could and, truly, never imagined how successful this site would be.
How long has TeenCentral.Net existed? How many “stories” have been posted?
TeenCentral.Net was launched before Congress on September 8, 1998. So, this past September we celebrated our 15th Anniversay. Since that time we have received well over 210,000 stories and over 215,000 responses. Every one of these stories and responses has been answered within a 24-hour window, been counseled by one of our trained counselors and reviewed and approved by a Master’s or Doctorate Level Clinician before being published to the site. This ensures the best possible counseling for every teen that writes his/her story.
TeenCentral.Net was launched before Congress on September 8, 1998. So, this past September we celebrated our 15th Anniversay. Since that time we have received well over 210,000 stories and over 215,000 responses. Every one of these stories and responses has been answered within a 24-hour window, been counseled by one of our trained counselors and reviewed and approved by a Master’s or Doctorate Level Clinician before being published to the site. This ensures the best possible counseling for every teen that writes his/her story.
Do you censor stories at all?
Yes, we do not allow vulgarity, slurs of any type, we do not allow any rants against any one person or group. This is a positive site where teens come to feel comfortable and accepted. We also change misspelled words and grammar. However, every story and response is answered within a 24-hour period.
Yes, we do not allow vulgarity, slurs of any type, we do not allow any rants against any one person or group. This is a positive site where teens come to feel comfortable and accepted. We also change misspelled words and grammar. However, every story and response is answered within a 24-hour period.
Who responds to the teen stories?
We work on a few levels. We have volunteer counselors from around the country and, in fact, around the world. They apply, are trained online and then, after they pass several tests, they must successfully counsel a teen’s story and response. They log-on to the site and go to the Administrative section, choose the next available story in the database and begin their counseling (the same is true with the responses). . . .We find that our teens respond well to these counselors. Once the volunteer finishes their work the submit the story back to the database for an Administrator. Our on duty Administrator (Master’s or Doctorate Level Clinician) then comes and pulls the next counseled story, checks it for appropriateness and checks the counseling. If they feel it needs to be more clinical or needs revision, they make the necessary changes and when they feel it is ready, they publish it to the site for the teen to have the next time they log-on. Remember, all of this happens within 24-hours.
We work on a few levels. We have volunteer counselors from around the country and, in fact, around the world. They apply, are trained online and then, after they pass several tests, they must successfully counsel a teen’s story and response. They log-on to the site and go to the Administrative section, choose the next available story in the database and begin their counseling (the same is true with the responses). . . .We find that our teens respond well to these counselors. Once the volunteer finishes their work the submit the story back to the database for an Administrator. Our on duty Administrator (Master’s or Doctorate Level Clinician) then comes and pulls the next counseled story, checks it for appropriateness and checks the counseling. If they feel it needs to be more clinical or needs revision, they make the necessary changes and when they feel it is ready, they publish it to the site for the teen to have the next time they log-on. Remember, all of this happens within 24-hours.
What do you hope that TeenCentral.net will achieve?
Our goal or “hope” has always been to help teens through their difficulties or simply to give them a place to go for answers with some of life’s most difficult situations. We want every teen to know about this and to get the help they need from people who care and are qualified to give the best counsel possible. We also wanted to make sure parents could also find a place where they could get help so we created ParentCentral.Net four years ago and it works the same as TC.N.
Our goal or “hope” has always been to help teens through their difficulties or simply to give them a place to go for answers with some of life’s most difficult situations. We want every teen to know about this and to get the help they need from people who care and are qualified to give the best counsel possible. We also wanted to make sure parents could also find a place where they could get help so we created ParentCentral.Net four years ago and it works the same as TC.N.
Is there any other info you would like to add?
TeenCentral.Net was created by KidsPeace, one of the nation’s oldest and most comprehensive treatment facilities for kids, teens and families. KidsPeace is an organization that has been around for over 135 years. TeenCentral.Net and ParentCentral.Net are free, safe and anonymous so that everyone can be as honest and open as they like without worry or reservation. Most of the counseling given is aimed at helping the teen to look inside themselves and unlock the wealth of information available and make choices that are theirs. We simply guide the teen to making good decisions that will help them in all they do. The best way to understand TeenCentral.Net and/or ParentCentral.Net is to go on and to visit the many areas available. Our Interfaith has a section on Muslims and all Muslim teens are answered by Muslim adults to better offer the best counsel. Our “Growing Up Military” section is answer by former children of Military and other Military Personnel. It is available 24-7.
TeenCentral.Net was created by KidsPeace, one of the nation’s oldest and most comprehensive treatment facilities for kids, teens and families. KidsPeace is an organization that has been around for over 135 years. TeenCentral.Net and ParentCentral.Net are free, safe and anonymous so that everyone can be as honest and open as they like without worry or reservation. Most of the counseling given is aimed at helping the teen to look inside themselves and unlock the wealth of information available and make choices that are theirs. We simply guide the teen to making good decisions that will help them in all they do. The best way to understand TeenCentral.Net and/or ParentCentral.Net is to go on and to visit the many areas available. Our Interfaith has a section on Muslims and all Muslim teens are answered by Muslim adults to better offer the best counsel. Our “Growing Up Military” section is answer by former children of Military and other Military Personnel. It is available 24-7.
Thank you, Julius, for the interview. For more information, visit the TeenCentral.Net website.
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