Free mental health services available for L.A. County residents

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health now offers free 24/7 online mental health resources to Los Angeles County residents in partnership with iPrevail.

L.A. County residents can benefit from online talk therapy, message boards and individual coaching for free at lacounty.iprevail.com in a confidential, secure online setting.

“We know the rates of anxiety and mental health problems have really gone up,” Dr. Curley L. Bonds, the chief medical officer of LACDMH said. “We think that being able to have a resource that people can access freely, confidentially, from the privacy of their own home [will] help them navigate some of the ongoing stresses from all of the things that we’ve been through over the last year and a half.”

The service aims to support Angelenos recovering from trauma they may have experienced throughout the pandemic.

“It’s been a difficult time. People have had to isolate, they’ve had multiple losses — they’ve lost loved ones, they’ve lost opportunities,” Dr. Curley L. Bonds, the chief medical officer of LACDMH said. “To some degree, we’re all traumatized by the ravages of COVID-19 as well as some of the racial unrest that’s happened.”

The services will include community support, on-demand coaching by trained coaches and peer trained specialists, which Bonds and iPrevail said is backed up by clinical research. After finishing the program, participants have the option to help as a peer coach, Bonds said.

It’s difficult for some people to receive needed mental health support because of the stigma around publicly seeking services, Bonds said. The services with iPrevail will help Angelenos find the right fit for a mental health coach — someone who can speak their language or understand their cultural background.

“One of the good things about iPrevail is you can share whatever you’d like to about yourself demographically — your age, your gender, your ethnicity or race, your sexual orientation,” Bonds said. “All of these things can be used to help match you with a coach who both understands some of those concerns and sometimes who has lived experiences in those areas as well.”

This program is designed to help L.A. County residents navigate a wide range of mental health challenges including anxiety, depression, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“iPrevail is excited about the partnership with LACDMH to offer this smart wellness program with a human touch to the residents of LA County,” iPrevail’s Head of Operations Sarah Hatfield said in a statement.

Resources for parents, families, veterans, first responders and the LGBTQ+ community are available online at dmh.lacounty.gov/resources.

The Department’s Help Line is available 24/7 to provide mental health support, resources and referrals at (800) 854-7771 or by texting “LA” to 741741.