While most of our other youth programs are meant for socializing and building community connections, such as the online groups Fruit Loops and Queerios, our mental health counseling services are intended for treatment and support of areas such as anxiety, depression, trauma, family/peer relationship concerns, identity exploration, self-esteem, etc. The counselors providing these services are specially trained to meet these clinical mental health needs, just like any therapist you might see in an office or private practice.

Youth anywhere in the state of Maine can participate in both individual and group sessions. Individual sessions are offered via telehealth and in-person (depending on availability). Group sessions are only offered via telehealth at this time.

Youth up to age 22 are eligible to participate in individual counseling, while the group sessions are currently targeted for ages 13-18. Thanks to generous grant funding, we are currently able to offer both services free of charge, without the need to bill insurance, collect a co-pay, or charge any kind of fee!

The most important goal of the first few sessions is for you and the counselor to start to build a trusting relationship with each other. The counselor will ask questions to get to know you better, and start to assess how they may best be able to support you. They will also share A LOT of information about the process of treatment, but this is to ensure you are giving informed consent when you sign all the intake paperwork. You are welcome to ask as many questions as you like during this process!

Yes! All written and verbal communication between you and the counselor is private and confidential, including for minors under 18. There are certain circumstances in which the counselor must break this confidentiality, such as to maintain your or another person’s safety, but they will explain these limitations to you and talk through what would happen if they did ever need to disclose this type of information. Again, you are welcome to ask your counselor as many questions as you like about this process!

Yes – All telehealth sessions and records management are hosted on Simple Practice, a HIPAA-compliant Electronic Health Records (EHR) and videoconferencing system. The convenient client portal allows for secure messaging, scheduling, telehealth sessions, and records management between you and your counselor. The only people at OUT Maine who have access to your confidential client records are your counselor and their supervisor.

Whether you are interested in individual or group counseling, the first step is to fill out a brief inquiry form. For youth under age 18, it is best if the guardian completes the form on behalf of the youth, but older youth may complete the form on their own and provide their guardian’s contact information, if applicable. Our staff will review and respond to your inquiry within 24-48 business hours, holidays excepted.

Yes, you are welcome and encouraged to participate in any other programs that OUT Maine offers! Our counseling staff has the utmost respect for your right to privacy, and so if we ever see you at another OUT Maine program (whether in-person or virtual), we will introduce ourselves and act like it is the first time we’ve ever met, unless you acknowledge that you already know us first. We want you to feel safe and comfortable no matter what!

Absolutely! If at any time this service is not the right fit for you, we will gladly work with you to make a supportive transition to another service or provider who can best meet your needs.