Frequently Asked Questions

Kaiya delivers virtual peer support & skills-based groups to teens. Kaiya Groups are led by a diverse team of trained Kaiya Peer Support Workers aged 18+. Kaiya trains and supervises Kaiya Peer Support Workers with the skills and competencies outlined by California's Professional Peer Support Specialist standards.

We offer teens a positive human connection with peers, an evidence-based toolkit to cope and thrive, and a space to share similar experiences in a safe and supportive environment they often lack.

Kaiya offers an affordable, culturally competent, and effective peer support for teens. Sessions cost just under $20 per session, billed at $79/month. If you are facing financial barriers to accessing Kaiya, please mention this to the team during your intake call so we can explore options for financial support. Long term, we plan to work with insurance plans so that Kaiya can be universally accessible to all teens, nationwide.

Most therapists haven't lived through what your teen has been through, like COVID social isolation and social media in early childhood. Kaiya trains Peers because Peer Support workers are people who've been through it themselves and are trained to provide ongoing support, skills, and hope to teens on a similar journey. Our Peer Workforce is a more culturally diverse, inclusive, and generationally relevant support system for your teen to feel seen, heard, and understood on their journey.

No. Their value resides in the credibility of shared experience and mutuality. They receive 40+ hours of training and are coached by licensed therapists on a weekly basis to ensure the highest quality care for your teen.

Peer Support Workers are of similar age to teens and share generational and cultural experiences. Kaiya's training includes extensive instruction, including role play and supervisory shadowing, in regard to maintaining appropriate interpersonal boundaries with clients. Kaiya Peer Support Workers spend 25% of their training hours learning professional boundaries, ethics, and real client scenarios.

Research shows that peer and group-driven support is one of the most effective outcome-driven interventions for mental health support for adolescents. From a developmental perspective, group interactions are foundational to validate adolescents' self-development, shared struggles and sense of belonging.

We pre-screen adolescents for at-risk indicators before they enter Kaiya sessions. After the intake, if a new crisis arises during sessions, Kaiya Peer Support Workers identify and handle crisis scenarios using a curriculum designed by child and adolescent therapists and a Board-Certified child psychiatrist.

Crisis protocols are specific, codified, readily accessible, routinely reviewed with Peer Support Workers, and include notification to parents, coordination with crisis services, communication with appropriate medical providers, and follow-up with Kaiya kids.

Kaiya maintains a safe space that teens can trust by keeping the details of the sessions confidential. Kaiya shares with parents on a weekly basis a teen's mental well-being score, the thematic outcomes of sessions, and skills-based content from group discussions. Kaiya immediately breaks confidentiality if concerns around safety arise.

Kaiya's team of clinical experts in Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychology, Counseling, and Social Work have created a world-class, evidence-based Training Program aligned to the Professional Peer Support Specialist Competencies outlined by the government. Each Peer Support Worker receives 40+ hours of training and continuing education, coaching, and oversight by the clinical team throughout their time leading Kaiya sessions.

No. Kaiya Peer Support Workers are not licensed therapists or clinicians. Kaiya is an alternative to therapy for low-severity cases.