Northwell Health Collaborates With Brightline to Expand Pediatric Mental Health Services Across New York

September 10, 2025 at 09:01 AM EDT

Brightline's services will help close care gaps and simplify referrals for children and families

Northwell Health, New York's largest healthcare provider and private employer, today announced a strategic alliance with Brightline, the leading therapy and psychiatry practice that delivers pediatric, teen, and parental mental healthcare. The collaboration offers patients enhanced access to evidence-based, family-centered mental healthcare, both in-person at Brightline’s New York clinic locations in Brooklyn and Lake Success, and virtually, addressing the urgent and growing demand for youth and family behavioral health services in New York.

Northwell Health offers comprehensive behavioral health services to children, including outpatient and inpatient care, urgent care and emergency care, and school services. The growing demand for services, however, means that Northwell refers a significant number of patients with behavioral health needs to external therapists and psychiatrists. Through this collaboration, Northwell Health patients will have streamlined referrals to Brightline's network of licensed clinicians, including psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists, who specialize in treating conditions like anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, OCD, and parenting stress.

“Our strategic alliance with Brightline reflects our shared commitment to meeting families where they are – in their neighborhoods, their schools, and even their homes,” said Michael Scarpelli, SVP and president of Behavioral Health Services at Northwell.

John Young, MD, MMP, PhD, Northwell’s chair of Psychiatry and SVP for Behavioral Health, added, “Together with Brightline, we’re building stronger mental health support for our youngest patients and the people who care for them. We’re also making it much easier for New York families to receive this care either virtually or in-person at the Brightline clinic locations.”

The collaboration will improve access and capacity for high-quality pediatric mental health services and expand service lines in current and new markets. Patients at Northwell Health now have access to Brightline’s behavioral health services, including diagnostic evaluation, therapy, psychiatry, medication management and psychological testing.

“We’re proud to collaborate with Northwell Health to extend our reach and remove the barriers that prevent so many young people and families from getting the support they need,” said Brightline Co-founder and CEO Naomi Allen. “All families deserve timely, affordable, and compassionate care, and we’re honored to bring that to more families in New York. Northwell Health has long supported New York families’ and children’s mental health – demonstrated by their ongoing financial and clinical commitment to the space.”

Key features of Brightline’s services include:

Comprehensive in-person psychological testing for autism, learning disorders, executive functioning, school readiness, giftedness, and more.
Children with more common, generalized concerns, including depression and trauma, can receive therapy, psychiatry, and medication management, as needed.
Brightline has built four focused programs with the capability to test, diagnose, and treat higher acuity concerns for anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and behavior disorders through therapy, psychiatry, and medication management.
Brightline is committed to patient-centered care, based on the child's age and stage. Brightline's care plans are family-focused and fully integrated. Each family receives a personalized care roadmap, and care teams coordinate closely with the child's pediatrician to align physical and mental health support.

This collaboration aligns with New York State’s ongoing efforts to close gaps in behavioral health access and integrate mental and physical care for children and adolescents. Building upon its six years of clinical excellence in virtual pediatric, teen and family mental healthcare, Brightline opened its first brick-and-mortar clinic in Brooklyn in April 2025 and recently launched its second clinic in Lake Success.

About Brightline

Brightline is a therapy and psychiatry practice that delivers pediatric, teen, and parental mental health care to families and kids up to age 18. Brightline's in-person and virtual outpatient services include diagnostic evaluation, therapy, psychiatry, medication management, and psychological testing to assess autism, learning differences, executive functioning, school readiness, and giftedness. Brightline also offers focused programs for anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and disruptive behaviors. Founded in 2019, Brightline is nationally recognized for its innovation and clinical excellence in delivering care to over 150,000 families. Brightline is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and backed by leading investors such as Boston Children's Hospital, Northwell Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Google Ventures, KKR, and Oak HC/FT. For more information, visit https://www.hellobrightline.com/.

About Northwell Health

Northwell is the largest not-for-profit health system in the Northeast, serving residents of New York and Connecticut with 28 hospitals, more than 1,000 outpatient facilities, 22,000 nurses and over 20,000 physicians. Northwell cares for more than three million people annually in the New York metro area, including Long Island, the Hudson Valley, western Connecticut and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Northwell is New York State’s largest private employer with over 104,000 employees – including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners and Nuvance Health Medical Practices – who are working to change health care for the better. Northwell, named a TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025, is making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Northwell is training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.