With outside mental health companies, KY universities look to expand student support
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How KY universities are addressing students’ emotional needs
Across Kentucky, colleges and universities are facing growing needs related to the mental health of the students enrolled, and nationally, instances of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts have steadily increased in the past decade.
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On many college campuses, mental health support begins immediately when students step foot on campus.
With that approach in mind, schools over Kentucky have in recent years begun expanding their reach to students through partnerships with outside companies and organizations that expand beyond the scope of a school.
The partnerships, university officials say, have improved what schools can offer students.
“We’re trying to reach people in a variety of different ways, because not everyone wants to come through a traditional counseling appointment. Not everyone is comfortable with that,” said Tina Bryant, acting executive director of UK’s counseling center.
Sarah Lipson, an associate professor in the Department of Health Law Policy and Management at Boston University and a principal investigator of the Healthy Minds Network, a national research project focused on understanding college student mental health, said colleges are starting to think of faculty as a campus mental health system.
“There’s a very strong need for a public health approach,” she said. “We’re not going to be able to staff our way out of this problem or address all the needs that students have through clinical services alone.”
The approach prioritizes the prevention of such growing challenges as anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts through campus policies that create a sense of belonging among students.
Jefferson Community and Technical College, part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, partners with Spalding University’s Center for Behavioral Health to counsel Jefferson students. For the upcoming school year, Spalding will be giving JCTC four student therapists who are finishing their doctoral program.
With the partnership, Jefferson students can access free mental health services on campus.
“Of course, the four student therapists aren’t able to see all of the students. So, all of the students have access to either the (four) therapists, if their schedules permit, and if they don’t, then they can meet with another student therapist over at (the Center for Behavioral Health),” said Kimberly Duel, assistant vice president of student affairs for JCTC.
Outside factors can also contribute to students’ mental health and well-being, a focus of Bluegrass Community and Technical College with its partnership with Family Scholar House.
“We are able to help meet our homeless students’ need. Or, say a student doesn’t have gas to get to campus but they’re an online student, they may give them a gas card,” said Anita Nelums, BCTC’s director of counseling services.
Through the Family Scholar House, students can access MyKY.info, a free online app service that helps students and community members find services for what they are struggling with.
“It was a pretty big deal in addition to what Anita was already doing with counseling,” said Katelynn Ralston, director of marketing and digital strategies for BCTC. “You have that in-person, but how do you access the people who don’t want to do that or feel weird about asking for help, or feel ashamed.”
Ralston said kiosks, sticker QR codes and brochures containing information for MyKy.info are around all seven BCTC campuses. On those handouts, there is no outward-facing information about the resources it provides to help combat the stigma surrounding mental health.
Nelums said MyKy.info is managed by Family Scholar House, not BCTC. The resources listed are all free and state-wide.
With more readily available access to technology, schools across Kentucky are looking to apps and providers who offer telehealth formats to help extend their reach. Denise Filey, a professor of psychology and brain sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, said the push toward telehealth was a positive outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So many individuals were suffering mental health crises and emergency rooms were overrun,” she said. “The silver lining (was) that more digital health, telehealth, interventions were available.”
Wilfley emphasized that telehealth can also be helpful for communities with more stigma around mental health.
“There are different cultural groups that have feelings that they have less of a need for therapy,” she said. “Providing some services, like digital mental health that are more anonymous can be very helpful as well.”
With many different models and approaches, Wifley said telehealth and service-connecting apps help college counselors and mental health staff prioritize different levels of intensity of services.
With the Triage, Referral, Assistance and Crisis Support (TRACS) Hub, the University of Kentucky can provide immediate support to students and analyze what their needs are.
UK also partners with multiple companies like Headspace, Stressbusters Wellness, Talkspace, Togetheralll and Welltrack Boost to offer many different approaches to its mental health support.
Murray State began a partnership with Timely Care in August that gives students 24/7 access to a mental health professional. Don Robertson, vice president for student affairs and enrollment at Murray State, said students can make appointments through Timely Care, but it is more often used for crises when the counseling center is not open, including breaks and weekends.
“So some students prefer to see in-person counseling. Others, we think, well, we know, prefer to do it through telecounseling,” Robertson said. “The nice thing about this will be it’s available every day of the semester, in the summers, during breaks, holidays.”
With a large portion of its undergraduate students at Murray State commuting to school, Robertson said the service is particularly good for those students, online students or those who attend one of Murray State’s five satellite campuses around the commonwealth.
Centre College has partnered with Seize the Awkward and Active Minds to help break the stigma surrounding mental help as well as provide students, faculty and staff resources if they are concerned about the well-being of a friend, student or family member.
“Active Minds offers guidance on the dos and don’ts of talking with a friend or loved one struggling with mental health,” Centre’s website reads. “Seize the Awkward provides resources for starting conversations about mental health that can make a difference.”
Centre also partners with the JED Campus Program, a nationwide initiative through the Jed Foundation which helps schools take a comprehensive look at their systems, policies and programs and how they can build on them to better support student mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention.
The University of Louisville is also working to become a JED-compliant campus, Geetanjali Gulati, director of the counseling center, said.
“Essentially, what that means is that mental health has to infuse into every department, every aspect of the university because the counseling alone is not going to be able to see every single person,” Gulati said. “But what can happen is that every single person at the university (or) employed by the university begin to understand that they have a role to play, either in referring the student for mental health services or providing them resources.
Berea College plans to roll out its new partnership with Protocol Services during the fall, said Brad Stepp, director of counseling services. Protocol offers telehealth support for college students, who may not be available to visit counseling centers.
He said services like this are also helpful for students who don’t want to speak to a counselor in person, or struggle with the stigma surrounding mental health.
“Our counseling center, as a lot of counseling centers, are open Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m., but that doesn’t necessarily always fit with the student’s schedule,” Stepp said.
“So, being able to partner with a company that offers weekend availability, or night availability, for students to seek counseling. It just gives them a lot more options in addition to what we are already offering.”
