LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 29, 2022) – As a new semester gets underway at the University of Kentucky, and we welcome our largest freshman class ever, Student Success is working to increase student access to mental health services.
In a unique new partnership, the university is teaming up with Talkspace, a confidential and secure online text and video therapy platform that provides access to mental health practitioners. With a network of thousands of credentialed clinicians, Talkspace is used by more than one million people, matching them with a licensed therapist best suited to their needs.
“Over the past few years, we know there’s been a growing concern about how we’re supporting the mental health of all our students, and part of that is thinking about how we can create a range of service opportunities, with the idea that not all students are comfortable accessing services in the same way,” said Acting Vice President for Student Welfare Corrine Williams. “TalkSpace, in particular, creates some amazing accessibility opportunities because of their range of services.”
How Talkspace works:
- Answer a few simple questions to get started – it takes less than two minutes.
- The Talkspace team will match you with a provider (usually within 48 hours).
- Connect with your provider and start your mental health journey, including unlimited texting and two phone or video sessions each month.
One in three college freshmen globally experience a mental health challenge, yet many students feel unequipped with the resources needed to manage them.
Just last year, three out of five American college students experienced major anxiety. However, only 10-15% of students, on average, sought help from their counseling center. Barriers such as physician availability, time commitment, and fear of seeking help prevent students from accessing behavioral health care during an important developmental stage in life.
Williams is deeply invested in tackling this national mental health crisis. She sees Talkspace as a way to complement the vast number of resources that already exist in the UK and likens it to the analogy of Swiss cheese. Every source has holes, Williams explained. To create something that nothing can surpass, she believes that we must deploy resources so that every student can access mental health support in a way that works for them.
With a deep commitment to ensuring that all students thrive, by expanding its range of services, UK believes they are taking a step in the right direction.
“The UK is really trying to cultivate a culture of help-seeking,” Williams said. “We all need help at different points in time and my hope is to normalize access to mental health services. TalkSpace offers both live sessions, which involve direct communication with a therapist, in addition to in-session communication, which offers our students many ways to engage and seek support.”
All currently registered UK students have access to Talkspace, free of charge. To access the service and learn more about the resource, visit: www.Talkspace.com/uky.
For additional mental health services in the UK, students can use TRACS (Triage, Referral, Assistance and Crisis Support), a physical and virtual one-stop shop where students can come for a quick referral to support services or receive support direct clinical support for a range of mental health needs and crises.
Services are offered in person and virtually, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. For more information on TRACS, visit go.uky.edu/tracs.