Calling All Colleges, Students, and Parents!
Online Mental Health Therapy for College Students is Successfully Filling an Important Need
By Annette Pinder
Cody Semrau, CEO and Founder of BetterMynd, headquartered in Buffalo, is on a mission to improve the mental health of college students through better access to mental health counseling services. Indeed, Cody knows the importance of a “better mind” because of his own college experience during which he struggled with anxiety and depression.
A finalist in Buffalo’s 43 North competition, BetterMynd was awarded $500,000 which will help them to meet the mental health needs of college students across the nation, a need currently characterized by experts as an epidemic and a crisis. The crisis is confirmed by American College Health Association (ACHA) surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, which found that 60 percent of students surveyed experienced anxiety and 40 percent experienced depression so severe that it impacted their ability to function. Here in Buffalo, a student recently writing for his college newspaper, said that 70 percent of his fellow students are experiencing feelings of profound loneliness.
According to the website www.bestcolleges.com, mood disturbances represent a portion of the mental health issues college students are experiencing. Other more serious problems include suicide, eating disorders, and addiction. While many consider these stresses to be a normal part of college life, they really are not, and need to be discussed. However, many students fail to make their mental health a priority due to lack of support and being able to afford such services.
While BetterMynd’s primary model is to contract with colleges to provide virtual mental health services to their students, many students are now able to seek counseling from BetterMynd directly. Students say that they have found that BetterMynd counselors are more equipped and well-trained to handle the issues that many college students are experiencing. While payment is out-of-pocket for students whose colleges aren’t partnered with BetterMynd, session rates on the platform are a fraction of the national average of $150-$200 per session. In addition, students can be provided with a receipt for their BetterMynd sessions to submit to their insurance company for reimbursement. Best of all, students can easily explore BetterMynd’s extensive and diverse network of counselors to select the counselor that is exactly right for their needs, and then have their first session within just one or two days of registering.
Registration for BetterMynd’s virtual online therapy is free, and counselors are available at times that easily accommodate students’ schedules, including nights and weekends. Video-therapy sessions are secure and easily accessed from anywhere students can bring their laptop or smartphone.
Learn more about BetterMynd at https://www.bettermynd.com. Also, check out their great blog, which is filled with resources, including tips on how to help fellow students who are experiencing a difficult time, how to prepare for a therapy session, recognizing the signs of a mental health disorder, the link between mental and physical health, why colleges need to provide mental health services for students, and more at www.bettermynd.com/category/blog. If you are a student, college counselor, or parent, and want to learn more by getting in touch with BetterMynd, visit www.bettermynd.com/contact or send an email to info@bettermynd.com.
