Lexington, Kentucky (August 29, 2022) — With the new semester underway at the University of Kentucky and the largest freshman class ever, Student Success is working to ensure students have access to mental health services.

In a unique new partnership, the university has partnered with Talkspace, a confidential and secure online text and video chat therapy platform that provides access to mental health clinicians. With a network of thousands of qualified clinicians, Talkspace is used by over 1 million people to match them with the licensed therapist who best meets their needs.

“We know there has been growing concern over how we support the mental health of all our students over the past few years. Students are happy to access services in the same way. said Corrine Williams, acting associate vice president of student welfare. “Her TalkSpace, in particular, creates a great opportunity for access due to its wide range of services.”

How Talkspace works:

• Answer a few quick questions to get started. It takes less than 2 minutes.
• The Talkspace team will introduce you to a provider (usually within 48 hours).
• Connect with a provider and start your mental health journey with unlimited messages and two phone or video sessions each month.

One in three college freshmen worldwide experiences mental health challenges, yet many feel under-equipped with the resources needed to manage them.

In the past year alone, three out of five US college students experienced overwhelming anxiety. But on average, only 10-15% of her students sought help from a counseling center. Barriers such as clinician availability, time commitment, and fear of asking for help prevent students from accessing behavioral health care at important developmental stages in life.

Williams is investing heavily to address this national mental health crisis. It’s likened to an analogy. Each resource has holes, Williams explained. To create something that no one can go wrong with, she believes, resources must be layered to ensure that all students have access to mental health support in a way that works for them.

UK is deeply committed to ensuring the success of all students by expanding its range of services and believes it is a step in the right direction.

“Britain is really trying to foster a culture of asking for help,” Williams said. “We all need help at different points, and my hope is to normalize access to mental health services. , provides both inter-session communication and allows students to engage and ask for support in many ways.”

All currently registered UK students have free access to Talkspace. To access the service and learn more about resources, please visit www.Talkspace.com/uky.

For additional mental health services in the UK, students can use TRACS (Triage, Referral, Assistance and Crisis Support). It is a physical and virtual one-stop-shop where students can come for a quick referral to support services and receive a range of direct clinical support. of mental health needs and crises.

Services are delivered in person or virtually, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information on TRACS, visit go.uky.edu/tracs.