ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A text message-based mental health app will soon be available to Rochester Institute of Technology students living in off-campus housing complexes.
According to the National Education Association, 60% of college students meet criteria for at least one mental health problem. This represents an increase of nearly 50% over the past 10 years.
This problem is also having an impact on admissions, with four in ten university students recently considering dropping out.
An organization has partnered with campus housing companies on several campuses, including two in New York state, to offer new options for assistance.
It’s called Counslr, and it’s an app that aims to help students before they give up by meeting them where they are.
Bennett Stutzman and Brandon Schultz live in an off-campus housing facility in Marshall and attend RIT.
“The people who are going to use this are going to get the most out of it,” Stutzman said of the counselors.
Counslr is a text messaging-based mental health app that will soon be available to all Marshall residents.
“Some people don’t feel comfortable talking face-to-face, so being able to talk about your problems over text may help,” Stutzman says.
“Say a student is feeling stressed about their final exams and could really benefit from talking to someone. Just open the Counslr app and press the chat button to send a text message with a counselor and see what’s going on in your head. “They can share what’s going on. What they’re thinking.” said Josh Liss, founder and CEO of Counslr.
He recently teamed up with Jared Hutter, co-founder of Aptitude Development. The company built the Marshall student housing complex near his RIT.
“Our focus in all of our buildings has always been health and wellness,” says Hütter.
Marshall residents can access the app 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
“We are always looking at how we can best serve our tenants and what else we can offer them. So looping Counslr for all our residents really It seemed like a natural fit,” Hutter said.
Data shows a clear need to expand mental health services for college students. Rates of depression and anxiety among college students are at historic levels, according to a national survey. The Healthy Minds Survey, which surveyed 96,000 college students on 133 U.S. campuses during the 2021-22 academic year, found that 44% reported symptoms of depression and 37% said they experienced anxiety. , 15% said they had seriously considered suicide.
“I know that many people could use better forms of assistance,” Stutzman said. “…It’s great to have more options.”
“Our hope and hope is that if we can help people prioritize their mental health in the process, we can address these issues while they are ‘small’ and that staying small will result in fewer crises. That means it will happen.” squirrel.
Lis said the app is not a replacement for treatment and no one will be diagnosed or prescribed medication through text messages.
A qualified counselor will be available to provide coping strategies and support.
Aptitude Development plans to roll this out in campus housing across the country.
