College is not a walk in the park. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) found that about 20 million students were enrolled in college for the fall 2019 semester. A majority of these students endure mental health concerns consisting of anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, and substance abuse. These struggles can be a heavy burden on a student who is already dealing with the stresses of schoolwork.
In terms of anxiety, 41.6 % of college students deal with it according to the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA also reports that 36.4% of students encounter issues with depression. As for suicide ideation, The Harvard Political Review found that the second leading cause of death among 17 to 24-year-olds is suicide. Furthermore, Timely MD discusses how the ideation of suicide only increases while in college due students due to the process of adjusting to their new environment.
The issue of substance abuse is prominent. A study done by the American College Health Association found that one in five college students has a substance abuse disorder.
These struggles with mental health can lead students to feel helpless to the point where they believe their only decision left is to drop out. The National Alliance of Mental Reports (NAMI) that 64% of college students with mental health problems end up dropping out.
What these students are not realizing is dropping out of college does not erase the issues they are dealing with. This rash decision is not the solution. Students learning their triggers and talking out their issues rather than running away from their education would be much more significant. According to NAMI, understanding, identifying, and working to prevent triggers can be more empowering and effective.
Students can identify these triggers and relieve themselves from these issues with the assistance of BetterHelp – Therapy, the #1 therapy platform. BetterHelp is huge on convenience! BetterHelp provides its users with over 20,000 therapists who are well trained, accredited, and experienced. These therapists are ready to help students and other users with any specific issue they are dealing with. This includes anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, substance abuse, and couples issues. BetterHelp therapists are trained and ready to help its users, all it takes is signing up.
How does signing up work?
After downloading the application, there is a questionnaire. Based on those answers, BetterHelp matches the user with a therapist who knows to treat their specific needs. The user and their therapist then meet privately in their therapy room which consists of messaging, phone calls, or video chats. The user has access to the therapy room 24/7 and the therapist is dedicated to responding as soon as possible if not immediately.
Users can also schedule a weekly session to discuss whatever they would like to talk about. During these chats, it is important for users, including college students, to talk about themselves, as well as the specific things going on in their lives, including challenges. This way, the more users talk about what is going on, the sooner their therapist can help them identify triggers along with providing feedback and insights.
BetterHelp encourages dialogue to ensure its services help the user effectively. The high rate application also provides users with options to join group webinars that cover a vast amount of topics like wellness, suicide, grief, anxiety, and more.
As for the cost, BetterHelp ranges from $60 to $90 a week while being billed every four weeks, giving users the time to get their money prepared for payment. BetterHelp states they provide more for a good price in comparison to in-office therapy costs $150 for only one session. Along with the user’s subscription, they have the benefits of unlimited messaging, phone calls, and video chats. Users have all access for under $100. Users can cancel whenever they would like.
This application has proven to be college student-friendly, not only due to its convenience and cost but because of the therapists who are well trained and ready to help them. BetterHelp is a resource that only requires a sign-up and a willingness to open up.
From there, college students dealing with suicide ideation, depression, substance abuse, or anxiety can find relief in learning what causes these issues and possible solutions. Instead of making a serious decision to drop out of college, students can make decisions that treat and manage their mental health.
The application can also be appealing to college students because of their Instagram account, @betterhelp, where they advertise upcoming webinar sessions, share encouraging quotes, and provide mental health tips. BetterHelp has also started a podcast titled “Getting Better: Stories of Mental Health”, where they have different celebrities share their journey encountering mental health.
BetterHelp wants to support their users and see them grow during and after using their app. The personalization of the platform demonstrates the dedication to the user. Such dedication could be exactly what college students need to prosper and overcome their problems.
Spartan Echo 