New partnership offers Wyoming community college students teletherapy services

Western Wyoming Community College on Thursday announced it’s partnering with a leading virtual mental health and wellness provider to deliver telehealth services to its students.

The new partnership with Uwill aims to increase the school’s capacity to offer counseling services, such as teletherapy, to its nearly 3,000 students in Rock Springs, a rural city in the southwest corner of the state.

“Uwill has the ability to provide our students with diverse, immediate and effective mental health care,” Amy Galley, the college’s director of wellbeing and accessibility, said in a press release. “While the competition for a teletherapy provider was strong, Uwill stood out among the rest for their innovative technology and ease of access.”

A recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 90% of adults believe the country is facing a mental health crisis. Another found that 42% of college students expressed the need for help with mental health, but more than 60% of students have never received counseling or therapy.

Uwill serves more than 2 million students across 50 states by matching them to a therapist of their choice, which is more efficient than finding a local provider, according to the release.

“Community college leaders have long understood that supporting student mental health and ensuring student success are two sides of the same coin,” Michael London, Uwill’s founder and chief executive, said in the release. “Community and technical colleges in rural and remote areas are responding to increased demand for mental health support, and teletherapy solutions can help to close these gaps in treatment, ensuring that students have the resources needed to achieve their educational and career goals.”