Fort Valley State University Partners with META for Online Mental Health Counseling Services
BUFFALO GROVE, IL – META, the nation’s leading confidential and secure mental health platform for schools, has partnered with Fort Valley State University (FVSU) to expand online counseling services for their students.
FVSU has on-staff counselors who will be available to students at their respective schools through the META mobile application. Students can connect for private online sessions at no charge from their school counselor. Students can also connect to therapists on META’s national network of licensed providers.
Students download the app, choose a provider, and receive counseling through the privacy and convenience of their smartphones via chat, video, or voice calls. The platform provides students the freedom to choose a therapist who’s a good fit, and the ability to reach them quickly and easily. META is entirely self-contained: all paperwork, messaging, and counseling sessions are done within the platform. Students and providers don’t need to use email or jump to a different video conferencing tool. In fact, for security purposes, all messaging is deleted after 30 days and META does not share user activity to third-party digital advertisers.
Mental health issues are a growing concern among college populations, especially since the coronavirus pandemic. According to a recent survey conducted by META, 84 percent of college students report that COVID-19 has negatively impacted their mental health and are struggling with stress and anxiety. Of those students, one out of three is seeing a licensed therapist to cope with the pandemic. Social distancing requirements have made teletherapy a necessity for mental health providers to protect themselves and their clients.
Since the beginning of 2020, student engagement on META has increased 450 percent. META allows users to filter therapists by specialty, therapy style, ethnicity, language and more. Students can view provider video bios, and send chat messages before receiving counseling. Providers on META’s network are available during nights and weekends to better fit the student’s schedule.
By partnering with META, FVSU receives a robust mental health program, complete with self-service content directed at students and an ongoing awareness campaign promoting students to take care of their emotional and mental well-being.
About META: META is the nation’s first teletherapy platform built specifically for college students. META offers real-time, video counseling with licensed mental health professionals from the privacy of an Android or Apple smartphone. META’s mission is to circumvent the stigma surrounding mental health by offering users an easy way to receive counseling without having to visit an on-campus location. The app is free to download, and sessions can be paid for via credit card or insurance. www.meta.app
About Fort Valley State University: Fort Valley State University (FVSU, formerly Fort Valley State College) is a public historically black university in Fort Valley, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia and a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Fort Valley State University is a comprehensive institution that provides an education to over 2,500 students. Approximately 90% of the current student body is of African-American descent. The university offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 50 majors, as well as master’s degrees in several fields of study. FVSU is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s and specialist degrees. www.fvsu.edu