Alpha Tau Omega National Fraternity announced that they have partnered with Talkspace, an online therapy platform, to give its members free counseling whenever they need it.
Talkspace allows users to communicate with a licensed therapist via text messages, audio recordings and live video sessions. Typically Talkspace’s messaging therapy costs $128 a month, but the fraternity is providing up to three consecutive months of the service to its members for free, which they can then continue to use if they choose to pay the monthly fee.
Wynn Smiley, the CEO of the fraternity, said the fraternity approached Talkspace after a staff member proposed that the service could be helpful to the fraternity’s members. Smiley brought in Talkspace representatives to educate the fraternity’s chapter presidents about the platform during a convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, over the summer. On Aug. 31, the fraternity sent out Talkspace vouchers to all its members.
Smiley said the fraternity partnered with Talkspace because counseling centers on college campuses are often overbooked. University counseling center appointments have increased by about 38 percent since 2009, and some health centers have had difficulty keeping up with the demand, according to a 2015 Pennsylvania State University study. The University Health Center’s mental health services at the University of Maryland can book 50 to 90 appointments a day, while students with non-urgent cases may wait as long as two to three weeks to see a therapist, according to a November Diamondback article.
Katherine Glick, a Talkspace therapist, said she has seen more students across the country join Talkspace over the past year. According to the Talkspace website, the therapy service currently serves more than 300,000 users.
“Students are starting to realize that you don’t have to be broken and messed-up to talk to a therapist,” Glick said. “You can actually just be looking for … an objective ear to kind of guide you through a process of change or somebody to just give you some basic suggestions about how to improve your life.”
While there are some disadvantages to losing face-to-face contact, Glick said online therapy can be a great resource for people who otherwise would not seek out counseling. It breaks down affordability and time barriers, she said, which allows people to “build therapy into [their] life in a way that’s convenient.”
Christopher Thomas, a senior kinesiology major and this university’s Alpha Tau Omega chapter president, said it can be especially tough for men to seek out therapy. Talkspace makes it easier for people who are worried about the stigma attached to mental health to receive therapy privately in their own home, he said.
“It’s a great resource through my own experiences with it, even through just everyday things,” Thomas said.
Thomas said he’s noticed there’s been a surge in mental health initiatives in both the Greek and campus community at this university. The health center, for example, revamped the Greek Health Center Liaison program this semester to create events and initiatives targeting increased awareness about mental health issues. It was initially established in 2014 but did not have the student involvement that the founders had hoped for.
The Greek Health Center Liaison program, comprised of 22 student representatives from different sororities and fraternities, had its first meeting Sept. 15 and will meet for mini workshops once a month. The liaisons each work on different projects for either their own chapters or the wider community to educate people about mental health and decrease stigma.
Molly Higgins, a junior psychology major and a program liaison, said there’s an open conversation about mental health issues within her sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma.
“Maryland’s Greek life definitely is more accepting,” Higgins said. “I haven’t really seen any instances of harm coming from a stigma of mental illness. I’ve seen a lot of acceptance.”
Smiley said a significant number of Alpha Tau Omega’s 10,000 national members have already begun to use the service.
“We were just excited that we were able to offer this to our members and we’re one of the first fraternities to be offering anything like this,” Smiley said. “Hopefully this will open up the door for other fraternities and sororities to consider this or other types of programs because we believe mental health is really important.”
