Mental health is an issue affecting many people right now, especially Generation Z, the generation of students that makes up the majority of Eastern Mennonite University’s population. There are many sources of stress for people right now, whether it be climate change, Coronavirus or other diseases, or even an upcoming midterm. Many people are trying to take better care of themselves when it comes to their mental health. Especially during the Coronavirus pandemic, when a lot of people had to quarantine inside of their homes, people started to pay more attention to their mental health. In light of this, EMU partnered with a company called Talkspace, a company based in New York City, founded by Oren and Roni Frank in 2012. It is a website that allows the people who use it to access licensed therapists through different apps and tech mediums. EMU has stopped offering Talkspace as a service since Jan 31st 2023.
Dean of Students Shannon Dycus talked a little bit about why they started using Talkspace in the first place and why they stopped using them. “Coming out of the Covid-19 Pandemic, EMU realized how much it affected people’s mental health. So, EMU entered into a contract with Talkspace to try to help people with their mental health. It could be used by students, faculty, and staff at EMU.” Dycus said. “Telehealth is a trend that is starting to be used by multiple different colleges and universities. A lot of different institutions in Virginia use a company called TimleyMD.” Dycus gave three main reasons that EMU decided to stop using Talkspace. The first was that the number of people using it was lower than expected. The second reason was that with so few people using Talkspace, the cost was not worth it. For the third reason, Dycus said, “there was a text feature advertised with this company, but it was not quick responses but instead long email answers that took a while to get back to you.”
Students seemed to have different opinions on Talkspace and on EMU deciding to get rid of it. Indigo Gott, a junior here at EMU, said that they were disappointed in the decision made by EMU. Gott noted that, “It’s definitely not the same as in person therapy, but maybe some people prefer that, and even though I personally prefer in person therapy, it was super useful when I used it over the summer. I think especially with how full our on campus counseling services are, it’s important to have this kind of resource. I absolutely don’t want to bash counseling services, they’re a fantastic resource as well, I went there for several semesters, but what they can do is limited, and it’s so important to have other resources.” They also talked about the nightmare it can be to change therapists. If someone has been using a therapist on Talkspace, they need to change since EMU has ended their partnership.
Kay Pettis, a second-year here at EMU, talked about how they did not enjoy using Talkspace. “It felt so impersonal. It is online and you can not really make connections with people online. It is more like talking to a professional email than a reality.”
Overall, there have been some mixed reactions to Talkspace, but many people did not know that it was an option in the first place. Gott thinks that if EMU had advertised this resource better, more people would have used it.
