Following advocacy by Dartmouth Student Government and the Mental Health Union, the College announced on Thursday that around-the-clock teletherapy services will be available to students for free through the provider Uwill starting Nov. 1.
“We’ve been paying attention to what students want, and we know that flexibility in how they access mental health services is key — a system that is easy to use and gives them the care they need when they need it,” Dartmouth Health Service director Mark Reed said in the announcement.
The announcement arrives in the wake of tragedy, as campus mourns the loss of seven community members within the last two months. According to the announcement, Uwill offers mental health counseling services via phone, video and chat, and students can access the platform on smartphones, tablets or computers.
Uwill will “[fill] the gaps in currently available counseling services” by providing 24/7 crisis services and long-term counseling options at no charge to students, Student Government vice president Jessica Chiriboga ’24 said.
The announcement added that the Uwill system allows students to “select from a diverse pool of therapists according to gender, language, ethnicity, and clinical need.”
Additionally, according to Reed, the new teletherapy service will be available to students both on and off campus — including students on medical leave, leaves of absence or off-terms — as long as they have an active Dartmouth email address and are located in the United States during the counseling session.
In addition to the Uwill partnership, the College has brought on more on-campus counselors and provided access to the Headspace app for mindfulness and meditation to support campus mental health.
