Alfred State College, Clarkson University, and Russell Sage College are the latest schools to partner with NYC-based digital mental health clinic, Mantra Health.
Mantra’s telehealth platform integrates directly with on-campus counseling centers to put evidence-based psychiatric care and medication management within reach of college students via virtual video visits and 24/7 messaging.
After successful student outcomes in 2020, Hamilton College, Colgate University, and St. John’s University all renew and expand their partnerships with Mantra Health.
Mantra Health, a digital mental health clinic that partners with higher education institutions, today announced three new collegiate partnerships in the state of New York, including Alfred State College, Clarkson University, and Russell Sage College to ensure timely, coordinated psychiatric specialty care and medication management is available for all their students.
Other New York institutions already partnered with Mantra, including Hamilton College, Colgate University, and St. John’s University bringing the total number of students Mantra serves in the state to 60,000.
Many US college students reported an elevated level of depression, loneliness, and hopelessness at the beginning of this fall semester, while colleges nationwide are grappling with a shortage of mental health providers. New York state is no different from the national trend, young adults have the highest rates of poor mental health in comparison to other age groups in New York, and 21% of the state’s population resides in an area that has a mental health professional shortage.
Mantra Health supports schools across New York state and beyond that are trying to meet the increased student demand for behavioral health assistance by teaming up with on-campus counselors to make referrals to board-certified psychiatric specialists affiliated with Mantra, as well as to collaborate on evidence-based treatment plans, coordinate the administration of care and track patient progress over time. Mantra Health’s closed-loop digital care program blends telehealth technology with patient support services, ensuring that referred students have access to a network of culturally competent providers and they remain engaged in treatment.
“Our partnership with Mantra Health has been an exciting enhancement to our range of services,” said Dr. Hollie Hall, Assistant Vice President of Well-being & Student Support at Alfred State College – SUNY College of Technology. “Providing student access to psychiatry services has always been a priority and even more so in the midst of the additional stresses caused by the pandemic. Integrating Mantra’s telepsychiatry services and medication management into our center has allowed us to refer our students to providers in a timely manner so they can get high-quality care, in a very collaborative environment alongside our counseling team.”
Demand backlogs for psychiatric care, especially at rural schools, frequently push appointment wait times up to a month or more, posing a serious health risk to students. Conventional off-campus referrals to local providers require substantial out-of-pocket costs and scheduling challenges for students, as well as present logistical barriers to effective care coordination with on-campus health providers. Partnering with Mantra Health gives counselors the ability to get students into psychiatric care the same week and also allows them to collaborate on psychiatric medication management with a Mantra-affiliated provider, improving student health outcomes through shared medical decision making.
Students will benefit from receiving dedicated care from the same mental health professional every virtual video appointment, no waitlist, flexible evening and weekend appointments, 24/7 messaging, access to self-care resources, and prescriptions to medications when necessary. On average, Mantra’s partner schools have seen 78% and 84% of students under psychiatric care experiencing an improvement in their depression and anxiety symptoms.
“In a state as large as New York, we’re able to serve colleges and universities that really vary by geographic location, student-body size, socio-economic backgrounds and specific counseling center needs,” said Ed Gaussen, CEO and Co-Founder of Mantra Health. “Our telepsychiatry services are collaborative and flexible by design, which makes it easy for us to fully integrate with each campus in a way that makes sense for their specific staff and students. We’re thrilled to be able to help so many schools in our homestate overcome the barriers to accessing psychiatric specialty care and medication management for their students.”
About Mantra Health
Mantra Health is a digital mental health clinic on a mission to improve access to evidence-based mental healthcare for young adults. Through augmenting high-quality clinical services with software and design, we’re on a mission to improve the mental health of over 20 million university and college students through partnerships with higher education institutions and health insurance plans. Learn more about Mantra Health at MantraHealth.com.
Original story on PR Newswire.