Albany State U Extends Counseling Reach with Online Help

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 09/30/20

A university in Georgia will be using an external counseling staff to supplement the work of its own crew. Albany State University has signed with META, a company that produces an app to help students connect with therapists for non-emergency purposes. The deal was made possible through a grant managed by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

The university's counseling staff will use META's platform to treat students' emotional needs and help them with their personal, academic and career goals. Students also may choose to receive teletherapy from META's own network of providers. All in-house sessions are free to the students and a limited number of free sessions are available with the external providers.

To use the service, students download the META app; choose a counselor; and receive chat, video or voice counseling through their smartphones. Students see on the app whether counselors are available online for immediate connection, or they can leave a chat message to schedule a future session.

META also provides articles, videos and other content created for college students.

The app is available for iOS and Android devices.

"We want to make sure any student who seeks counseling can swiftly and safely connect with a counselor," said Terry Lindsay, vice president of student affairs, in a statement. "By partnering with META, we instantly expand student access to counselors, lower their wait times and comply with social distancing recommendations."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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