Ohio State’s Counseling and Consultation Services has partnered with Uwill, a student teletherapy service, to offer free teletherapy services to all students. Photo credit: Amal Saeed

Thanks to a $2.5 million mental health grant from the State of Ohio, Ohio State now offers free teletherapy services to all students, whether they are undergraduate or graduate students, working professionals or living on a regional campus.

Funding was allocated in the 2024-25 state budget to provide mental health and behavioral health resources to colleges across Ohio, Ryan Lovell, assistant vice president for health and wellness in the Office of Student Life, said in an email. Ohio State applied for and received $2.5 million in funding to “provide specialized teletherapy, academic accommodation support, and additional mental health and wellness resources and programs for students,” Lovell said.

The university offers teletherapy through Uwill“one of the leading providers of mental health and wellbeing solutions for universities and students,” said Lovell.

Lovell said that at Uwill, students have the option to choose a therapist based on their needs and preferences, such as area of ​​focus, gender, language or ethnicity. Uwill has therapists available during the day, night and weekends, giving students more flexibility when booking appointments. Additionally, students can choose their appointment time – whether by video, phone, chat or message.

All students can receive up to three free sessions through Uwill, Lovell said. Once those three sessions are completed, students are automatically booked for two more sessions through a backup pool of teletherapy slots. After completing five sessions, a button will appear for a student to request additional support, which will direct them to the Counseling and Consultation Services (CCS) team for further support.

Micky Sharma, director of CCS in the Office of Student Life, said in an email that access to teletherapy is important to fit students’ schedules.

“Teletherapy can be helpful for students whose schedules or living circumstances make it difficult to attend CCS for in-person appointments on a regular basis,” Sharma said. “For example, (Uwill) offers evening and weekend appointments. CCS offers evening telehealth sessions by appointment only.”

Although teletherapy through Uwill is a new option for Ohio State students, CCS has been offering teletherapy since 2020, Sharma said.

Lovell said Ohio State expanded its teletherapy offerings because data showed that mental health can have a strong impact on academic performance.

“Teletherapy is an important tool in our efforts to support student mental health,” Lovell said. “This expansion of our existing service provides additional flexibility in offerings, allowing students to choose a therapist based on their individual needs and preferences, at a time that fits into their busy schedule, and based on the type of appointment they desire. We do not want cost to be a barrier to treatment, and this program, like other services offered through the Counseling and Consultation Service, is free to students.”

Lovell said the university has also worked closely with the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) to expand its mental health resources.

“We are grateful to Bobby McAlpine (USG President), Madison Mason (then USG Vice President) and other student government leaders for their discussions with Uwill and the contacts they made on behalf of Ohio State to explore this partnership,” Lovell said.To learn more about Uwill or to register for a telemedicine appointment, students can visit Counseling and Consultation Services. website.