Tulane University has launched a 24/7 online mental health support service, available for no additional cost to all students
who pay the university’s health fee.

The service, called Mental Health Complete, was made available on Monday, Jan. 13. Provided through the service are one-on-one mental health coaching via text and live video sessions, as well as virtual therapy or psychiatry sessions with licensed mental health providers located both in and outside of Louisiana. Medication prescriptions may be included in the psychiatry sessions.

Upon filling out a survey about their current needs, participants are immediately matched with a coach, who may meet with them in 30-minute sessions for a set number of weeks. Therapists and psychiatrists will meet with participants an indefinite number of times and may be selected upon completing a medical history.

Caesar Ross III, assistant vice president of health and wellness, emphasized that Mental Health Complete aims to complement existing mental health services at Tulane: “Mental Health Complete and health and wellness coaching is more prevention, more upstream driven. It’s more access to coaches that can reinforce on a regular basis positive, healthy behaviors that will hopefully help a student enhance and improve their physical and behavioral health.”

The site also features on-demand modules for more moderate, everyday wellness issues, such as sleep, diet, anxiety, addiction, relationship issues and more. The content in this section of the service is similar to popular wellness apps, including guided audio meditations of customizable length and written materials.

The provision of Mental Health Complete is the product of a  partnership between the Tulane University Medical Group, Tulane University  Campus Health and Wellness and the multinational telemedicine company Teladoc Health. The fact that the service is funded by the university’s health fee means that accessing it does not require the use of insurance.

Equitability and accessibility were among the main motivations for introducing Mental Health Complete. “It’s an on-demand service. It would perhaps eliminate any wait times for getting an appointment on campus. It would give students opportunities to make appointments with therapists when the on-campus resources are typically closed,” Ross said. “I also think that it will give students access to more diverse therapists.”

The service’s introduction is part of a larger initiative to attend to mental health and well-being among students, complimenting existing programming through Campus Heath, such as Wave of Support.

“My hope is that thousands of students will at least give it a look,” Ross said. “They have nothing to lose.”