IUPUI offers many health services for students feeling under the weather physically, but many may not know that they also provide resources for mental and reproductive health.
Indiana University has partnered with TimelyCare, a virtual mental health service through which all IU students have free access to 24/7 mental health services. According to IU Student Mental Health, students have access to the following through TimelyCare:
TalkNow - 24/7, on-demand emotional support to talk about anything, including anxiety, relationships, depression and school-related stressors.
Scheduled Counseling - Choose the day, time and mental health provider that best works for you.
Health Coaching - Develop healthy lifestyle behaviors, including nutrition, sleep habits, time management and mindfulness.
Self-Care Content - Visit the "Explore" page within TimelyCare for guided self-care content, including yoga and meditation sessions, as well as group conversations with our providers on a variety of health and well-being topics.
All these services are free of charge and offered 24/7, 365 days a year.
IU Chief Health Officer, Dr. Aaron Carroll, described the time and effort that went into selecting this partnership.
"Based on student's needs we did a request for proposals, and a number of companies submitted applications. We chose the best three and listened to long presentations which made it clear to us that TimelyCare was the best option," Carroll said.
Carroll also explained the continual work being done within the student mental health initiatives, along with attempts to destigmatize and normalize mental health on campuses.
"We have big partnerships with U Bring Change to Mind opening up and continuing to run groups on all campuses, we meet with the student advisor counsels on all campuses and fund a fair amount of events focused on mental health," Carroll said. "We're always working on policies and protocols to make things better."
U Bring Change to Mind is a student-run organization committed to destigmatizing mental health on college campuses. These students work with their peers and administration to accommodate policies for every student’s mental health needs.
In addition to mental health awareness, IUPUI offers more ways to prioritize well-being through their Stress Busters Week. During this time, students can participate in various activities such as free snacks with furry friends, yoga and much more to help relieve the stress of studying for finals.
This year's Stress Busters Events, including dates and times, can be found on IUPUI’s Student Affairs calendar.
Another health resource available to students is the PATH4YOU Program offered by the IU School of Medicine. This program focuses on empowering people by providing them with the necessary tools for their reproductive health, such as free or low-cost birth control and any reproductive counseling they may need.
"The PATH4YOU Program was originally started to impact infant and maternal mortality rates in Indiana by giving people the tools to decide if and when to become pregnant," said Tracy A. Wilkinson, associate professor of pediatrics and a team leader for the program.
As mentioned through the IU School of Medicines website, the PATH4YOU Model is a three-tiered intervention that combines practices in:
Universal pregnancy intention screening
Comprehensive contraceptive counseling and decision support
Same-day contraceptive method access, including long-acting reversible contraception (LARC)
"With recent changes at both the federal and state level with regards to reproductive healthcare access, the need for free birth control access is even more heightened and evident than before," Wilkinson said.
TimelyCare and PATH4YOU are available to students via scheduled appointments through their websites.
Emma Oxenrider is a senior majoring in Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations.
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