TimelyCare Adds Peer Support to Improve College Students' Mental Health

(FORT WORTH, Texas) — Given that the majority of college students living with mental health issues turn to each other first, TimelyMD announced a new peer support community that empowers students to safely connect with and encourage each other.

TimelyMD, the leading health and well-being solution in higher education, is adding a peer community to the TimelyCare platform as a judgment-free space for students to seek support in a vulnerable and authentic way while helping each other navigate similar challenges and common concerns together.

“It’s human nature to ask a friend about an issue before seeking professional help. Peer support assures students they are not alone as they take the first step towards getting help,” said Dr. Bob Booth, Chief Care Officer at TimelyMD. “Every student deserves a safe space to be open and honest about their feelings while encouraging others along their journey to wellness. Enhancing the TimelyCare platform with a peer support community makes that possible.”

As colleges and universities invest in solutions that address campus mental health concerns, the need and demand for supportive peer networks have never been more important. According to a recent survey by TimelyMD, peer support tops the list of ways students plan to cope with their stress and anxiety this semester. Another survey by the Born This Way Foundation and the Mary Christie Institute found that one in five college students already benefit from peer counseling, with rates significantly higher among Black, transgender and first-generation students.

TimelyMD designed its peer community with student safety and security in mind, featuring:

• Community rules and standards – Students first acknowledge that the peer community is a safe space where students across the country can share, review posts and support each other.
• Privacy protections – All posts within the peer community feed are anonymous, using only first and last initials, to ensure privacy of the individual, as well as user location and school name.
• 24/7 monitoring – Licensed clinical staff equipped with AI moderation ensure community standards and prevent abuse such as offensive language, hate speech and personal identification.
• Integrated care and support – Flagged by AI technology, care coordinators will reach out to students who show signs of needing more support and suggest options for the next level of care in the TimelyCare platform and/or via on-campus resources.

As colleges and university leaders seek solutions that improve student well-being, engagement and retention, they turn to TimelyMD more than anyone else for a best-in-class 24/7 virtual extension of campus health and counseling center resources with licensed providers in all 50 states. TimelyMD is the only virtual health and well-being provider focused exclusively on higher education that serves more than one million students at more than 200 colleges and universities nationwide.

Additional information is available at https://timelycare.com/peer-community.

Active Minds Partnership Adds Student Ambassador Program

Additionally, TimelyMD and Active Minds today announced student ambassador programs at 16 campuses to promote peer-to-peer advocacy efforts that generate visibility for and encourage the use of available campus and virtual mental health resources. Active Minds is the nation’s premier nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for young adults.

“One of Active Minds’ core tenants in working to improve the mental health outlook for students and young adults nationwide is connection,” said Markie Pasternak, Senior Manager for Higher Education at Active Minds. “Our partnership with TimelyMD leans into connection – providing users with the ability to get quality, real time support from peers in a safe, digital setting. We believe that this Active Minds and TimelyMD partnership will help evolve the conversation around mental health from stigma to solutions.”

Gen Ztressed Webinar Spotlights Peer Support

Watch the Gen Ztressed webinar to learn more about how Active Minds and TimelyMD student ambassadors are prioritizing peer support to improve student mental health on their campuses.