META Launches Mental Health App For College Students
App allows students to select therapist and use insurance for teletherapy, solving the growing need for counseling on campuses
CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–META, a Ceannate Corp. company, announced today the launch of the META.app, the nation’s first teletherapy smartphone app built specifically for college students. META is the first and only online platform that creates easy, stigma-free access for students to licensed therapists.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), one in five students have a diagnosable mental illness. While most universities offer counseling services either on campus or via referrals, students still encounter barriers when striving to overcome the stigma associated with getting help in a timely fashion, and scheduling regular, ongoing appointments, due to increased demand. According to the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, college counseling center utilization has increased by an average of 30–40%, and still 40% of students who struggle with mental illness do not seek help.
“Our society today throws a lot at the younger generation who deal with everything from financial to academic stress to peer pressure and campus violence. Colleges are in a bind to find solutions that are both cost-effective and used by their students,” said Balaji “Raj” Rajan, CEO of Ceannate Corp. and META. “At META, we set out to solve accessibility and believe we have succeeded. Students on META can choose their own provider, on their own schedule, and in their own space.”
The META app, available on iOS and Android, allows students to select therapists based on language, gender, faith, therapy style, and accepted insurance plans. From there, students can schedule an introductory session with their therapist before making any payment. Unlike other teletherapy apps, META allows students to either leverage their insurance plans or pay out of pocket within the app. In addition to online counseling, META also provides students with relevant content on topics that regularly impact their lives, such as ways to reduce stress related to exams, money, relationships, addiction and campus safety issues. META also offers OnDeck, a surge protection for colleges when they experience a traumatic, on-campus incident that requires additional counselors for an extended period.
The app is the first of its kind to offer licensed therapists an easy way to expand their practice on their own terms. Rather than having to work around set hours, therapists on the META app can set their own schedules and deliver chat and video counseling at affordable rates to students. Additionally, META takes the hassle out of marketing to patients by putting therapists directly in front of the students.
META is seeing tremendous national demand for immediate implementation. Schools interested in providing META to their students should sign up at www.META.app/schools for a customized implementation schedule.
About META
META is the nation’s first teletherapy app built specifically for college students. META offers real-time, video counseling with licensed mental health professionals from the privacy of an Android or Apple smartphone. META’s mission is to circumvent the stigma surrounding mental health by offering in-need users an easy way to receive counseling without having to visit a live location. The app is free to download and sessions can be paid for through insurance or a credit card. Providers can join META for a small subscription fee and are able to offer META counseling to their existing clients as an alternative method. www.meta.app.
Contacts
Media:
Katie Cessna
BLASTmedia for META
katie@blastmedia.com
317-806-1900 x.142