Northwestern Oklahoma State University officials have announced a new partnership that could help improve behavioral and mental health throughout its campuses. The university now offers TAO Connect, a digital platform designed to make behavioral health therapy more accessible and effective.
“Demand for mental health services continues to rapidly increase among college students and young adults, with accessibility to such resources being a prominent hurdle due to issues like geographic location or lack of counseling center staff,” Sherry Benton, Ph.D., ABPP, chief science officer and founder of TAO Connect, said. “We are pleased to partner with Northwestern Oklahoma State University to offer much-needed care to those who have historically not been reached.”
The partnership, funded by a grant from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), includes free, 24/7 access to the platform’s various mental health exercises, such as a library of mindfulness meditations, exercises and journal prompts to all students, faculty and staff. Northwestern students and employees can also explore TAO Connect’s more than 150 interactive sessions on anxiety, depression, sleep, sexual violence, substance abuse and more.
“The ability to meet students’ needs with supplemental mental health resources during a tumultuous and uncertain period in their lives is invaluable,” Taylor Wilson, MH.R., L.P.C., director of counseling and career services at Northwestern, said. “Northwestern’s counseling office is proud to offer TAO Connect’s library of evidence-based behavioral health exercises and sessions to continue our work of supporting our students, faculty and staff.”
Northwestern has seen a substantial increase in the need for counseling services among students since the start of the pandemic as students face isolation, grief and uncertainty, Wilson said. Since its implementation, TAO has been used as a supplemental resource for students to utilize between in-person counseling sessions to help balance counseling center demand.
TAO’s new user interface, the Learner Dashboard, is designed similarly to how users choose movies or series on streaming platforms to offer users a highly personalized experience. Some of TAO’s more popular titles are topics like “Understanding Depression”, “Sources of Wellbeing” and “Getting Stuck in Our Thoughts.”
Northwestern students and employees can register for TAO online at www.taoconnect.org or www.www.nwosu.edu/student-services/counseling.
To learn more about TAO and its technology, visit www.TAOConnect.org. To learn more about Northwestern’s counseling services, visit www.www.nwosu.edu/student-services/counseling.
-NW-