As college students return to schools this spring, there is renewed interest in ensuring their health and wellness. This includes managing risky behaviors like drug use and excessive drinking, which are the most common health issues on college campuses.
This semester, students at Hesston College will have extra resources to make sure they stay healthy. These resources include mental health and substance abuse counseling services via Telemedicine, a technology that allows the student and mental health provider to meet over a secure video conferencing connection.
“Students who avoid substance abuse treatment often do so because of a lack of access to counseling services or because of stigmatization,” said Les Sperling, chief executive officer of the Central Kansas Foundation. “Telemedicine helps us overcome these barriers by providing a safe, confidential connection with a licensed counselor in a neutral environment.”
The counseling services are free to Hesston students, because of grant funding through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The grant was awarded to the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City and the Central Kansas Foundation in Salina to improve substance abuse prevention and treatment among rural college students.
“Our goal is to identify those students that are high-risk early and assist them so they can stay in school,” said Eve-Lynn Nelson, Ph.D., psychologist at KU Medical Center. Nelson said many studies have examined alcohol and drug abuse on college campuses, but those studies haven’t focused on colleges in rural communities.
“Students attending college in rural towns face unique challenges in substance abuse treatment and prevention. Our project addresses those challenges,” said Nelson, who is principal investigator on the grant.
Hesston College has two trained campus counselors on staff who meet regularly with students to support them as they process topics and issues that may arise as students are on their college journey, such as depression, anxiety, personal growth, interpersonal conflicts and stress management. Adding Telemedicine to their counseling services expands the way in which they can assist students more specifically.
“Telemedicine is an important resource for Hesston College students because it meets a need that is best addressed by a clinician specifically trained in substance abuse and chemical dependency,” said Julie Lehman, Hesston College campus counselor and on-site coordinator of the project. “Students make decisions about lifestyle choices and habits, and Telemedicine offers them a place to process these choices or to address habits that interfere with their success.”
Hesston College is the third school to offer counseling through the three-year project. The project will expand to rural colleges across the state and add a substance abuse prevention component, using social media and virtual worlds. The project is a collaboration between KU Medical Center’s Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth and Area Health Education Centers, the Central Kansas Foundation, and rural Kansas colleges.