Telehealth can be a beacon of hope for some college students

As a college student who came to school with pre-existing mental health disorders, I can attest to the struggle of transitioning and maintaining my care, mainly because I moved to a new state to attend college.

Since my conditions were pre-existing and I was already seeking outside treatment, I did not qualify for the resources my university had to offer. I had to look into alternate resources to obtain care from a psychiatrist and therapist through telehealth services.

I was fortunate that my therapist was able to offer me care in Connecticut from my home state through the Interstate Counseling Compact Act , but with my psychiatrist, that was not the case. Without access to reliable transportation, it was challenging to find an in-person psychiatrist to prescribe the medication that I had been taking since I was eight years old.

I needed this medication to perform well in school and maintain my health. With my move to college came a 6-week lag of not having a psychiatric provider, meaning I was six weeks without having medication, which caused a rapid decline in my mental health, overall well-being, and concentration in school, leading to a spike in my anxiety and depression.

Eventually, through multiple consultations and about a 7 1 ⁄ 2 week period, I was able to acquire a pediatric physician and obtain the necessary medication I have so heavily relied on for the past 12 years of my life. I could not have done it without the resources of telehealth.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a significant dark point in our history and affected many lives. However, it has also spurred many technological advances in communication and video conference services, such as telehealth. Telehealth was a significant innovation during the pandemic that changed how people all around the world could access medical services from the comfort of their homes . It also provided new ways for students and busy individuals to attend therapy, psychiatric, and other mental health resources through their video screens.

The Connecticut legislature is considering An Act Concerning Telehealth; the General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5198. One of the main points of this bill is to extend specific policies of telehealth practice until 2027 regarding out-of-state provider/patient care. This would be the third extension made since the original passing of telehealth during the 2020 pandemic. If the bill is passed, then the bill will permit the Commissioner of Public Health to temporarily facilitate telehealth services to out-of-state practitioners, in addition to allowing telehealth services to be conducted in place of in-person care.

The credibility of services and delivery are sometimes questioned when a medical provider offers professional care from a screen. However, according to a 2022 study investigating the perception of students about telehealth, ”telehealth services can be timely and cost-effective and still be able to administer high-quality behavioral healthcare,” This study shows that telehealth perhaps even enhances quality care when behavioral services are met this way.

Overall, healthcare systems are flawed, but telehealth has offered a new outlook on the care and services we receive. ”Positive impacts included alternative modes of accessibility that could reach a wider group of students,” according to the study. The most appealing aspect of telehealth for college students is its availability. One can easily take a call in their dorm room or the comfort of another private area on campus, during a break during one of their classes, rather than having to hop on a train or a bus to get to an appointment, spending money that is not economically feasible or obtainable in the life of a student, especially if one is underclassman with no car on campus.

In hopes of extending telehealth services until the end of 2027, I hope that Connecticut legislators can recognize the need and essential contributions these services have provided to college and out-of-state students and make this a permanent form of care delivery. If not, students all over who have benefitted from these services will have to find a whole new way to receive services for their mental health.

Telehealth has changed the way students have received mental health opportunities, and without it, I fear for the mental health of other college students like myself.

Emma Sulkowski is a sophomore at Sacred Heart University, majoring in Health Sciences with a Public Health Concentration and a Nutrition Minor on the pre-nursing track.