New Mental Health Service at PVCC

The focus around mental health is growing exponentially at PVCC.  Helping their students with the stress of classes, as well as everyday life, PVCC’s latest focus to help address the mental health crisis in the United States involves an online therapy service called TimelyCare. This program is free for students and accessible through their student portal, and it offers appointments with licensed counselors. 

According to David Lerman, director of student success and retention at PVCC, this new service is something students should  be taking advantage of. He encourages students to “Use TimelyCare as if it were an in-person service. Give it an open try and prepare to get mucky with your problems.” Lerman states that the best outcome for the trial of this service is “an improved sense of well-being for students and encouragement to live their best possible life.” 

With this new service comes a different way of assisting students while they navigate their problems. Luckily, the program does not make it that difficult to reach out to someone. When logging into the student portal, simply look for the TimelyCare icon and click on it. Students will be prompted to make an account and enter some personal information, such as what medications are currently being taken and how a therapist can best contact them. Students have the option of scheduling an appointment at a later date or signing up for an on-demand session, where a counselor will get in touch with them as soon as they are available. 

Afterwards, students are asked why they are reaching out. They are given a few options to choose from, such as depression, anxiety, relationship issues, mood issues, and more. TimelyCare then displays a list of therapists to choose from as well as the specializations that each has. The list I got when looking at the service was long and made me feel as if I had a lot of opportunities to find someone I could talk with. 

This new service at PVCC is not just a way to help students; it is also a way for students to feel like they have a voice when it comes to their problems being solved. It might help more than you know. If you are on the fence about trying the service, in the words of Lerman, “What have you got to lose?”