For most services, appointments dependent on busy schedules are still necessary even in today’s technological world. Counseling, however, is now available whenever, wherever at West Texas A&M University.
Last month, Therapy Assisted Online (TAO) became accessible to University students, faculty and staff. The online portal is a library of health resources that maintains confidentiality and wide accessibility. There are two faucets of the program – one being a self-help portion that is totally anonymous and the other being counselor-guided sessions that are supervised.
“The beautiful thing about TAO is that you can turn to something helpful whenever it’s convenient for you, so if it’s 8 o’clock at night and everyone is home, you still have a resource,” Becky Warren, TAO coordinator and professional counselor at WTAMU, said. “This program is great for distance students too. It came about because of our online and commuting students.”
With several education modules, the evidence-based content is built around improving mindfulness for particular mental challenges. The program at WTAMU has already registered 52 people seeking resources to achieve better quality of life by improving personal, cognitive and interpersonal skills.
“This is available to anyone with a WTAMU email address,” Dayna Schertler, director of student counseling services at WTAMU, said. “We know that medication is helpful for pragmatic issues, but another important resolution is social connection. We have the ability now to meet people where they’re at and create meeting groups. We don’t have the staff to meet every student in need every day, so this program has been a godsend.”
For more information or to register for TAO, visit the webpage or call 806-651-2340.
-West Texas A&M University
