The Use of Telehealth by Medical and Other Health Professional Students at a College Counseling Center

ABSTRACT

Most college counseling centers do not utilize telehealth despite evidence of positive outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the telehealth experience of students in a college counseling center. Participants were health professional students who utilized at least one telehealth visit between November 2015 and April 2017 (N = 67). Methods: In June 2017, the authors administered a telehealth survey that assessed access, experience, effectiveness, and impact on therapeutic alliance. Of 67 students, 36 (53.7%) responded. The majority reported telehealth was convenient (34, 94.4%), time-saving (34, 94.4%), and helped them to feel better (30, 83.3%). Over half used telehealth because of distance (20, 55.5%). Eighty-one percent reported telehealth as being as good, nearly as good, or no different than meeting in person. Conclusion: Telehealth is a viable option for college counseling centers and is experienced as convenient, time-saving, and effective with little negative impact on therapeutic alliance.

KEYWORDS:

• Telehealth
• tele-mental health
• telepsychiatry
• videoconferencing
• medical students
• health professional students
• college counseling
• mental health

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge and thank Judd Hollander, MD, for his guidance and contributions, Jefferson’s JeffCONNECT telehealth and JeffIT teams for their technical assistance, Matt Wintersteen, PhD, for his logistical and philosophical support, Jennifer Fisher Wilson for her expertise, and lastly, the students of Thomas Jefferson University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.