Nearly a year has passed since Drake University ended its partnership with mental health service provider Uwill and entered into a new partnership agreement with Timely Care.

Kayla Bell-Consolver, director of the counseling center, said that limitations on the number of counseling sessions available through Uwill deterred students from using the service.

“Timely Care removes these barriers and offers students the opportunity to seek care … as much as they would like to utilize. In addition, students can access this service by downloading the Timely Care app to their phone, rather than having to utilize a search engine (which was the main way to utilize Uwill), which can enhance accessibility and ease of use,” Bell-Consolver said in an email to the TD.

Jerry Parker, vice president and dean of students, framed Timely Care as a supplementary service to the mental health services that are provided to students through the Broadlawns Community Clinic. 

“The big thing for Timely Care is that it allows students 24/7, 365 access through their TalkNow feature, so students that are navigating any type of personal situation, whether it’s here at the University or beyond, that support system is there for students to utilize right then and there,” Parker said. 

Parker noted that the number of students needing mental health support increased in 2019 during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The numbers haven’t gone down,” Parker said. “Those numbers continue to increase.”

As a result, the clinic has increased its staffing of full-time counselors and hired graduate student interns to meet student demand for counseling services.

Simeon Moulton, health and safety student senator at Drake, prefers Broadlawns for personal, more comprehensive mental health services. 

“It’s a lot stronger because of that one-on-one connection, but Timely Care is great for people that might want to stay in their dorm or don’t want to have that interaction,” Moulton said.

Bell-Consolver pointed to other resources that Timely Care offers. 

“They provide various self-help modules… such as journals, videos, or articles. [The] peer community aspect of Timely Care, in which students can anonymously express concerns they are having or receive support from other students across the country, that may resonate, which enhances a sense of belonging,” Bell-Consolver said. 

According to Parker, the University has made a concerted effort to promote the services that Timely Care offers. Posters are located in each residence hall, as well as buildings including the Olmsted Center, the Johansen Student Center and academic buildings. 

Bell-Consolver hopes that student utilization of Timely Care will increase with time and exposure.

“Initially, utilization was low, which is common with the introduction of any newly implemented program. It’s our hope that utilization continues to increase because we know many students are experiencing at least one stressor,” Bell-Consolver said. 

Although Parker relies primarily on student word-of-mouth to promote awareness of Timely Care, Parker also includes information about the service in his emails.

“I’ve been pretty intentional throughout my university messages to push Timely Care in addition to the services that we provide on campus,” Parker said. 

Moulton provides the time for students to ask questions about Timely Care during their office hours in Starbucks. They also include information about university mental health services during tabling events as part of their goal to make these services more accessible.

“The best thing that we can do is promote it more and make students aware of the options that they have and destigmatize those options,” Moulton said. 

Parker highlighted some of the questions that the University asks when evaluating the efficacy of the services it provides. 

“Do students feel a strong sense of connection to the folks that they’re talking to [at Timely Care]? Are they satisfied with some of the preventative steps and solutions being offered? Are they satisfied with the self-help modules that Timely Care is offering?” Parker asked. 

Bell-Consolver stressed that the counseling center is always open to student feedback regarding how to improve programs and resources. 

“It is our plan to include a reflection of Timely Care in our end-of-year counseling center surveys to receive feedback from students that have utilized counseling,” Bell-Consolver said.