SALISBURY, Md.-- A mental health app known as 'TAO Connect' is making its way to local students and faculty. While the app isn't necessarily new, it is now at Salisbury University.
TAO, which stands for 'Therapy Assistance Online' is a self-guided mental health app that can connect users with a therapist, but it has videos, practice modules and journals that can be done alone.
"Whether it's anxiety, whether it's loneliness, isolation, conflict...one of the things I really like on there is their meditation library,” Dr. Lilian Odera said.
Dr. Odera is a psychologist at Salisbury University and the director of the counseling center. She said that college students tend to already be stressed with early adulthood and school; other stressors at the moment, like the presidential election and the Coronavirus pandemic merely add another layer to it.
”I think it’s really important to give people tools, to build up their coping strategies because we are not immune to the impact of what’s going on and research is actually showing that levels of suicide and severity of mental health has gone up among college students in the last few months,” she said.
Students and faculty can navigate the interactive tool after answering questions prompted right after downloading it. Questions range from how they're feeling and what the need for the session is.
The creator and founder Dr. Sherry Benton said she discovered a need for this service years ago after seeing the high demand from students waitlisted at the counseling center at the University of Florida.
"We developed it, we tested it, and it was as effective or more effective than traditional face-to-face therapy,” she said.
Benton added that there were other programs used internationally, specifically in Australia that she tried to mimic after realizing that there was nothing like it's kind in the United States. Now, her app reaches thousands of people across the nation.
Salisbury University recently paid a year-long contract for it, so it’s free to anyone with a school login.
TAO keeps new users’ identity anonymous and those who already see a school psychologist are able to track their progress. Depending on the severity of the case, the app also adds a 24/7 hotline number and anonymously flags the university's health professionals.