While the center offers telecounseling, the counseling staff is only licensed in New York state, making it impossible for them to support students residing out of state.

The center’s hours also presented a barrier to care for some students, since the on-site team operates within traditional 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM business hours.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Becky and her team had worked with a different health and mental health provider, but the cost was prohibitive and the customer service experience was disappointing.

As a small tuition-driven institution, she knew that budget would play a significant role in whether they could find a financially sustainable partnership with high-quality services.

Becky reflected on these challenges: “The problem with enrollment-based or per-student pricing is that it isn’t designed for targeted student support, like our online students. It makes no sense to pay per-student for a service you know will go unused by the majority of your students.”

BetterMynd’s unique model allowed Becky to purchase a “bucket” of counseling sessions that she could allocate to students based on their individual need.

Thanks to BetterMynd’s extensive counselor network which covers all 50 states, all St. John Fisher students can now be served regardless of location. Students also have access to more flexible scheduling as well as greater choice in counselor preferences. As an example, because St. John Fisher does not currently employ any counselors who identify as male, students requesting a male counselor can be referred to BetterMynd to meet that individual need.

Becky shared: “BetterMynd provides me with so many options. I can start with a small bucket of sessions and add more if I need them. I can also start students off with any number of sessions based on their need; if they need more, they can send me a quick email asking to continue and I can give them more sessions.”

Becky and her team view counseling services through a broad and holistic lens – extending beyond individual sessions to involve actively engaging with students through health education initiatives.

Becky shared: “BetterMynd has supported our broader student well-being and retention strategy by significantly improving the equity of our counseling services on campus.”

As the center has expanded its efforts, Becky has seen an overall increase in counseling requests. She reflected on this: “Partnering with BetterMynd has allowed us to manage this demand effectively without relying on common volume control strategies like waitlists. Furthermore, student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, reinforcing confidence in the counseling process and encouraging more students to seek support.”

Becky encourages her fellow leaders to consider a provider’s culture and attention to service as key factors that will shape the success of the partnership.

Becky shared: “We have been extremely pleased with our partnership with BetterMynd, not only due to the increased bandwidth of our services but I have to say that the company as a whole is impressive.  They are attentive and responsive, the pricing is fair and I can observe the ways that they are looking to create community through the quarterly discussions that are held for clinical leadership. I would highly recommend BetterMynd for any campus looking to enhance the services they may be providing.”

BetterMynd’s mission is to help every campus meet individualized student mental health needs through a service-first, sustainable partnership.