Digital Mental Health Clinic Mantra Health Now Serves 22 College Campuses with More Than 100,000 Students Across Pennsylvania

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. and NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mantra Health, a digital mental health clinic that partners with higher education institutions, today announced a new partnership with Muhlenberg College of Allentown, Pennsylvania bringing the total number of campuses Mantra serves in Pennsylvania to 22. Already deployed at all of Penn State's campuses and Moravian University, Mantra uses a combination of proprietary technology and provider group to fully integrate directly with on-campus counseling centers to expand mental health services through telehealth. Muhlenberg College's partnership with Mantra will ensure timely, coordinated psychiatric specialty care and medication management for all Muhlenberg students.

In the last decade, the psychiatric treatment of college students has become increasingly complex with a doubling in the use of psychiatric medication (as high as 1 in 4 college students). And the proportion of students seen by primary care providers but not psychiatric providers is increasing, with 58.8% of students obtaining their psychiatric medication prescriptions from primary care providers versus 36.1% from psychiatric providers.

Despite Muhlenberg having a robust team of on-campus mental health counselors, it has struggled to provide adequate access to psychiatric specialty care due to a lack of providers in the local community—a common challenge for schools outside of major metropolitan centers. As a state, Pennsylvania is currently experiencing a mental health professional shortage, especially in its rural counties.

Partnering with Mantra Health will allow Muhlenberg's on-campus counselors to make referrals to board-certified psychiatric specialists affiliated with Mantra, as well as to collaborate on evidence-based treatment plans, coordinate the administration of care and track patient progress over time. Mantra Health's closed-loop digital care program blends telehealth technology with patient support services, ensuring that referred Muhlenberg students remain engaged in treatment and don't fall through the cracks.

"One of the reasons we were eager to partner with Mantra Health is their collaborative approach," said Dr. Timothy Silvestri, Director of Counseling Services at Muhlenberg College. "Our partnership not only makes it easy for our staff to make referrals to psychiatric specialists so our students can avoid long wait times, but it's designed to include students in their own care. Students are encouraged to ask questions between appointments about medication or therapy-related concerns. We know this level of engagement will help our students continue to get care, take their medication correctly and build the level of trust and rapport with their providers that is necessary to have successful outcomes."

Demand backlogs for psychiatric care at rural schools frequently push appointment wait times up to a month or more, posing a serious health risk to students. Conventional off-campus referrals to local providers require substantial out-of-pocket costs and scheduling challenges for students, as well as present logistical barriers to effective care coordination with on-campus health providers. The partnership with Mantra Health gives Muhlenberg counselors the ability to get students into psychiatric care the same week and also allows them to collaborate on psychiatric medication management with a Mantra-affiliated provider, improving student health outcomes through shared medical decision making.

Also in Lehigh Valley, Moravian University of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania started working with Mantra Health last year. Moravian originally partnered with Mantra to assist with the psychiatric care of their students and to offer teletherapy to its graduate students. This academic year, the school has expanded its partnership with Mantra to offer both telepsychiatry and teletherapy to all of its students.

"On average, our partner schools have seen 78% and 84% of students under psychiatric care experiencing an improvement in their depression and anxiety symptoms," said Ed Gaussen, CEO and Co-Founder of Mantra Health. "Additionally, 2/3 of students attribute receiving mental health counseling from Mantra to keeping them on track with their academics. We're honored that more and more Pennsylvania colleges have partnered with us to overcome the barriers that have traditionally made accessing mental health services, especially psychiatric care, difficult for students in the state." 

Learn more about Mantra Health and how they work with universities at https://mantrahealth.com/for-universities.   

About Mantra Health
Mantra Health is a digital mental health clinic on a mission to improve access to evidence-based mental healthcare for young adults. Through augmenting high-quality clinical services with software and design, we're on a mission to improve the mental health of over 20 million university and college students through partnerships with higher education institutions and health insurance plans. Learn more about Mantra Health at MantraHealth.com.

Media Contact:
Nate Hermes or Laurel Getz
203-767-5963
[email protected]

SOURCE Mantra Health

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