Campus Mental Health Services and the Preference and Use of Online and Offline Options

College can be a challenging time mentally for many students. Previous literature has found that 19% of the studied college students had experienced serious psychological distress in the last 30 days, and 11% in the last year had experienced academic impairment due to mental health issues. The prevalence of mental health issues in college-aged individuals is not something to be looked over and has led to an increase in the need for campus mental health services. Campus mental health services are set up by the higher education institution to aid and support students' mental health. Research has also found that 20% of their studied college students had reported using on or off-campus mental health services and that the demographics that were most likely to use these services were women and graduate students. The purpose of this study is to explore therapy preferences and utilization of campus mental health services. There are a variety of resources and services available for students to choose from, including offline options such as The Wellness Center, Center for Student Engagement and Success, and the Psychological Center. There are also new, online options available such as Timelycare, which students can access 24/7. We hypothesize that an increase in preference for online therapy over offline therapy will be associated with a decrease in the utilization of offline/in person services. We have been approved by the IRB to conduct this study and are currently collecting data through SONA. Our minimum sample size will be 120 participants. Findings will be presented at scholars week.