The Uni is set to roll out a ‘Caring Universities Aotearoa’ project sometime within the next couple of weeks. The project aims to improve the mental health of University students, and involves the provision of e-health apps.
The e-health apps will provide access to online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) courses. CBT focuses on changing cognitive distortions, improving emotional regulation, and developing personal coping strategies to target solving current problems.
As users complete the e-therapy, a ‘coach’ will work alongside them, making comments on their progress and guiding the user through the course. These ‘coaches’ will be clinical psychology trainee students and psychiatric registrars, and users will have the option to choose their coach themselves based on bios that will be provided.
Elijah, a third-year, said that online therapy was “bullshit, because it avoids any structural changes having to be made to capitalism its ensuing environmental degradation that affects us all.” He said that while traditional therapy did not address the structural failings of capitalism, “it helps you be better able to address them.”
He gave no further explanation besides the intentionally “deep” statement “you feel less like a submarine at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. Less crushed by the pressure.”
The Caring University project is currently underway in the Netherlands. Other universities in other countries offer a range of other types of e-health programmes too.
The courses run for about 6-8 weeks and are meant to be starting up in the near future. The courses will also be offered to all the incoming first-year students in March of next year.
Future app updates may include the ability to order a psychiatrist on Uber Eats.