A study conducted by Active Minds in April found that 91 percent of college students reported that COVID-19 has added a greater amount of “stress and anxiety” in their lives.

Missouri State University Athletics has partnered with DotCom Therapy to provide “telehealth” counseling support for its student-athletes in an innovative pilot program.

The program uses mobile  and online technology to provide real-time service and will supplement services already provided to the facility by Mercy and team psychologist Dr. Shawn Freeman.

“In collaboration with our current partners, Mercy and Dr. Freeman, we are increasing our mental health services at a critical time with this new partnership,” said Director of Athletics Kyle Moats. “This has been an area that our student-athletes have indicated they need more support, and I’m extremely excited to partner with DotCom Therapy.”

DotCom Therapy is based in Madison, Wis., and was founded in 2015 by Rachel Robinson, a 2012 Missouri State University alumnus. It is the leading therapist-founded teletherapy provider in the United States. MSU student-athletes will have access to some of the nation’s top mental health professionals through DCT’s extensive network. This partnership will be the first of its kind, providing seamless therapist matching, scheduling and service delivery.

“Being a graduate of Missouri State, Rachel has a passion for improving the quality of care for our student-athletes,” said Moats. “I think this type of delivery is the wave of the future. I’m anxious to get started and see the results and feedback from our student-athletes.”

This program is in response to MSU’s student athletes indicating a need for more mental health support. This partnership hopes to improve access, reduce mental health stigmas and provide easy access to quality care.