Access to the Student Support Program, which provides 24/7 remote mental health and well-being support to students, is now available to undergraduate and graduate students.
Students can access self-directed digital content, engage in text chat support, and utilize ongoing one-on-one counseling with experienced and licensed clinical professionals. The program is confidential, accessible worldwide and offered at no cost to Lehigh students.
University Counseling & Psychological Services (UCPS) has provided a resource guide for students with additional information about how to access the My SSP app. The full range of counseling services continue to be available through UCPS. This includes emergency and crisis services accessed through the main UCPS phone number, 610-758-3880.
Ricardo Hall, vice president for student affairs, said: “Universitywide, we are committed to supporting the well-being of our students and helping them to navigate their Lehigh experience successfully. Supporting mental health and holistic needs beyond student learning is critically important.”
Through My SSP, real-time chat and phone support are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no appointment needed and in multiple languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, French and English. For other language preferences, students may request to be set up with a counselor who speaks that language. Short-term scheduled or ongoing support is available via phone or video. The My SSP resource also offers access to virtual fitness sessions, articles, podcasts and more.
“Attention to health, wellness and well-being is so important in managing the variety of stressors that college can bring, and this resource will allow students the capacity to access a resource that promotes just that,” noted David Rubenstein, executive director of the Health and Wellness Center.
Aaron Sterba, director of UCPS, said: “The opportunity to increase accessibility, diversity of services and the people providing those diverse services are always at the forefront of what UCPS is working to provide for our student population.
“The 24/7 worldwide access, the diversity of languages and identities of the pool of counselors, and the ease of access through real-time text chat and video chat are aspects of this additional mental health support service that we are truly excited about making available to our student population as we aim to grow Lehigh’s mental health offerings in a future-oriented and forward-thinking manner.”
Students can download the free My SSP app by searching for ‘My SSP’ from either the Apple App Store or Google Play, or call My SSP directly at 1.844.886.8536 (If calling from outside North America, dial 001.416.380.6578).
