Do we have our act together?

Sunday, November 13, 2022

UCLA is apparently providing a mental health service free to students through a company called Togetherall. From the Bruin:

UCLA students now have free access to an online mental health app, Togetherall, according to an October UCLA announcement. Togetherall is an online platform for people over 16 years of age to anonymously share their feelings with other community members who can offer mental health support, according to its website. The platform is constantly monitored by mental health clinicians to ensure a safe community for users. Students will also have access to self-guided courses, self-assessments and other resources through the platform, said a UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services representative in an emailed statement...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2022/11/08/ucla-provides-free-access-to-communitybased-mental-health-service-togetherall.

Yours truly poked around the web to see what he could find about Togetherall. It appears to be a British-based firm with a commercial relationship of some type to the UK National Health Service. It apparently branched out to other English-speaking countries after starting in Britain. Beyond that, it's hard to find information apart from puff pieces by the company itself. UCLA is undoubtedly paying something for access to the service. How much? Who from UCLA is monitoring the actual results?

There are various warnings on the Togetherall website that it is not for crisis situations such as having thoughts of suicide. Precisely what happens if someone seems to be in such a crisis is unclear. Does such a person just get a message to call a suicide hotline or what? Togetherall has various rules against harassment, etc. Exactly how fast it might intervene in an harassment situation is unclear.

Given the fact that it operates in the mental health field, there ought to be a lot more information readily available about the company's funding, staffing, and so on. Who are the professionals doing the monitoring? What are their credentials? Yes, various other universities seem to have signed up. But a bandwagon effect can be misleading. Everyone does it because everyone does it is not the same thing as independent, detailed reviews.

To hear the text above, click on the link below:

https://ia601402.us.archive.org/25/items/big-ten/together.mp3