NORFOLK, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Jan 5, 2005--ValueOptions, a national leader in the design and management of behavioral health care services, today announced a new program designed specifically to help young adults identify and address the issues faced by college students. Campus Coach, an innovative, person-to-person coaching resource, helps students who are emotionally struggling with campus life`s problems, including academic overload, relationships, drug or alcohol abuse, depression, eating disorders, or even thoughts of suicide.
ValueOptions has developed the program in response to the clear and growing need for easily accessible behavioral health services for college students:
-- Suicide is the third overall cause of death among college-age students
-- More than 75% of college students reported feeling ''overwhelmed'' in a recent study
-- In the same study, 22% were sometimes so depressed they could not function
''College students experience significant adjustment issues to the tremendous stress and pressure of life on campus,'' said Chuck Taylor, executive vice president of the Employer Solutions Division of ValueOptions. ''In many cases, budget restrictions have left schools without the resources they need to address these issues. By augmenting existing campus health services with an easily accessible, preventative resource, ValueOptions` Campus Coach fills that gap.''
Campus Coach uses state-of-the-art technology to provide real-time, interactive support to students both telephonically and over the Web. Students contact Campus Coach by calling a toll-free number or via the Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. College students expect on-demand service, and this program provides quick, confidential, professional coaching, education and referral to campus services. Once students contact the service, ValueOptions assigns a dedicated coach to help them resolve their problems before the issue impacts other aspects of their lives.
ValueOptions coaches are degreed, licensed professionals with an average of 20 years of experience. Coaches focus on non-clinical problems - the issues of everyday campus life, and assist students with stress, anxiety, quality of life and non-academic school performance problems - by forming relationships based on collaboration and trust. When students contact Campus Coach with clinically serious issues, ValueOptions coaches immediately refer the student to an on-campus counselor or other qualified professional.
''Prevention and early intervention are the critical first steps necessary to keep students healthy, productive and successful in school when they encounter personal problems,'' said Dr. Edward Hallowell, Harvard psychiatrist, best-selling author, and one of the nation`s leading experts in the areas of child and adult emotional and mental health. ''Campus Coach reaches those students who might not seek assistance from university health services until an issue or a problem becomes serious. Furthermore, by employing a goal-oriented and solution-focused approach that helps students think through issues and come to conclusions in a collaborative, problem-solving way, Campus Coach helps students develop critical skills that will better prepare them for life after graduation.''
About Ned Hallowell, MD
A graduate of Harvard College and Tulane School of Medicine, Dr. Hallowell is a child and adult psychiatrist and the founder of The Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health in Sudbury, Massachusetts. He has also been on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School since 1983. For more information, please visit www.drhallowell.com.
About ValueOptions
One of the nation`s premier behavioral health care management organizations, ValueOptions serves nearly 23 million people across the country through publicly funded and commercial contracts with employee assistance, mental health and substance abuse, behavioral disability management and integrated programs. The company`s headquarters are in Norfolk, Virginia. For more information, please visit www.valueoptions.com.
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