Teletherapy Launches at Rural Tribal College in Wisconsin

Dr. Russell Swagger, president of Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe CollegeLike many rural tribal colleges across the country, community members at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College (LCOOC) near Hayward, Wisconsin struggled with mental health in the pandemic. Those challenges have not gone away since COVID-19 hit the country 18 months ago, pushing LCOOC’s leaders to look for new solutions.

“It’s just astounding here,” said Dr. Russell Swagger, president of LCOOC. “It seems like every time somebody talks to me, I hear about a family member who passed away or committed suicide or overdosed. It happens all the time to the point where people don’t get a breather from it. And then the next thing comes. Then the next thing.”

To give more people that breather and professional help, LCOOC, which enrolls about 500 students and is in the Ojibwe nation, launched a teletherapy program to connect its students, staff, and faculty to licensed counselors whenever they need them.

LCOOC mostly serves Indigenous students as one of two tribal colleges in Wisconsin. Swaggers said tribal citizens qualify for healthcare services at a nearby wellness center. But the center has been stretched thin in the pandemic with heightened need. In addition, about 20% of LCOOC students are not tribal citizens who could qualify for the center’s support.

“For those students, having access to teletherapy whenever they need it will make a huge difference,” said Swagger. “We have students dealing with suicides, losses in the family, and everyday issues of not being able to make ends meet. A tool like this is a better solution for all of us without tapping the center’s resources for students. So that people won’t have to suffer alone.”

The program partners with Uwill, a company that focuses on teletherapy for college students in various formats (i.e. chat, video). All LCOOC students will get on-demand, 24-7 access to Uwill’s network of licensed counselors.

“This partnership reflects the growing importance of technology as a tool to streamline the process of providing student mental health support,” said Michael London, founder and CEO of Uwill, in a statement. “Our work with LCOOC will help more students manage the complexities of the school year and succeed in their journey to earn a degree, while also providing a much-needed resource for faculty during a uniquely challenging time.”