Cyber assistance

Last fall, UTRGV started using a counseling tool called Therapy Assisted Online [TAO], which is supposed to increase the accessibility and effectiveness of therapy for users, such as students and faculty.

Christopher Albert, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services, said TAO is used in two ways to help those who are looking for assistance.

“One is a hybrid model, meaning that when a student comes into our center, and they’re seeing a counselor face to face, they can also use TAO as part of their therapy,” Albert said. “It gets the students more engaged in the process of therapy and it allows counselors to see more students.”

The online program can also be used for self-guided counseling with educational modules that include practice tools and interactive activities.

“The advantage of using the self-help modules is that you can use them anytime, any day and you don’t need to come into the center,” Albert said.

This works for students who cannot visit the Counseling Center for various reasons.

TAO is not used for every student who may need counseling.

“It’s kind of a matching thing,” he said. “We ask the student if this is something they would be comfortable doing and if they’re not, we’re not going to use it.”

He said the online program can be used with students who struggle with depression, anxiety and substance-abuse issues.

Leah Ellis, the supervising clinical therapist based on the Brownsville campus, uses TAO with her students.

She said the online program generates assessments for students, which makes treatment more accessible.

 “The assessments which we can talk about change over time, and how [the students] are progressing,” Ellis said.

TAO is accessible to all students and staff.

For more information, visit thepath.taoconnect.org. Users may log in with their UTRGV credentials. The website is also mobile friendly.