Distance students don’t feel “human connection” in online therapy

Distance students receive worse mental health support than their internal peers, despite a similar services fee.  

Massey distance students pay a student service fee of $112.50 per 15-credit course, while internal students pay $135 per 15-credit course.  

The fee covers health and counselling services, clubs, cultural groups, sport and recreation, pastoral care, and wellbeing.   

Many of these were things that distance students said they would never use.   

While internal students were able to access in-person counselling services, distance students were forced to travel to their nearest campus or attend an online therapy session.   

Massey’s counselling services were only available from 9-5, Monday to Friday, meaning distance students who worked full-time were unable to access any support.   

Kimberly Knight, a distance student, found it difficult to get an appointment.  

“They have very limited hours, so I can’t attend in-person as I work full time.”   

The university’s website promoted TalkCampus, a 24/7 mental health support app that connects students across the globe to provide each other with support. However, this didn’t solve issues surrounding online counselling’s effectiveness.   

An anonymous student said, “I didn’t feel like I could be as open about what I was going through via Zoom. It’s hard to create that human connection and feel as supported as I would at an in-person appointment.”   

Other students had a positive experience when using online sessions.   

Distance student BJ Bolter said, “The online setup was perfect as I was used to Zoom being the norm. I think there’s always better quality face-to-face because the human connection side is helpful. But for the most part, both experiences were on par for me".  

Mark Rainer, manager of student life services said, “We recognise that online services are less preferable for some, but evidence has shown that they can be equally as effective or, for some, more effective.” 

“Appointment wait times depend on a number of factors, but in general the wait times are significantly less than for private or hospital practitioners.”