The demand for mental health services for students has increased - RELEX Foundation and Heltti donate short therapy sessions to YTHS

Helsinki, Finland (May 4, 2023) The Finnish Student Health Service (YTHS) will receive a donation of mental health therapy services for university students from the Finnish RELEX Foundation and healthcare company Heltti. Heltti's short-term therapy provided by psychologists will bring an additional contribution to the production of YTHS's services and help meet the demand for mental health services. With the donation received from the RELEX Foundation, YTHS clients will be able to receive about 900 short-term therapy sessions in total.

"The cooperation with Heltti is one way to reduce the therapy queue, complementing YTHS's services. We produce short-term therapy ourselves and have good experiences of its effectiveness in certain situations. Heltti already operates as one of our providers of short-term therapy and has seen the growth in students' service needs. We are extremely grateful for Heltti's initiative and additional service, as well as the RELEX Foundation for its donation," says Teija Kulmala, Chief Physician at YTHS.

The demand for mental health services for students has tripled over the past three years. During this time, YTHS has created new forms of mental health services and received additional funding to offer more comprehensive services and accelerate access to treatment.

"Customers come to Heltti's therapy service through YTHS's service path and with the same criteria as our own service. YTHS's low-threshold mental health services include, among other things, group therapy, online courses, and guided self-care. If necessary, we offer psychologist-provided short-term therapy and psychiatrist services. The treatment method is chosen according to the client's situation," says Teija Kulmala, Chief Physician at YTHS.

"We have been providing student therapies and are very concerned about the adequacy of mental health services for students, future working-age people. Especially getting early-stage support is important. That's why we started to explore our network to find a way to increase therapy volumes quickly. It's really great that we found a flexible solution with YTHS and RELEX Foundation, to help alleviate the queues," says Henrik Skyttä, Director of Heltti's therapy services.

"In short-term therapy, we actively work with both symptoms and the root causes that maintain them. With a common understanding, a package tailored to the needs of each student is created. At the end, the effectiveness of the therapy is evaluated," says Katri Kanninen, Heltti's trainer psychotherapist, doctor of psychology, and one of the developers of short-term therapy approach.

For more information for the media:

Heltti: Regarding short-term therapy, Katri Kanninen, 040 7417 795, katri.kanninen@heltti.fi

YTHS: Contacts via communications manager Inka Akkanen, 040 822 6582, inka.akkanen@yths.fi.

YTHS

The Finnish Student Health Service (Ylioppilaiden terveydenhoitosäätiö, YTHS) is responsible for providing health services and promoting health among university students. We provide services to approximately 280,000 students with the help of over 1,000 professionals. Our goal is to guarantee high-quality student healthcare through a targeted service selection, positive customer experiences, and skilled professionals, with easy and fast access. YTHS is known as an equal, bold, and caring operator that efficiently performs its legally mandated tasks and quickly adapts to changes in the operating environment. As an expert in student healthcare, YTHS works towards results that will be visible for years to come. For more information, visit yths.fi.

Heltti and withHeltti

Heltti is a Finnish company founded in 2013 that specializes in promoting well-being among people who work in knowledge-intensive jobs. In 2021, Heltti merged with Shortum, a pioneer in short-therapy and therapy services. As a result, comprehensive therapy services and mental health services can now be found at with.heltti.fi. Additionally, mental health professionals provide free psychoeducational mental health and well-being content on Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify almost every day. Currently, almost 90 psychotherapists and mental health professionals trained in short-term therapy with a psychology background work in withHeltti's therapy services. Furthermore, withHeltti's occupational health business and the units that offer organizational and leadership development services have organizational and leadership experts, organizational psychologists, and several occupational health professionals, including doctors, occupational health nurses, occupational health psychologists, and physiotherapists. For more information, visit with.heltti.fi.

RELEX Foundation for a Better Future

Founded in 2022, the RELEX Foundation aims to promote positive development in the world. The foundation's strategic focus areas for 2023-2025 are protecting the environment and slowing down climate change, reducing inequality, and preventing children and young people from being marginalized. The foundation promotes its strategic focus areas, among other things, by making direct donations to charities, non-profit organizations, and foundations, as well as by awarding research grants. The foundation carries out regular impact assessments to evaluate how its strategic focus areas are being effectively and efficiently promoted. For more information, visit www.relexfoundation.org.