What is JOY?
JOY is a college student mental health app to help experience happy, fulfilling, and productive lives.
JOY provides college students guidance based on the latest behavioral health research. JOY partners with higher education institutions to provide JOY directly to their students. Higher education institutions can also add an optional service that includes live, licensed behavioral health professionals.
JOY is private and secure. JOY is built on the secure AWS network. JOY AI is built by software engineers trusted by the U.S. Navy.
Why is JOY so Important Now?
60% of College Students Reported One Mental Health Problem
During the 2020–2021 school year, more than 60% of college students met the criteria for at least one mental health problem, according to the Healthy Minds Study, which collects data from 373 campuses nationwide. (Lipson, S.K., et al, Journal of Affective Disorders, Volume 306, 2022)
75% of college students report moderate to severe distress
Almost three quarters of students reported moderate or severe psychological distress according to the the National College Health Assessment (American College Health Association, 2021)
College counselors can't keep up with demand
“Counseling centers have seen extraordinary increases in demand over the past decade,” said Michael Gerard Mason, PhD, associate dean of African American Affairs at the University of Virginia (UVA) and a longtime college counselor. “[At UVA], our counseling staff has almost tripled in size, but even if we continue hiring, I don’t think we could ever staff our way out of this challenge.”
It's time for a multi-faceted approach
“This increase in demand has challenged institutions to think holistically and take a multifaceted approach to supporting students,” said Kevin Shollenberger, the vice provost for student health and well-being at Johns Hopkins University. “It really has to be everyone’s responsibility at the university to create a culture of well-being.”
Need to think more creatively on how to meet demand
“Early on, it was just about more, more, more clinicians,” said counseling psychologist Carla McCowan, PhD, director of the counseling center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “In the past few years, more centers are thinking creatively about how to meet the demand.
JOY is the college student mental wellness app built by behavioral health researchers, therapists, and AI experts trusted by the U.S. Navy. JOY+ provides live, 1-on-1 appointments with licensed behavioral health experts 24/7/365 to complement college behavioral health services.
Dave Gee, CEO & Co-Founder
Why Colleges Need JOY Now
Collaborative
Collaborative
Collaborative
Colleges collaborate with JOY to integrate with campus behavioral health services. JOY can even provide live, licensed therapists to support college behavioral health services.
Supportive
Collaborative
Collaborative
Joy supports college students wherever they are 24/7/365 (Internet connection required). So, whether the student is on campus, at home, or traveling JOY will be there.
Accessible
Collaborative
Accessible
JOY is a web-based application which makes it easy user experience. Students don't have to download a mobile app to a smartphone. They can use a desktop, laptop, tablet computer or smartphone.
Can I Rely on JOY?
JOY is built on best practice behavioral health methodologies for young adults, along with leading-edge research in behavioral therapy created by our Chief Wellness Officer and Co-founder Dr. Aruna Jha.
Aruna has committed her life to improving the wellness, joy and personal safety of people around the world through her research and programs. Aruna specializes in treating young adults and members of the military.
She is a professor, researcher, and award-winning faculty and possesses multiple certifications and has received awards in suicide prevention, PTSD, and alcohol abuse management.
Aruna earned advanced clinical training in conflict resolution skills, cognitive processing therapy, treatment of post-traumatic stress, risk reduction for suicide risk, applied suicide intervention skills, cognitive behavioral therapy, QPR, and more.
What Does JOY Look Like?
Is JOY Secure?
We developed JOY with the same safety and security protocols utilized by the U.S. Navy to protect JOY users.
JOY is built on AWS (Amazon Web Service). AWS exceeds security and compliance standards, including PCI-DSS, HIPAA/HITECH, FedRAMP, GDPR, FIPS 140-2, and NIST 800-171, to help satisfy compliance requirements for virtually every regulatory agency around the world.
JOY integrates research and behavioral health best practices to help students navigate challenges related to academics, finances, relationships, careers and more. We can also integrate JOY directly with current university behavioral health services to create a seamless experience for students.
Dr. Choton Basu, Co-Founder
Can Students Talk with Licensed Experts?
In addition to our engaging JOY chat service we provide additional support for students in need with JOY+.
Sometimes higher education institutions need additional support for their behavioral health services. Providing therapy over Spring Break, Summer Break, and holiday breaks can be very difficult to support.
So, we provide JOY + which provides U.S. based, licensed, professional counselors who all have their masters or doctorates. We provide counselors that are licensed in all 50 states through our third party provider.
This service is a premium service (JOY+)and is only available to higher education institutions who subscribe to JOY.