Lyra Health: Your 24/7 Mental Health Partner is here to help you connect to the best care. Call (877) 390-6766 anytime or visit the Rutgers Lyra Health webpage .
With Lyra Health, whether you are feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or simply need someone to talk to, Lyra offers confidential*, evidence-based support to help you feel better and thrive.
*Only general statistics on service usage (e.g., "X% of employees used Lyra this year") are provided to Rutgers – never personally identifiable information. So, you can talk to someone with total peace of mind.
- Lyra Health Offerings
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With Lyra, you and your household family members and dependents have access to:
- The Lyra Health app, which provides on-demand self-care resources, such as video lessons, exercises, and meditations (including meditations to help you sleep), as well as access to a network of mental health providers for scheduling appointments and messaging.
- Six personalized, confidential, evidence-based mental health care sessions for a wide range of needs from mild to complex.
- Wellness Coaching
- Easy online scheduling with most providers available within 24 hours.
- Manager consultations with clinical specialists to support HR business partners or managers dealing with concerns related to employee mental health.
- How to Sign Up
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- Visiting www.rutgers.lyrahealth.com to create your account.
- Taking the care assessment to get matched with high-quality providers who reflect your preferences and identities.
- Meeting with your provider virtually or in person to begin your journey.
When you begin care with Lyra, it is important to talk to your provider about their cancellation policy. Most providers require a 24-hour notice for cancellations. Please refer to your provider for questions about their cancellation policy and fees. If you do not cancel on time or miss an appointment without canceling, you will be required to reimburse your provider for the missed session. Any missed or late sessions will not count against the 6 sessions you get per calendar year.
- Mental Health Options
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Digital Self-care Resources—for work and your personal life
Build healthy habits with an on-demand self-care library featuring research-backed videos, articles, soundscapes, and meditations.
Lyra Guided Self-Care
Your coach will get to know you one-on-one so you can plan a path forward together. After your initial session, your Lyra coach will craft a personalized care plan with activities that directly address your goals at your own pace. Your coach will keep you on track, provide feedback, and be available via chat to answer questions.
Lyra Mental Health Coaching
Meet regularly with a certified mental health coach to help you with challenges such as anxiety, stress, relationship issues, or parenting challenges. In between sessions, your coach will assign exercises so you can develop lasting change and feel more like yourself again.
Lyra Therapy
Lyra’s high-quality therapists use evidence-based techniques to help you develop new skills and strategies for dealing with problematic thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Lyra has a diverse range of providers who specialize in working with adults, couples, families, adolescents, and children.
- Educational and Manager-Specific Resources
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On-Demand Courses
Explore unlimited access to on-demand courses taught by mental health professionals. Each curated course has 5-8 chapters that include bite-sized videos, knowledge checks, and resources to allow you to learn at your own pace.
Live Events
Lyra members can participate in live monthly workshops, and structured, small-group discussions facilitated by Lyra’s experts on timely, thought-provoking topics.
Lyra Manager Consults
Lyra offers Management Consultations with clinical specialists to support HR business partners or managers dealing with concerns related to employee mental health.
Consultation support is available via Lyra’s 24/7 Care Navigator Team at (877) 390-6766.
Manager consultations do not count against you 6 Lyra sessions.
- Work-life Services
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Legal
One free 30-minute office or telephone consultation per legal matter with a network attorney or mediator; 25% discount on attorney rate after the initial consultation. You also have access to 24-hour emergency services, easy to use legal forms, document preparation, and online legal library.
Identity theft
One free 60-minute consultation with a Fraud Resolution Specialist (FRS). Fraud Resolution Specialists are certified under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) or are licensed attorneys.
- Frequently Asked Questions
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What is Lyra Health?
Lyra Health provides many different mental health and emotional well-being benefits all at no cost from the first day you start working for Rutgers – no enrollment is required. Lyra connects faculty and staff and their dependents to mental and emotional health care that is effective, convenient, and personalized. Using technology, proven treatments, and a network of top therapists and coaches, Lyra will help match you to the right care for your needs, from short-term therapy and coaching to mental wellness tools.
Who can use Lyra?
Lyra is here to serve Rutgers’ employees and their dependents. Children ages two and over are eligible. Student workers should reach out to Counseling, Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program & Psychiatric Services (CAPS) to inquire about their services.
Is Lyra replacing the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program and the Rutgers University Behavioral Health Employee Assistance Program?
Yes, the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program and the Rutgers University Behavioral Health Employee Assistance Program will be ending as we make this transition to Lyra Health. The last day to access care with the current EAP is October 31, 2025. UBHC’s non-EAP offerings are not impacted by this change and will remain available (e.g. the Student Wellness Program).
How many counseling sessions do I get with Lyra?
Everyone gets 6 sessions with a mental health counselor.
What types of issues can Lyra help me address?
Lyra can help with stress, anxiety, depression, communication issues, sleep disorders, and other common issues that can be addressed through services such as therapy, coaching, or mental wellness tools. Maybe you are feeling sad, disinterested in things you used to enjoy, or like anxiety has taken over your life. Perhaps you can’t sleep or eat, or you are sleeping or eating too much. Lyra can also help with family or couple issues. Whether you feel stuck in a relationship and don’t know what to do next, are going through a rough patch with your partner, or have encountered a life change that impacts the entire family, Lyra providers can help.
How does Lyra work?
Use the Lyra online platform or contact a member of the care navigator team directly to tell Lyra about what you are going through. Lyra will then share how they can help with different care options, such as Guided Self-Care, Mental Health Coaching, therapy, and mental wellness tools that fit your needs and preferences, and get you started right away.
What is it like getting care with Lyra?
Lyra’s goal is to provide care that will help you feel better as soon as possible. Lyra supports evidence-based methods that have been proven by research to be effective, also known as evidence-based care. Evidence-based care focuses on building new skills and can include daily or weekly activities and exercises to practice these skills in your everyday life. It is regular practice that makes the skills stick and accelerates your progress in care. All of Lyra’s providers are vetted to ensure they use these evidence-based treatments. Because evidence-based care is highly effective, many members that choose to see a provider feel better and complete care in just a few sessions. What is a mental health coach? You may have heard of life coaches or health coaches before - Lyra’s coaches are different. Lyra’s mental health coaches can help you pinpoint what you are dealing with and can support a range of challenges including stress, anxiety, burnout, grief, relationship challenges, loneliness, perfectionism, life transitions, mild depression and more.
What is Mental Health Coaching?
Meet with a Lyra coach to get to the root of your challenges, gain new insights, and see things through a new lens. Sessions can be weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly. Between sessions you will get activities and strategies to build on what you learn, and you can message your coach if anything comes up. As new challenges arise, you can discuss them with your coach and produce strategies for lasting change.
What is the difference between Mental Health Coaching and therapy?
Coaching is often most helpful for members that need support getting challenges like stress, burnout, anxiety, or relationship issues under control, so the feelings do not get worse. Your Lyra coach will collaborate with you to identify challenges, get to the root of the issue, listen, and help you learn new strategies to feel better and stay on track. Therapy is often most helpful for members dealing with clinical diagnoses or more complex or long-standing mental health challenges such as PTSD, depression, or eating disorders.
What is Guided Self-Care?
Start with a consultation session with your Lyra coach to share what is going on. Afterwards, your coach will craft a personalized care plan with exercises and strategies for you to work on independently, at your own pace. Your coach will keep you on track, provide you with specific feedback along the way, and be available via messaging for questions and support. It is a great option if you do not want or do not have time for regular sessions or if mental wellness tools sound nice, but you still want someone there to keep you engaged.
How does meeting with a provider via live messaging work?
Live messaging sessions are available to members in Mental Health Coaching. Sessions take place on Lyra’s HIPAA-compliant and secure platform and last up to 45 minutes, so you have plenty of time to connect with your Lyra coach. During your session, your coach will message you and be 100% focused on your conversation. If you start with live messaging coaching sessions, you will always have the flexibility to switch between live messaging and video sessions for added convenience. Live messaging coaching sessions may be a good option if it is difficult to find a private place to join a video session or if you do not want to connect face-to-face.
How long does it take to use Lyra?
It usually takes just over 10 minutes to complete the online assessment and get connected to a top therapist, coach, or self-guided program for your needs. You can also call the care navigator team at (877) 390-6766 to start the conversation immediately.
How much does Lyra cost?
It is free!
What if I don’t feel a connection with my therapist or coach? Can I opt to work with someone else?
A member can absolutely choose a different provider if they do not feel like they connect with their first therapist or coach. If they are comfortable doing so, they can simply tell the provider they would like to seek a new provider so that they will remove them from the client list. If they would prefer, they can reach out to the Care Navigator Team to handle that conversation for them.
What if I reach my session limit and I want to continue meeting with my provider?
If you reach your 6-session limit for the year, and your therapist determines you would benefit from additional care, you may elect to continue working with your Lyra provider, but any future sessions would require out-of-pocket payment. You may be able to submit claims to your medical plan to cover part of the cost of care if your plan includes partial reimbursement for out-of-network providers. Alternatively, you may opt to find a provider who is in-network with your medical plan.
Are group therapy/couples counseling sessions included? If so, would that count as 1 session for each of the individuals?
Family and couples therapy is available and it only counts as one session. So, if a married couple sought counseling, they could utilize a total of 12 sessions (6 per person) to work with their therapist. Similarly, a family of 4 could use 24 total sessions during family therapy.
Since Lyra is available to dependents, are there counselors that specialize in working with children and teen?
Yes, absolutely. Lyra offers tailored support for every family member, including children, teens, adults, couples, and families, with access to over 6,500 children’s mental health specialists. Lyra Care for Teens offers resources for teenagers specifically, including counselors who specialize in adolescents. Lyra also has a Family Hub to serve as a single place within Lyra’s platform to help parents and caregivers manage care for their dependents. Members will be able to navigate care options for family members as well as access personalized on-demand mental health resources.
Will Rutgers know if I use Lyra?
Lyra does not share information with Rutgers that identifies which individuals are in care. So, this benefit is 100% confidential.
What if I miss an appointment or need to cancel last-minute?
When you start to care, it’s important to talk to your provider about their cancellation policy. Most providers require 24-hours’ notice for cancellations. Please refer to your provider for questions about their cancellation policy and fees. If you do not cancel on time or miss an appointment without canceling, you will be required to reimburse your provider for the missed session. Any missed or late sessions will not count against the six sessions you get per calendar year.
Is care available in different languages?
Yes! A member can enter a preference for a Spanish speaking provider right in the app or on the Lyra care platform. For other language preferences, the member may call into the Care Navigation team to help facilitate the search process.
How can I recommend Lyra to a colleague or dependent?
You may find yourself in a situation where you want to encourage someone you know to try Lyra or help them get registered. Below are guidelines to follow when pursuing care for another individual:
- Adults who have the Lyra benefit need to sign themselves up for Lyra for privacy reasons. You can recommend the person registering directly with Lyra, if they have the Lyra benefit.
- Parents or guardians of minors can contact the care navigator team on their behalf. A member of the care navigator team, when legally appropriate, can help individuals find and receive care.
- If you are the legal caretaker of another adult, please contact the Lyra care navigator team at care@lyrahealth.com to determine how they can access care.
If I go on leave, will Rutgers continue to cover my cost of care?
So long as you remain an active employee during your leave, you will continue to be eligible for the Lyra benefit.
If I leave or lose my job, will Rutgers still cover the cost of my care?
Because Lyra is an employee benefit, it is not covered once you leave Rutgers.
Can I use Lyra if I am traveling?
Because telehealth laws vary by state, your provider may only be able to deliver care in the state in which they are licensed. It is important to discuss your travel plans with your provider in advance to determine if you will need to adjust your session schedule. Lyra does not recommend providers to continue sessions when a client travels outside of the United States unless the provider is licensed to practice in the applicable jurisdiction.
How is Lyra different from my medical plan?
Lyra covers short-term, evidence-based outpatient mental health services, at no cost to you. There are no co-pays, no deductibles, and no prior authorizations or referrals needed to begin care. Your medical plan is a more appropriate option for certain types of intensive care such as medication management, emergency care, long-term care, or psychiatric conditions that would require hospitalization.
- Additional Resources