More counsellors needed to address mental health on campus, student advocate says

Students on university and college campuses across the country need more access to counsellors to help them through a mental health crisis, a student advocate says.

Anne-Marie Roy is the deputy chair of the Canadian Federation of Students and she says the common theme across the country is students need more access to care.

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"We hear stories of students having to wait several weeks, sometimes months, in order to see a counsellor," Roy said.

Other students have said their school only offers so many counselling sessions before they are sent off campus, which can often cause students stress and financial hardship.

"When they're talking about de-stigmatizing mental health and encouraging student to come forward, they need to be prepared to answer to the needs of the student community," she added.

Administration criticized

Roy's comments come after a student died by suicide at the University of Waterloo on March 20. The student was the second to die by suicide this semester at the school.

Since the beginning of the school year, four students have died by suicide at the University of Guelph.

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Following the student's death at UW last week, there was outrage from some students, staff and faculty after it appeared the school was not reacting to the death or informing people on campus.

A petition was started to ask the university to do more and UW's president Feridun Hamdullahpur penned an open letter in which he admitted, "more needs to be done."

Universities can't do it alone

A survey last fall by the Ontario University and College Health Association of more than 25,000 students found 65 per cent reported feeling overwhelming anxiety in the previous year, 46 per cent felt so depressed it was hard to function and 13 per cent had seriously considered suicide.

Roy said while it's great to hear administration talking about the issue, they need to also take action.

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"What we really want to see is our post-secondary institutions become health-promoting organizations and we want them to put their money where their mouth is," she said. 

Leanne Holland Brown, the dean of students for Wilfrid Laurier University, agreed, but added the answer does not lie with the universities and colleges alone. 

"We know that universities can't possibly do it all themselves," she said.

She said they encourage dialogue on campus, talking to students, staff and faculty about what is needed and what might be missing.

Holland Brown says universities do also need to ensure the message is getting out about available on campus services, including telling students they can seek out faculty and staff if they need help.

'It is heartbreaking'

Faculty and staff from both Laurier and Waterloo are taking part in a two-day workshop called ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) next week to understand the signs of a student in distress and at risk of attempting suicide.

"We are aware that, in a university community, maybe more than in other places, there are a number of factors that influence students' mental health," Holland Brown said.

"Those are related to transition and substances and financial pressures and developing a sense of self and so there are a lot of needs and more importantly, there are a lot of intersections. And we can't isolate the conversation to just mental health when we're talking about wellness."

She said university administration are also impacted by the death of a student, but they have to walk a fine line.

Some students criticized what appeared to be a lack of response by UW's administration to the student's death last week, but Holland Brown said it's not always as easy as making an announcement or writing a letter.

"There are families who ask us not to say anything," she said. It can take families time to want to talk about why their child died and the university has to respect that, she explained.

"There's nothing more important for us than to care for students and their families in situations like that," she said. "It is heartbreaking for all of us."