B.C.’s Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training recently announced that they are developing a new remote mental health counselling service for post-secondary students.
The program is to be rolled out this spring, and will allow post-secondary students to access mental health services services via internet or telephone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Students attending a post-secondary school in B.C. will be able to access the service from anywhere in the province. The resource will be completely confidential, and users’ privacy will be protected.
The new initiative was applauded by the B.C. Federation of Students (BCFS). “Many students struggle to access mental health supports; there are long wait times for on-campus counsellors, and in many communities there are very limited options for off-campus support,” said Tanysha Klassen, chairperson of the BCFS, in a press release.
At UFV, students often have to wait weeks for the next available time slot. For someone suffering a mental health crisis, help is often needed immediately.
According to Klassen, those who live in remote areas or who must work or attend class at inconvenient times may struggle to access off-campus mental health services as well. “The typical nine-to-five office hours don’t always work for students,” said Klassen.
The provincial government has partnered with Morneau Shepell to deliver the new service. Morneau Shepell is a company that provides professional advice and health care programs (physical as well as mental) whose services are oriented toward business employers and employees.
According to the ministry’s website, Morneau Shepell administers the largest clinical network in Canada, and provides its student support programs to over 200 post-secondary institutions across North America.
A 2019 study conducted by the American College Health Association of their Canadian reference group showed that stress was the biggest cause of poor academic performance, reported as a cause by 41.9 per cent of students, followed by anxiety at 34.6 per cent. The same study also revealed that within the past year, 63.6 per cent of students had felt that “things are hopeless,” 88.2 per cent felt overwhelmed by everything they had to do, 51.6 per cent felt so depressed it was difficult to function, and 68.9 per cent felt overwhelming anxiety.
Grace Dupasquier, director for research and campaigns for the Alliance of B.C. Students (ABCS), said in a press release that rising tuition costs over the years have put increased pressure on students, often forcing them to take on debt or work one or more jobs, which only adds to the stress of succeeding at school. The shortage of mental health resources available to students has not helped.
“There is a mental health crisis on our campuses … and we are glad to see action being taken,” said Dupasquier.
