Increased stress among students has prompted University Students’ Council (USC) to recommend additional funds be collected to allow a psychological services outreach counsellor to be hired.
An increase of $2.62 per student will be added to the student activity fee so the Student Development Centre can hire a masters-level counsellor to design, market and present a program for crisis prevention and early-intervention strategies.
The counsellor will be part of the Psychological Services team and refer students for individual assistance, if needed, and accept referrals to groups, workshops and support groups.
“The goal is to help prevent undergraduate and graduate students from reaching a state of crisis, of which the current wait times for a counsellor does not accommodate,” says
Mike Tithecott, USC president.
“Students are experiencing higher levels of stress as they complete their degrees, and by injecting this fee, Western will be able to offer services to help prevent crises and support students whenever it can.”
Last year, the USC teamed up with former student and mental health advocate Jennifer Francis to deliver the “Holding on to Hope” campaign, presentations to educate students about mental illness and local support services.
A mental health awareness commissioner’s position was established in the Campus Issues portfolio and could take shape in the coming year.
“The issue of mental health is large on our campus, with statistics showing around one-third of students being affected by mental illness at some point in their university career,” says Tithecott.
