Julia, a fourth-year film studies major at Carleton University, went to go see a counsellor for the first time in Ottawa before her third year.
Julia (not her real name) was feeling depressed, anxious and was having trouble sleeping – problems she had had in the past, but that resurfaced with the added stress of being away from home and attending university.
She’s not alone.
In 2009, a survey of six Ontario campuses showed 53 per cent of university students felt overwhelmed with anxiety, 54 per cent had feelings of hopelessness and more than a third said they felt too depressed to function regularly. Even more worrisome, about seven per cent considered suicide.
These trends are indicative of an increase in suicides on university campuses across the country: after accidents suicide is the leading cause of death for youth 15 to 19, according to Statistics Canada.
These figures are downright alarming and have resulted in a variety of organizations launching campaigns to reduce the stigma of mental health.
After all, if you break your arm, it is common practice to visit the doctor. It should be no different for those with mental health issues.
And it’s youth in particular that are breaking this stigma and actively getting help. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, young people aged 15-24 are more likely to report mental illness than any other age group.
Last year, Ryerson University’s centre for student development and counseling saw a 200-per-cent increase in demand.
What this increase should mean is that students actively reaching out about mental health issues are getting the counselling they need. But campus facilities are buckling under the demand.
Wait times between intake forms and first appointments can be months.
For students at the crux of a mental health problem, these waiting times are far too long. We need more counsellors and better facilities to accommodate them.
Julia didn’t like her first counsellor. She said she didn’t listen well and continuously tried to diagnose her with a sleeping disorder rather than addressing mental health problems.
After already waiting a month and a half for her first appointment, when she asked about seeing someone else, Julia was put back on the wait list.
Julia then went off campus and inquired with Ottawa Family Services. They informed her of a nine-month wait to see a counsellor and recommended Jewish Family Services. She saw a counsellor there for four months.
This year, Julia decided to give Carleton’s services another try.
Carleton University has three counsellors dedicated to residence students, a service Julia used in second year. She says the service was phenomenal.
Unfortunately, once students move off-campus their support is reduced: four counsellors that share three counselling offices for more than 23,000 students and only one counsellor during the summer semester.
“There’s not enough facilities on campus for the amount of counsellors, and there’s not enough counsellors on campus for the amount of students,” says Julia.
Campus facilities need to reflect this growing demand.
Universities are working alongside mental health services to reduce the stigma. They’re telling students to actively reach out for help.
But the problem is that when they do reach out for help, they might not get it for months.
Not all students will be as persistent as Julia. Wait times alone, can be discouraging enough for a student to not reach out again the next time around.