Durham College does it’s best to assure and be active for students who are in distress or have an issue that they don’t know how to solve, or just want to chat to someone in a secure environment. Everyone is aware that college/university can be a period of great hardship alongside the learning, as well as major stress and possibly life problems for some. Mental Health Services knows how difficult it is to seek help. Student’s may be unaware of the scope of the problem, what resources are available to assist them, or how to work through present problems that are preventing students from reaching their full potential. A multidisciplinary team of mental health specialists makes up Mental Health Services. We offer coaching, counselling, psycho-education, and internal and external referrals, among other services. Below are some resources students can utilize:
Self Help:
In this section/category provided by the Durham College website, students can benefit by getting aid through self learning and self help. Alot of students do not seek help for a variety of reasons, including family/friends’ discouragement, a lack of time, difficulties with appointment-based structures, transportation issues and/or embarrassment. Durham College tackles and counters such reasons by allowing students to engage in different forms of help from the comfort of their bed. They can do this by online self-directed mental health services, whether used alone or in conjunction with counselling sessions, may be highly beneficial for many students. Online assistance is instantaneous, convenient, easy to get, and private.
Helpful Resources:
This category is self explanatory and extremely valuable. It provides direction to resources such as Apps, Community Supports and On-Campus Supports. These are all extremely accessible and rich resources that students can reach out to or get a hold of whenever they’re on campus and feel distressed or need to clear their headspace. Some apps include, Be Safe, Calm, Happify, Headspace, etc. Some community supports include, the Carea community Health Center, Lakeridge Health Oshawa Eating Disorder Program, Ontario Shores Borderline Personality Disorders Self-Regulation Clinic, etc. Some On-Campus supports include:
- Access and Support Centre Counsellors: The ASC counsellors provide disability-related counselling to assist students in gaining a better knowledge of their learning profile as it pertains to academic strengths and needs, as well as career preparation. They also provide ADHD coaching and short therapy treatments for mild to severe mental health issues.
- Campus Health and Wellness Centre: This building consists of Message Services, Medically Based Treatment Program Referrals, Physicians, Mental Health Nurses, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, Naturopathic, Message Services
- I.M. Well: Psychotherapists with specialised training in many areas of mental health are available to Durham College here for students.
On-Campus services also include two specialists; Dr.Burthram and Dr.Parmar who are addictions specialists and psychiatrists respectively.
Groups and Workshops:
Durham College also consists of Groups and workshops such as the Peer Guided Meditation Workshop, Peer Led ASC Meet-Up Group, DIY Stress Busters and Winter Wellness Wednesdays. These groups and workshops are helpful for engaging with new people, participating in activities, and savouring refreshments. This will be an opportunity for you to expand your college social network. Come to these weekly sessions to learn how to deal with student stress. Stress balls, squishies, vision boards, and aromatherapy jewellery may all be made with the aid of DIY Stress Busters. Winter Wellness on the other hand allows students to gather some suggestions and techniques for managing stress while building relationships and being creative throughout the winter months.
