SCC Spotlight on Mental Health and Wellbeing
Centennial offers professional mental health services through our Centre for Accessible Learning and Counselling Services. Dr. Rick Ezekiel is the Director of Equitable Learning, Health & Wellness at Centennial College. He was happy to discuss this important topic with SCC.
“We operate within a personalized care service model, informed by principles of stepped care. Our services are grounded in robust and responsive, same- or next- day counselling for students accessing our services for the first time, and those experiencing immediate distress (facilitated by a team of psychotherapists and social workers). After completing an assessment of student needs during their first appointment (using narrative, single-session therapy, and cultural formulation interviewing-informed approaches), students are connected with short-term or ongoing supports that best align with their identified needs,” Mr. Ezekiel explains.
These supports include:
Peer support from trained peer listeners;
Participation in psychoeducational groups or workshopsto enhance their personal and academic resilience skills;
Brief solution-focused psychotherapy;
Ongoing psychotherapy for students with complex needs;
Psychoeducational and neuropsychological assessment byour Clinical Psychologist;
Referral to psychiatric or medical services within thecommunity for students requiring more intensive treatment of diagnosedmental illnesses.
The Services and Global Experience (SaGE) team at Centennial supports international and internationally-minded students in finding personal, academic, and professional success.
The keep.me SAFE program is a free counselling service available to international students at Centennial. It is confidential (within the limits of the law), and is available 24 hours a day by phone and chat, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and in over 200 languages.
Centennial College supports internationalization by creating innovative leadership roles for students and alumni – on-campus and online. For example, the guard.me Campus Ambassadors Program was created to better support and serve the international student population on campuses across Canada. The role of Campus Ambassadors is to actively promote International Insurance services and initiatives at partner institutions. The Campus Ambassadors Program ensures international students are well-informed and have access to their available resources.
The power of peer-to-peer promotes understanding and engagement! The helpful advice and personal experiences shared by current students help spread general mental health awareness.
What is Mental Health?
Mental health defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to contribute to their community.
In other words, mental health is:
Our ability to respond to challenges
Our ability to bounce back and stay on course
A state of mind that allows you to cope with the endless challenges of life
The guard.me Campus Ambassadors also earn a Certificate of Leadership, participate in nationwide roundtables and summits, and develop skills such as public speaking and teamwork.
The definition of mental health above is grounded in principles from positive psychology, which is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living, focusing on both individual and community/societal well-being. Many factors contribute to our experience of positive mental health, including feeling a sense of purpose in life; having positive and supportive relationships with friends, family, teachers, or professors; living in supportive and thriving communities; having stable access to necessities of life like food, shelter; economic resources; having opportunities to participate in and contribute to our society and communities meaningfully.
In College environments, programs that can support mental health could include:
Peer support, orientation programs, and clubs enable students to connect with their peers and feel part of a community.
Physical activity programs encourage students to stay active
Students can find opportunities to give back to their campus communities through student leadership, volunteer, and advisory committee roles
Professors who build caring and supportive classroom environments.
What is Mental Illness?
Mental illness can be defined as a health condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, or behavior. Some examples of mental illness include major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder. Mental illnesses may be acute or brief in duration or long-lasting (chronic). Some symptoms of mental illness are episodic (e.g., they can fluctuate throughout a person’s lifespan and be influenced by stress and the conditions a person is living, learning, or working within). There are a complex variety of factors that interact to influence the development and onset of mental illness.
Biological factors include genes, physiological development as individuals age, and neurochemical environments affecting brain functioning.
Developmental factors include family and community conditions in early life, experiences of adversity, and trauma.
Environmental factors include toxic stress, safety, and the presence or absence of supportive relationships.
When students experience mental illness, counsellors must recognize how the symptoms impact the student's ability to engage in learning and work. Offering professional and confidential counselling services is an essential part of this support system at Centennial College.
“Just as if a person has a cold, broken arm, or chronic medical condition, mental illness can have debilitating effects on a person’s ability to engage in the tasks of daily life, including their learning. Many mental illnesses can benefit from or may require professional treatment by psychotherapists, psychologists, or psychiatrists. We have the opportunity in College to build supportive learning communities that promote positive mental health among all learners, especially those who might experience a diagnosed mental illness,” explains Dr. Ezekiel, Director of Equitable Learning, Health & Wellness at Centennial College.
Dr. Ezekiel concludes, “It’s also important to support students who disclose a mental illness with academic flexibility and encouraging their engagement with professional mental health or medical services. Building an understanding of mental health and mental illness in our communities through open conversation is important to destigmatize mental health and create an environment where students’ need for mental health support is acknowledged.”
News/ Photos provided by Centennial College
Editing by CIE of Suzhou Centennial College