McMaster students share their experiences accessing the SWC and what the service has done to enhance student accessibility
The Student Wellness Centre is a McMaster University service that provides undergraduate and graduate students counselling and medical care as well as undertakes health promotion initiatives. In September 2023, the Silhouette spoke with Debbie Nifakis, a psychologist and SWC’s associate director of counselling, as well as with three undergraduate students about their relationship with the SWC.
Nifakis shared that the SWC cares very deeply about their counselling services. Currently, the SWC operates under the Pathways to Care model, which offers students a diverse array of resources in an effort to help find the best combination of service for an individual.
“With Pathways to Care, it helps people to see what are the different options that you have when you come here ... So it really helped the counselor and the student together to look at "what are your needs and where would you best get them met?",” said Nifakis.
Fiona Allen, a fourth-year Health Sciences student at McMaster, has accessed both SWC medical care and mental health services. Allen explained that she found the service to be very helpful and organized, as she was able to have both a general practitioner and a psychiatrist through the SWC
“I found even like the general physicians, who see you for all of your medical needs, they're very knowledgeable of mental health and they were very understanding,” said Allen.
Breanne Poernbacher, a fourth-year anthropology student at McMaster, sought out mental health support from the SWC this past summer. She explained that she is very appreciative of the medical care she has received and encouraged those who need it to seek support from the SWC. She emphasized how the SWC's trauma-centered approach was a good fit for her while seeking support.
“Even before the whole procedure, which is a very safe procedure, [the doctor said] "Yeah, [any] worries that I can address? Do you want me to like tell you before I touch you, or are you comfortable with this?" It's just really nice that that's in their practice. It makes it a lot more comfortable as someone that survived trauma to access that,” said Poernbacher.
Poernbacher explained that while she felt the support she received from the SWC was a positive experience, she also felt she had to overshare to the front desk in order to convey the urgency of her requiring support.
“If I left that information out they probably would have tried to push my appointment to the next day or the next week even,” said Poernbacher.
Anisah Ali, a fourth-year Health and Society with a specialization in Mental Health and Addiction student at McMaster, accessed the counselling service at start of her undergraduate education and now again in her last year.
Ali shared that she began counselling in Aug. 2023. She shared that despite the overall positive and smooth intake, she was a bit disappointed to learn that they currently do not have any South-Asian therapists working.
Ali shared that during the time of her intake, the only South-Asian therapist employed was on leave. In a follow-up statement six months later, she stated she had become well acquainted with her current therapist and was not interested in switching. However, she noted that to her knowledge therapists at SWC lack diversity relative to who they treat.
“It was unfortunate to not have somebody who gets my cultural background, because obviously, that informs what I see from therapy,” said Ali.
It was unfortunate to not have somebody who gets my cultural background, because obviously, that informs what I see from therapy.
Anisah Ali
Fourth-year Health and Society student
Moreover, both Allen and Ali both expressed that an area for improvement would be the capacity of staff for counselling services. Allen shared that overall she is very happy with her service, but she wished the wait times could be reduced. Ali expressed that with a larger capacity, they would be able to take more students in per day.
“Probably, if anything, it would just be reducing the wait times. I know that's difficult because there's obviously a lot of students and a lot of students who have mental health needs [and] general medical needs and only so many staff, but I feel that that would be a great place to invest,” said Allen.
Nifakis shared that her team wanted to counter this by introducing a walk-in system last year, which is now titled the drop-in system. The goal was to make counselling more accessible so people could get the help they needed on the same day.
Nifakis shared that there was an overwhelmingly positive response, but did not provide any data to support this claim when asked through email correspondence.
Nifakis also explained that sometimes despite their best efforts, sometimes they need to turn people away. She explained that situations deemed emergencies are prioritized. Nifakis expressed that resources are limited for the service, though they plan to hire a few more people.
“Now even walking in is a little bit limited because if we had two or three counselors on there would only allow for maybe six, seven people. So there were days where we might have had to turn people away, because we just didn't have enough openings for the walk in. So that's always a bit of an issue,” said Nifakis.
Poernbacher shared an earlier experience where she was unable to receive counselling care at a frequent basis that accommodated her well-being.
Poernbacher partook in one of their counselling services that help students overcome a particular situation in their life, but she expressed that not being able to access that therapist after the eighth-week mark had been difficult.
“Now I am without a therapist and I have been recommended to continue long term care. So that's why I ended up finding a therapist outside of SWC and pretty much paying out of pocket,” said Poernbacher.
Now I am without a therapist and I have been recommended to continue long term care. So that's why I ended up finding a therapist outside of SWC and pretty much paying out of pocket.
Breanne Poernbacher
Fourth-year Anthropology student
In March 2024 we reached out to Fezan Khokhar, the director of the McMaster Students Union's Emergency First Response Team, to discuss findings from the report they shared with the MSU Executive Board in February 2024.
In their report, it was noted that between August 2023 and February 2024 there was a decrease in mental health calls, in comparison to the previous year’s report. Khokhar shared that these statistics are subject to change as the full year's data has not yet been collected.
In the EFRT report, they also attributed this decrease in part to SWC drop-in counseling and the hiring of a mental health nurse through a McMaster initiative initiative called the Student Urgent Response Team. The goal of the latter program was to have someone specialized in order to support students in crisis, alongside other campus security staff. This project was funded by Bell Let's Talk's implementation grant, which provided McMaster $100,000.
Khokhar explained that in a conversation with Rosanne Kent, SWC director, she expressed their efforts to provide increased access to counselling. Khokhar shared that he hoped those responsible for the finances of SWC continue to help them build their drop-in counselling services.
“I'm viewing it, as in my opinion, that we're seeing [the] Student Wellness Center provide more support towards individuals who have any mental health illnesses or are going through any crisis so that they don't reach the point of panic attacks or intense thoughts of suicide. [This] tends to be when we're called,” said Khokhar.
The Silhouette was able to recently follow up with two of the undergraduate students we spoke to earlier in the year.
Allen expressed that she actually had to switch doctors this past year. She was greatly appreciative of the effort that the SWC took to ensure the transition was smooth internally and that her care continued without any issues.
Furthermore, she shared that since the last time she spoke with The Silhouette, she had come to terms with the unchangeable chronic aspects of her mental health conditions. While that process had been difficult, the SWC's treatment provided her with a sense of self. She shared that as she prepares for graduation, the SWC has effectively helped her begin to plan the transfer of her medical care.
"Sometimes, my [mental health] makes me feel like I am completely out of control. It is nice to get a degree of control back through the autonomy and respect I’m given as a patient at the SWC. Although I’ll lose access to the SWC shortly after I graduate this year, I feel empowered to advocate for myself and my needs," said Allen in an email statement to the Silhouette.
Conversely, Ali's follow-up statement expressed that she believed the SWC does not significantly recognize the chronic treatment of mental health. She wishes that cultural aspects of mental health presentation were more clearly acknowledged.
"I think they should improve how they engage in actual sessions to take note of cultural differences present in how [mental health] symptoms arise," said Ali in an email statement to The Silhouette.
Overall, students who have used the counselling services have a deep appreciation for the SWC and any suggestions for improvement merely stem from their personal experiences with the center.
If you would like to share your pwn experiences with the SWC, the centre is asking those who have used the service in the past twelve months to share their experiences anonymously.
The Student Wellness Centre hosted four events throughout June, providing opportunities for 2SLGBTQIA+ students to connect with each other
At McMaster University, different student services and clubs have been celebrating Pride in a number of different ways. The EngiQueers took students to march in the Toronto Pride parade. The Faculty of Health Sciences hosted a talk with nurse and equity advocate Ellie Reyes about providing thoughtful, respectful care for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
This year, the Student Wellness Centre also hosted four events to celebrate and recognize all 2SLGBTQIA+ students.
They kicked off the series with their “Embracing Gender Diversity” in-person drop-in group. They also hosted a “Food for Thought: 2SLGBTQIA+ Friendly Student Cooking Session” where they made veg stroganoff. The SWC’s “Queer Movie Night” took place on June 15 with the movie being “Saving Face”. They finished off the month with a Pride social which included guided painting, snacks and games. This last event was exclusively for 2SLGBTQIA+ students.
Taylor Mertens and Zeinab Khawaja, health promoters at the SWC, worked diligently to bring students these events. They both expressed that the hope with this programming was to have a space exclusively for members of the queer community to meet and expand their own network of classmates.
“It’s an opportunity to connect, do something creative and just meet other students with similar identities. Which can be really hard for a lot of students. There’s a lot of loneliness and not knowing where to meet other 2SLGBTQIA+ students,” said Khawaja.
It’s an opportunity to connect, do something creative and just meet other students with similar identities. Which can be really hard for a lot of students. There’s a lot of loneliness and not knowing where to meet other 2SLGBTQIA+ students.
Zeinab Khawaja, health promoter, Student Wellness Centre
The earlier inclusion of events open to 2SLGBTQIA+ folks, questioning folks and straight allies and then later events exclusively for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community was purposeful.
By creating events that are open for questioning students, they hoped students would also have a space where they could comfortably explore their identity and then feel more confident to attend 2SLGBTQIA+ community exclusive events in the future.
Mertens and Khawaja explained that this progression was also meant to be supportive for individuals who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ but may not feel comfortable entering an exclusive space yet.
“Entering a closed space can be a little difficult for people and feelings of not being gay enough, not being queer enough, “not being “x” enough” essentially. The idea is that we’re kind of building up for that. So hopefully, we will have people attend multiple events and feel a little bit more secure and supported to be able then to go to the Pride Social and stuff like that,” said Mertens.
Both Mertens and Khawaja shared that in recent years they have noticed the large influx of McMaster students that find themselves in Hamilton over the summer. Knowing this, they hope to have pride events and other programs like these to support students in the summer months.
“This year there’s a lot of international students who are around during the summer and then [graduate] students [have] to be around in the summer as well as undergrad students who are taking summer courses or just wanting to live independently. We’re trying to be more intentional about having summer programming [for] all students,” said Khawaja.
This year there’s a lot of international students who are around during the summer and then [graduate] students [have] to be around in the summer as well as undergrad students who are taking summer courses or just wanting to live independently. We’re trying to be more intentional about having summer programming [for] all students.
Zeinab Khawaja, health promoter, Student Wellness Centre
Although Pride month has come to an end, the focus on celebrating and supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals doesn't. Khawaja and Mertens shared their goals for the upcoming years with the Silhouete.
Khawaja explained their focus on the intersectionality of identity. By integrating intersectional language into the currently offered programs, she hopes that people who are often overlooked will feel included in programs hosted by the SWC.
Mertens hopes to share knowledge about active living spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ members. He has found that these spaces are often dominated by cisgender heter onormative communities, sometimes deterring 2SLGBTQIA+ members from partaking. They have more programs in the works for the school year, including drag shows and potlucks.
The Student Wellness Center strives to make sure students can be their healthiest selves possible.
The Student Wellness Centre is the best place to go on campus for anything regarding health and wellness, with their variety of services ranging from mental health counselling to medical care.
An integral part of the SWC are the health promoters who work hard to ensure that students have access to the resources they need to be their healthiest selves.
One of these health promoters is Madison Behr. Working with students has been a rewarding experience for Behr. Her primary role consists of focusing on sexual health and substance abuse programming. This role has allowed a lot of creativity and cooperation with other departments, giving her the opportunity to interact with others. She explained some of her favourite people to work with are the work-study students and the volunteer with the Wellness Outreach Teams.
Working with students has been a rewarding experience for Behr. Her primary role consists of focusing on sexual health and substance abuse programming. This role has allowed a lot of creativity and cooperation with other departments, giving her the opportunity to interact with others.
Behr described the various tasks with her role, including meeting with students and departments to organize and host events, interacting with students on campus and creating health promotion campaigns.
Recently, the SWC has launched the #SexTalkTuesday campaign on social media to answer questions from students about sexual health and their Free Flow program, which gives out free menstrual products to students. Along with these programs, the SWC also has drop-in programs which hand out free condoms and lubes for students to practice safe sex.
Behr aspires for students to find the SWC to be a safe and accommodating space to go when they need any type of health support.
“I hope students will walk away knowing that they are cared for and that there are people on campus who are here to help if they are ever in need . . .[and] that there is a safe space for them at the SWC where they can feel comfortable and welcomed,” she said.
“I hope students will walk away knowing that they are cared for and that there are people on campus who are here to help if they are ever in need . . .[and] that there is a safe space for them at the SWC where they can feel comfortable and welcomed,”
Madison Behr, SWC Health Promoter
Behr also wanted to ensure students know to come to the SWC to access any services they need, especially for sexual health. The Wellness Lounge are also available as a free space for students to use. This space is also the base where health promoters operate if students wish to contact them.
The SWC is a great place to visit for any student’s health needs. Behr and her team at SWC want students to take advantage of the free resources and services they offer. If any students find themselves in need of health advice and assistance, the SWC health promoters hope that their organization is the first thing to come to mind, while doing their best to help make university life easier with their programs and initiatives.
The hospital has taken measures to mitigate the surge of viral infections and its impact on hospital capacity, including reducing surgeries by one-third and transferring teens to adult hospitals
A combination of COVID-19, flu and an unprecedented rise of respiratory syncytial virus cases, has caused the McMaster Children’s Hospital to nearly reach a 135 per cent in-patient occupancy.
In a media release on Nov. 1, Hamilton Health Sciences outlined the measures they were taking to handle the surge in hospital occupancy, including an emphasis on virtual care appointments to reduce unnecessary emergency department visits and working with regional hospital partners to optimize pediatric capacity in the region.
The most notable measure was the hospital’s decision to reduce the number of surgeries requiring hospital admission to five per week, or one per day. Instead, the hospital will focus on surgeries that do not require hospital admission, citing the lack of inpatient bed availability. These changes took effect on Nov. 4 and are expected to last at least four weeks, according to a memo obtained by Global News.
“These actions – including the decision to make further reductions in pediatric surgical activity – are only being taken because of the extraordinary pressure at [McMaster Children’s Hospital] and across the healthcare system,” said the media release.
These actions – including the decision to make further reductions in pediatric surgical activity – are only being taken because of the extraordinary pressure at [McMaster Children’s Hospital] and across the healthcare system.
Media Release from McMaster Children's Hospital
Additionally, the hospital plans to consider transferring a greater number of adolescent patients out of the children’s hospital and into other HHS sites, if deemed medically appropriate, and to consider transferring children to other hospitals in the general region. This measure follows a province-wide recommendation from Ontario's critical care COVID-19 command centre for adult hospitals to accept children 14 and older from pediatric hospitals that need intensive care.
The unprecedented volume of hospital patients is being felt throughout the province. The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto also might start transferring a small number of adolescents 14 and older, according to a statement obtained by The Globe and Mail.
A media briefing by the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa discussed postponing some non-urgent surgeries, expanding staffing and clinic hours and hiring more staff to address the surges. Dr. Mona Jabbour, Interim Chief of Pediatrics at CHEO, attributed reduced immunity to RSV and the flu as reasons for increased surges.
“Because we did not see these viruses in the last few years, we’re seeing them all coming together to older children with reduced immunity. We’re seeing babies, toddlers, younger and older children getting sick. It’s all happening at the same time,” said Jabbour in the media briefing.
Because we did not see these viruses in the last few years, we’re seeing them all coming together to older children with reduced immunity. We’re seeing babies, toddlers, younger and older children getting sick. It’s all happening at the same time.
Mona Jabbour, Interim Chief of Pediatrics at CHEO, in a Media Briefing
Hamilton Health Sciences urges residents to get their flu shots and up-to-date COVID vaccines and boosters to reduce the current surges in pediatric and adult hospitals.
With a more intense resurgence of the flu predicted to hit Canada this flu season, the Student Wellness Centre also recommends students to take their flu shot this flu season.
The Silhouette: Please introduce yourself.
Celina Ruan: My name is Celina. I am in my third year of the Honours Biochemistry program. I'm involved in a couple clubs at McMaster [University] such as the MSU SWHAT service. I'm also a part of the Wellness Outreach Team for the Student Wellness Center.
What is SWHAT?
SWHAT is a service under the MSU and it stands for Student Walk Home Attendant Team. We are a group of volunteer walkers that help walk students home. It is a free, confidential and safe service that provides free walks or [accompanied] bus rides to anyone in the McMaster community, on or off campus. We have a service area of around half an hour and we operate seven days a week from 7 pm to 1 am. We can walk anyone home during that time. Say someone has a night class and they don't want to walk them alone, they can request a walk ahead of time or just call in and we'll send off walkers with flashlights and walkie-talkies. Our services are to make sure everyone gets a safe walk home.
Why did you become involved with SWHAT?
I got involved in SWHAT in my second year in the winter semester. I applied to be a walker. I started in that semester and I thought it was just a really great community. All the [executive members] and other walkers are all really nice. It was also just a really nice space to go in the evenings, just to play board games or work while being there to bring safety to the community. Then, in my third year, I saw the opportunity to apply to be an exec. I thought the service that SWHAT provides was really important, especially because there have been some instances on or near campus that have affected the safety of McMaster students. It'd be really important to help provide a sense of overall safety and wellness to my classmates and other people in the McMaster community.
Some students are worried that they are too awkward or that it will be weird to have two strangers walking home with them. What do you have to say about that?
I think that can definitely be a hesitation for a lot of people to start using SWHAT. You might think: "I don't know if it'll be convenient. It'll be awkward." But we can promise you that we'll try to match your energy. If you prefer a quiet walk, we can join you on a quiet walk. But if you would like a conversation, we have two friendly and welcoming volunteers that can provide that for you on your walk home.
"I think that can definitely be a hesitation for a lot of people to start using SWHAT. You might think: "I don't know if it'll be convenient. It'll be awkward." But we can promise you that we'll try to match your energy. If you prefer a quiet walk, we can join you on a quiet walk. But if you would like a conversation, we have two friendly and welcoming volunteers that can provide that for you on your walk home."
Celina Ruan
We've had walks from campus to Shoppers Drug Mart, anywhere on campus or one of our most frequent requests is to parking lot M. I think some of the most common misconceptions are how many times you can use it. We are a free service and there is no limit to how many times you can request a walk. Our aim is just to provide campus safety.
How would a student book a SWHAT walk?
The usual process from start to finish on the SWHAT walk is pretty straightforward. So we get some requests using our Microsoft Teams form. So that can be booked ahead of time but a lot of our requests come from calls during our operating hours. You can call our dispatcher and we'll take down your name, time, location and even the gender of your choice for the walkers.
Any other comments?
Just don't be afraid to request a walk. Our service is there just so you can use it. We're active seven days a week and we're more than happy to provide a walk. Later in the fall semester, we'll be having an event called the Walkathon. For one month, we will select a charity or a nonprofit organization. For every walk that is requested, we will be giving $1 to that charity. If you're looking to walk somewhere and would like a partner, call SWHAT!
C/O Zeinab Khawaja
Health Promoter Zeinab Khawaja on peer support and healing through community
The Silhouette sat down with McMaster University alumna and Health Promoter at the Student Wellness Centre Zeinab Khawaja to discuss her work in mental health, student support and the power of sharing stories with a community.
Born in Pakistan and raised mostly in Kuwait, Khawaja moved to Canada for university in 2013 to pursue a bachelor of health sciences at McMaster University. At the time, her goal was to follow her father’s footsteps and pursue medical school. However, she soon realized the pressure and competition involved in getting into one did not align with her values and interests.
Instead, with guidance and mentorship from her facilitator and instructor in the program, Khawaja discovered her passion for mental health. Her experiences volunteering with the McMaster Students Union Peer Support Line also reaffirmed her desire to work in the field of mental health and mental well-being.
The MSU Peer Support Line is no longer in operation. However, it used to serve as a help call and chat line for students to speak with trained student volunteers. The experience taught Khawaja about how to respond to disclosures and the immense difference validation and sharing stories can make, especially in a safe space with people with shared experiences.
“It was actually really powerful for me to be on the other end, whether I was answering those calls or debriefing with other volunteers, just to realize how many students are feeling lonely, overwhelmed and not good enough and recognizing how common that is. But we all think it’s just us and realizing this was life changing for me,”
Zeinab Khawaja
In her current position as a Health Promoter, Khawaja facilitates drop-in groups for students with various experiences. They include Stress Less, which explores stress and anxiety and Meet Your Neighbours which helps connect international McMaster students.
Embracing Gender Diversity is one the latest groups she is co-facilitating with Simone Gomez, a counselor specializing in gender-affirming care. It is running from Jan. 24 to Apr. 4 in a biweekly Zoom format and aims to explore gender identity and connect gender-diverse and gender-questioning individuals.
Khawaja herself identifies as queer and has been exploring and questioning her own gender identity for some time so she was excited to facilitate conversation on gender and sexuality through the SWC.
“Something that came up from conversations with counselors who work with gender diverse folks as well as friends, my own lived experiences and talking to students in different capacities was this need for a space where you can explore certain concepts and experiences and just make connections with other gender diverse folks,” said Khawaja.
Embracing Gender Diversity came about in response to the fact many folks find it difficult to meet others, especially during the pandemic. However, even prior to the pandemic, Khawaja recognized many people felt intimidated to walk into a space or reach out. Many also struggled to make connections with other queer and gender diverse folks.
In the first Embracing Gender Diversity session on Jan. 24, the group discussed navigating labels and pronouns and the pressure many feel to have their labels and pronouns all figured out before sharing them with others.
“That’s a common feeling a lot of folks, as well as myself, have experienced and so we unpacked that a little bit and realized maybe that’s not necessary. It’s okay to give people draft versions of our progress and have people join us on that journey rather than feeling like I need to have it polished before I can bring my friends and community in,”
Zeinab Khawaja
In the upcoming weeks, conversation will focus on body image and gender expression, romantic relationships, family and society, self-compassion and vulnerability and resilience, among others. All humans need connection and the sessions aim to promote healing and empowerment through these confidential, safe space discussions.
“We are social creatures . . . We heal through community. We heal through feeling not alone in our problems and struggles. When you feel like it’s me versus the world and it’s the weight of the world on my shoulders and I’m solely responsible for making sure everything is okay, that’s immensely distressing and sometimes even just having people we can confide our stressors in can be hugely healing,” explained Khawaja.
Connection is extremely powerful. The impact of knowing you are not alone and being able to relate feelings and similar experiences with others is profound.
“Recognizing that other people have the same struggles, that I’m not alone, I’m not weird for feeling this, there is nothing wrong with me or bad about me or broken about me for struggling with this or not being sure about this and realizing there’s other people who have similar experiences you can connect to is so powerful for folks, especially young people and students,” said Khawaja.
Registration and additional information about the virtual sessions facilitated by Khawaja can be found on the SWC website. Additionally, you can learn more about Khawaja and her story of finding courage to reach out for support in her Bounce at McMaster episode.
C/O Emily Underworld, Unsplash
Do 24 hours truly suffice for such a complex topic?
On Oct. 10, 1992, Global Mental Health Day was introduced to the world. The day aims to bring attention to mental health and educate the public. Corporations, groups and the general public try their best to open as many discussions about mental health as they can.
However, this day dedicated to the conversation that pertains to mental health is a widely debated topic. Amelia J. Joseph, one of McMaster University’s associate professors in the School of Social Work, tweeted about this day. Joseph questioned whether or not a single day in itself can truly make the difference it hopes to achieve.
Zeinab Khawaja, a health promotor at the McMaster Student Wellness Centre, described how the SWC views Mental Health Day and how it ties into their work.
“I think any opportunity that highlights mental health [is] a good thing to have, but for [SWC], it is a year-round thing where we are trying to educate people around different mental health and well-being topics . . . It is something we are focusing on all the time, so Mental Health Day is just one extra day where, maybe, more people are talking about it,” explained Khawaja.
Khawaja spoke about how extending conversations pertaining to mental health beyond one day can come from the little things.
“For me, it is small things, like being honest when someone asks you how you are doing. Checking in on your friends, being vulnerable and taking risks. Sometimes it is sharing what you are struggling with instead of pretending you are not or that you shouldn’t be. I think the more people who take that little bit of a risk to acknowledge what’s going on with themselves, the less stigmatized it gets,” said Khawaja.
Though the SWC offers opportunities for communication, many students often find that when they do try to reach out they are left more confused than when they had started.
Anisah Ali, a second-year health and society student with a mental health specialization, spoke about their own experiences with mental health.
“As I’ve grown older, Mental Health Day is still important in terms of destigmatizing mental health in general, but I don’t think it creates sufficient change for those that do experience mental health issues,” said Ali.
Ali is one student that has experience using SWC resources.
“I went to them for help and they were nice in terms of hearing me out which helps because someone was there to listen. They would provide me tips on anxiety, for example, but it wasn’t sufficient enough in terms of fundamental changes to handle these things better in your life,” explained Ali.
Lucas Mei, a second-year linguistics student, also accessed SWC’s counselling service. When Mei called the SWC seeking immediate help, the SWC presented him with times to speak with a counsellor that were weeks or months away. Mei explained that the experience was frustrating so he ended up not booking an appointment at all.
“I ended up hanging up the phone because that was ridiculous,” said Mei.
Mei added that there was no follow-up from anyone in SWC after the phone call. Though he was disappointed with the way it was all handled, he was aware it was because of the shortage of counsellors for this particular service.
“They could look for more openings. They are a prestigious university in our country. I feel like if they wanted counsellors and if they actively were searching for improvements in their mental health department, then I feel like they could. But to them, it just isn’t a priority,”
Lucas mei
Abrar Khan, a second-year in electrical engineering, also had difficulty finding mental health resources while studying from out of the country. For Khan, it wasn’t clear where he could access resources or who he was supposed to contact.
Unfortunately, Khan said that he did not end up receiving the help he needed. Khan believes resources like these should be attached to more student familiar sites such as Mosaic.
Brenda and Cinthiya, co-presidents of MSU COPE, a student mental health initiative, talked about how vital it is to keep the conversation going beyond just a single day.
“We all need time to take a step back and look at where we are, so [Mental Health Day] gives a specific day to tune into ourselves. The landscape is constantly changing and it’s a reminder of where we are and what we have to do to get to where we want to be,” said Brenda.
“It is important to acknowledge that just because it’s Mental Health Day doesn’t mean it is the only time to acknowledge mental health,” explained Cinthiya.
Anika Anand, Director of MSU’s Student Health Education Center, also shared similar sentiments in terms of Mental Health Day and its effectiveness. She added that institutions, like McMaster, can foster a more open environment.
“Bell is notorious for having this yearly ‘Let’s talk day’ but their working conditions are also notorious for being extremely toxic and unhealthy for their workers. So I look at, not necessarily McMaster, but the McMaster Student Union and I look at the way they are treating their part-time managers, who are running each of these student-run clubs. The work environment is completely toxic and I think that if you’re going to talk about mental health on Mental Health Day, you have an inherent responsibility to start working actively to make your organizations have an environment in which that is even possible,” explained Anand.
The discussion of academics and the culture it breeds came into the discussion as well.
“I think that professors need access to adequate training, not necessarily to treat mental health problems because they are not health care professionals or crisis responders, but they are people who are trusted, or at least they are supposed to be,” said Anand.
Anand added that there is a disconnect between the accommodations provided by the Student Accessibility Services and how different professors handle students requesting accommodations.
“It needs to be more connected. So that we build a sense of community because, as we all know, community connections lead to better mental wellness,” explained Anand.
Mental health is a topic that affects each and every single person differently. Though a day like this may be vital to opening the door to deeper conversations, continuing them everyday is what can truly create the difference.
By Mads Clement, Contributor
cw: mental health, suicide
In 2018, the Student Representative Assembly voted to rescind the Peer Support Line (PSL), an anonymous hotline that existed to support students and their mental health.
PSL offered students a place to chat with another student trained in peer support about difficulties that they were experiencing. These challenges could range from relationship issues to academic problems.
According to a former vice president (administration) of the McMaster Students Union, the main reason the PSL was rescinded was because it received too many “crisis calls”, which posed a liability to all parties involved. Given student staff were not trained in crisis management or how to address calls with students experiencing suicidal ideation, this is a reasonable concern.
WGEN is a peer support and community building space on the second floor of the student centre.
However, closing a mental health-based service has had negative impacts on the student body. We have lost one more resource on our already very small list of mental health resources. Anonymous peer support is extremely valuable. These services can be accessed without the fear of your name being officially attached to your mental health issues and because peers can relate to you on levels that adult therapists often cannot. Having someone who can relate to you without worrying about whether you will be institutionalized is an important facet of mental health care.
For these reasons and many others, students were outraged by the closing of PSL. We took to Twitter and Facebook, asking for answers as to why such a valuable service would be rescinded. It’s hard to find mental health care on campus, and reducing our options makes it even harder.
I actually received a reply from a member of the SRA to my outraged tweets where they wrote; “actually, there are 4 new counsellors that have been added to increase 4,000 hours of counselling to decrease the waiting time that students face when accessing the Student Wellness Centre.”
There are three main reasons why this resolution is an issue.
Problem number one: as mentioned above, going to a therapist is not the ideal option for everyone, as some students are likely to have minimal shared experiences with therapists. This especially applies to marginalized folks; patients of colour are less likely to find a racialized therapist that understands the impacts of systemic racism on their mental health. 2SLGBTQ+ students face a similar struggle when dealing with cisgender, heterosexual therapists. The same can be said of various other marginalized identities.
The second problem is that four more therapists isn’t enough. Ask anyone who goes to therapy at the SWC about how long they wait for appointments. In the majority of cases, there’s a two week to one month gap in between appointments. This is not adequate. On top of that, the therapists and counsellors are so swamped with students that they rarely have time to dedicate care to their patients beyond a surface level interaction. Mental health problems often run a lot deeper than what therapists are able to deal with because of their volume of patients.
Since there are many students floundering for mental health care outside of the SWC and PSL, more pressure has been put on the MSU peer support services: Women and Gender Equity Network, the Pride Community Centre, Student Health Education Centre and Maccess. These services, like PSL, are run by students who have entry level peer support training and are not compensated for their work. They are not equipped to handle the volume of students coming to them for help, let alone the degree of mental distress some of their space users are in. These students are not trained therapists.
Additionally, the majority of students that volunteer for these services are marginalized, which leads to the issue of marginalized students taking on all the mental health work on campus. These students, because of the pressures in their own lives and the added pressures of dealing with the mental health crises of others that they can’t always handle, often develop their own mental health problems and also need support or therapy. This system is unbalanced and unsustainable.
We need a balance of both therapists and peer support services. Therapists can provide specialized care to those who need it, but they are at capacity at McMaster University right now. We need more therapists; specifically therapists who have experiences with marginalization. It’s super weird talking about institutionalized transphobia with a cisgender, heterosexual person. This needs to change.
In addition, the MSU peer support services need more funding and volunteers should be compensated for their work. They put hours of unpaid labour into an unforgiving system that does not support them.
McMaster needs to rework its mental health support systems, and it needs to do this as urgently as possible. Everyone suffers when mental health services are limited, not just mentally ill folks.
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By Kian Yousefi Kousha
All through summer, I was thinking about my transition to McMaster University. I thought about meeting people, finding friends, learning lessons and getting advice. Welcome Week painted all of my thoughts with a colour of reality. It started with hearing customized chants in the move-in day and it ended with jumping up and down at Majid Jordan’s concert.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnFRDdOhTS7/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Between the start and the end, there was lots of middle, which were filled with valuable lessons. With that said, Welcome Week would not be alive without its empathetic, energetic and earnest representatives who were the authors of those valuable lessons. For instance, most of them highlighted the significance of getting involved with the McMaster community. On the other hand, I was told that being a student should always be my first priority during my time at university. In addition, the sessions held by the Student Success Centre taught me that asking for help does not signify weakness. Moreover, it was mentioned that students ought to use all the resources available so that they can get the most out of their time at McMaster University.
To name a few, I was introduced to the Student Wellness Centre and the Student Health Education Centre, which their main purpose is to become an oasis for students during any physical or mental illnesses.
Some outdoor yoga for the last weeks of summer! 🧘♀️🧘♂️ https://t.co/ZvLzKYYBMd
— Student Wellness (@McMasterSWC) September 4, 2018
Equally important, I believe that Welcome Week was the most successful in helping students like me to feel less homesick. As an only child, I could never imagine that I would feel welcome in any other place except my own home. Nevertheless, Welcome Week taught me and all of its participants that home is not a place. It is a feeling that stems from love, friendship and respect. This happened through a myriad of icebreaker events such as Mac connector and Faculty Fusion, which created a sense of belonging between the first years as they felt a part of the 2022 family.
After all, classes have started and all first years have officially become a Marauder. The events of Welcome Week have most certainly prepared students for their first year and eased their transition from their high school or home country to McMaster University. Now it is the time for the students to utilize their learned lessons as a means to success so that we all can proudly say: one, we are from Mac, two, a little bit louder, three, I still can’t hear you, four more more more.
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By: Kamila Matyslakiewics
McMaster University boasts commitment to mental health and well-being and claims to prioritize these services for students.
But what is really happening on the front lines? What is the actual student experience of trying to access counselling services at McMaster?
Mental health services for students are inadequate at McMaster University.
When trying to get access to services on campus, students can expect to experience wait times of a couple of weeks or more between appointments. This is unacceptable and needs to be addressed.
For the students who have the courage to come forward and seek counselling, they are prone to the possibility of being told that resources are stretched thin and that their needs can be left unaccommodated.
There are several reasons as to why this could be the case.
A simple solution to the lack of resources and the ridiculous wait times that students experience could be as simple as hiring more counsellors to meet the need of students or introducing new specialized services to give students more direction in choosing where to invest their wait time.
Generally, when seeking an appointment, students can expect to receive a consultation appointment the same day and they are assigned a counsellor.
This is the way things should run, but this is often not the case.
When trying to get access to services on campus, students can expect to experience wait times of a couple of weeks or more between appointments.
The real issue comes when student requests to book regular, weekly appointments with a counsellor. The wait times between appointments are usually a few weeks.
In the life of a struggling student, there are so many things that can happen in the span of a few weeks and the consequences of this wait time could be a detrimental to one’s health.
In order to address their concerns, the students that are coming forward and seeking help need consistent, weekly sessions to have the chance to be heard so that they can begin understanding their concerns and developing strategies and solutions for to address their concerns.
In my personal experience, I sought counselling through the McMaster University Wellness Centrr. After my first appointment, I had a wait time of three weeks for the next appointment.
The day before the second appointment, I phoned the Wellness Centre to confirm the time of the appointment. Later that same day, I received a voicemail stating that the appointment had been cancelled because the counselor was going to be away.
To think that if it had been me that cancelled the appointment in short notice, I would have been hit with a $50 fine is an upsetting reality in addition to the lack of follow up about scheduling another appointment. Given that my total time between appointments added up to five weeks, this experience was more than frustrating.
I’m not the only student who has felt like they were slipping through the cracks of the system after having the courage to reach out and seek help. This is unacceptable at such a large, renowned educational institution like McMaster University that students and parents depend on for well-being.
Each year during the MSU presidential elections, most campaigns have some mental health platform promising to improve services and hire more counselors.
And yet, action generally ends at hash tags, buzzwords and expressing sentiments about the importance of mental health awareness.
These are important first steps and are necessary to help end the stigma surrounding mental health, but they’re not enough to directly meet the needs of students.
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