The Student Wellness Center is more than just a safety net, it's a proactive tool for building resilience and fostering a supportive community
With the increasing emphasis and research on mental health in recent years, the Student Wellness Centre has expanded its role to offer a variety of wellness programs. these programs work to support students at every stage of their wellness journey.
However, many mistakenly view these resources as a “last resort” for severe cases, overlooking the SWC’s primary role as a preventative and ongoing support system.
Balancing overall health can be extremely challenging while actively growing as a student.
Mental health is often neglected at the expense of deadlines and desires like staying up late to scroll on social media. With this neglect comes the misunderstanding that our mental well-being does not need to be consistently worked on.
Similar to how we try to stay physically fit through consistent efforts like working out, students need minimal effort ways to keep their mental needs met. The SWC is an underrated resource of the McMaster Student Union that is there to be part of your university journey.
Misconceptions and stigma around preventative care hinder the SWC’s aim to provide consistent and accessible support for students to thrive. Beyond counselling services, the SWC incorporates diverse therapeutic approaches like psychoeducation to help students manage emotions and stress effectively.
This approach shifts wellness from being something we think about only when we are particularly stressed to a long-term strategy. This can help students build resilience and maintain a balanced life alongside their university coursework.
Such preventative strategies engage students in actively identifying key stressors within their lives and building coping skills to adapt. This can prevent the buildup of challenges that might otherwise lead to burnout or severe stress.
This approach shifts wellness from being a one-time solution to a long-term strategy, helping students build resilience and maintain a balanced life alongside their university coursework.
The SWC’s reach goes beyond traditional mental health therapies, it includes sessions where students discover tools for self-expression and foster a sense of community. This supportive network is designed to empower students in their personal growth and well-being, emphasizing that help is there for everyone, no matter where they are on their journey.
This supportive network is designed to empower students in their personal growth and well-being, emphasizing that help is there for everyone, no matter where they are on their journey.
During the challenging transitions of university life, where students might be far from family and familiar support systems, the SWC is a place that students can turn to. It provides various community platforms for different backgrounds like women of colour and 2SLQBTQ2IA+ folks and works to foster an affirmative space to explore various aspects of your identity.
By engaging with the SWC early, students can build lasting habits that help them balance personal wellness with academic demands. Ultimately, the SWC is there for every student, nurturing a supportive environment where students can learn to thrive both academically and personally.
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.
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.
By: Rida Pasha
It is unsurprising that there is an increase in mental health issues among university students, especially here at McMaster University. Whether it is stress, relationships, family or work, there are numerous factors that can contribute to developing mental health issues.
While professional help is encouraged, such as therapy or counselling, these services can be very expensive for the average student.
Though McMaster prides itself on the mental health resources it provides, such as those at the Student Wellness Centre, it is commonly known that the university has much room for improvement.
One of the ongoing concerns at the SWC is the amount of time it takes to actually see a counsellor.
The lack of counsellors present at McMaster has been an issue for a while and though various students have advocated for the SWC to hire more counsellors in order to meet the demand, it is important that any counsellors hired reflect the student population at McMaster.
The university is home to various groups of people that come from diverse backgrounds and communities. Not only is it important for students to see more representation at the SWC, it is also important to acknowledge that many students feel more comfortable seeking help from counsellors that they can relate to.
For a university that is home to thousands of students of colour and members of the LGBTQA2S+ community, it is essential that the SWC hire more counsellors that are able to relate and provide a sense of understanding to these students’ struggles.
As someone who is an Indian immigrant that grew up in Canada, I personally would feel more prompted to seek counselling if I knew there were Asian professionals that had a similar background to mine.
I would feel more encouraged to discuss details of my life such as my culture and heritage, which is something that my counsellor could likely relate to without misunderstanding.
Additionally, as it can be difficult for international students to adjust to Canadian culture, they may wish to seek counselling. As it stands, there are not many services specified for international students concerning mental health and wellness.
If the SWC were to hire more counsellors aimed at improving the mental health of these international students, more students may be inclined to use their services to improve their mental health and overall experience at McMaster.
According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 34 per cent of Ontario high school students have indicated psychological distress on a moderate to serious level and these levels are only bound to increase during university.
Though McMaster has attempted to provide services aimed at improving mental health and wellness, it is time the university took active change.
It is vital that McMaster acts to not only increase the number of counsellors, but also to increase the diversity of counsellors available for the numerous groups of students who call McMaster home.
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