A Survey of Mental Health Services at Post-Secondary Institutions in Alberta

Heck, Emma; Jaworska, Natalia; DeSomma, Elisea; Dhoopar, Arjun Sunny; MacMaster, Frank P.; Dewey, Deborah; MacQueen, Glenda

doi:10.1177/070674371405900504

Cited by 31 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Canadian post-secondary institutions are highly aware of the need to support and promote student resilience, and most offer a range of counselling services and other mental health programming to accomplish this goal (Heck et al, 2014). Despite the clear need and presence of on-campus mental health services, however, many students fail to utilize them (Eisenberg, Golberstein, & Gollust, 2007).…”

Section: Promoting Mental Health Literacy In Post-secondary Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The provision of on-campus mental health services that target factors empirically related to service access and utilization, as well as the need to improve mental health itself is the responsibility of the institution. This is evidenced by the fact that every post-secondary institution in Alberta offers some form of mental health support (Heck et al, 2014). These services are often available to all students attending the institution, but university administration face different challenges and may have additional policies and procedures for students who attend the institution and live on-campus.…”

Section: The Counsellor-in-residence Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Heck et al (2014), program evaluations of post-secondary mental health services are undertaken infrequently, despite their important role in informing service design, implementation, and effectiveness. To date, no formal evaluations of the CIR program have been carried out at the U of C and thus, the level of mental health literacy and resilience among residence-based students remains unknown to program developers and upper administration.…”

Section: Need For the Current Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For most students, the time spent at post-secondary institutions is embodied by new friendships, fond memories, and a sense of accomplishment. For other students, however, the time spent at post-secondary institutions is characterized by feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation (American College Health Association [ACHA], 2013; Heck et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introduction Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the average age of students attending post-secondary institutions in Canada is 23, with approximately 78% of students being between the ages of 18 and 24 (ACHA, 2013). Evidently, the combination of age-related risk factors and the challenges posed by the university environment highlight the need for campus-based services that target mental health awareness, promotion, and help-seeking in Canadian post-secondary institutions (Heck et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introduction Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Counsellor-in-Residence: Evaluation of a Residence-Based Initiative to Promote Student Mental Health

Beks

Cairns

Smygwaty

et al. 2019

cjhe

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Many universities have implemented campus-based initiatives addressing students’ mental health with the goal of promoting well-being. One such initiative is the newly developed Counsellor-in-Residence (CIR) program at the University of Calgary, which targets students’ mental health by providing residence-based counselling services and mental health programming. In this process evaluation, students completed three waves of data collection conducted over the academic year. Each wave measured students’ mental health literacy, using the Mental Health Literacy Scale (O’Connor & Casey, 2015), and resiliency, using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-25 (Connor & Davidson, 2003). Males reported lower mental health literacy than females (p < .001), and international students reported lower mental health literacy than domestic students (p < .001). No differences in resilience levels were found between groups. These findings suggest that male and international students experience additional barriers to accessing campus-based mental health services. Implications for residence-based mental health programming that target male and international students are discussed.

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Section: Promoting Mental Health Literacy In Post-secondary Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Counsellor-in-residence Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Need For the Current Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Counsellor-in-Residence: Evaluation of a Residence-Based Initiative to Promote Student Mental Health

Beks

Cairns

Smygwaty

et al. 2019

cjhe

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Post‐secondary student transitions and mental health: Literature review and synthesis

Curtis

Bearden

Turner

2023

New Drctns Hghr Edu

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Waning mental health and resilience in the postsecondary student population is a growing concern across North American institutions, these concerns have only been compounded further by the added stressors associated with the COVID 19 pandemic. Transitioning into post-secondary brings with it a variety of interpersonal and intrapersonal challenges that often reciprocally influence each other (e.g., moving away from existing social support networks, forming new relationships, increased responsibility, and financial independence, increased academic expectations, etc.). Successful adaptation to such challenges is equally influenced by demographic (e.g., impacts of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status) and institutional factors (e.g., the provision and efficacy of health-related services and programming on campus). A thorough literature review and synthesis was conducted examining post-secondary student mental health. Attention was given to post-secondary mental health, help seeking, demographic, and institutional characteristics. The scope of this literature review focused on the North American context. Future directions for research and practice are drawn from the findings. Institutions need to focus on initiatives intended to improve campus climate and service utilization amongst their students. Health care providers, administrators, and educators are challenged to provide evidence-based, health-related services that meet the unique needs of their student population.

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Mental health and wellness in Canadian dental schools: Findings from a national study

Maragha

Donnelly

Schuetz

et al. 2021

Journal of Dental Education

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To survey the mental health and wellbeing content in the curricula, services, and activities of the 10 Canadian dental schools, and to explore the specifics of this area in the Faculty of Dentistry (FoD) at The University of British Columbia (UBC). Methods: An electronic survey consisted of four major categories: curricular activities and services, structural approaches, infrastructural approaches, and evaluation methods, was distributed to all Canadian dental schools. A situational analysis was conducted at UBC's FoD via document appraisal and key informants' exploratory interviews. Results: Eight dental schools responded to the survey showing that didactic sessions being the pedagogical method to deliver resilience content. None of the responding schools reported formally evaluating their mental health content. Through situational analysis, a relational map that identified four major areas contributing to students' mental health at UBC's FoD was generated which includes four major aspects: (1) curricular content on mental health, (2) informal wellbeing and mental health networks, (3) protective, and (4) risk factors influencing students' mental health. Conclusions: As this study described the mental health and wellbeing activities, services, and curricular content across multiple Canadian dental schools, the diverse approaches each school adopted and how personal and professional aspects of students' lives being attempted to be addressed are a critical starting point to engage educators in dentistry. The situational analysis outcome, where a detailed description of the mental health situation at UBC's FoD, can be used to guide in-depth studies of the area of wellbeing at other dental schools.

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A Survey of Mental Health Services at Post-Secondary Institutions in Alberta

Abstract: These findings highlight the need for post-secondary institutions in Alberta, and by extension in Canada, to develop and institute a comprehensive strategy to evaluate and optimize the delivery of mental health initiatives and services.

Cited by 31 publications

References 10 publications

Counsellor-in-Residence: Evaluation of a Residence-Based Initiative to Promote Student Mental Health

Counsellor-in-Residence: Evaluation of a Residence-Based Initiative to Promote Student Mental Health

Post‐secondary student transitions and mental health: Literature review and synthesis

Mental health and wellness in Canadian dental schools: Findings from a national study

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