Question: I am worried about if the counselling sessions are worth it or not because I do not want to open up completely to a stranger and they werent even helpful. This has happened all throughout my high school life and I dont want it to happen in uni.

Response:

It can be challenging to take that step and seek counselling. If you then open up and find you are not helped in the way you had hoped, it is very discouraging. So, considering your experience, I am sorry this happened and I can appreciate your hesitation.

Some students have told me that the counselling they experienced at Student Counselling Services was very different than what they got in high school. One possible contributing factor is that school counsellors do not always have the kind of time and training required to offer the counselling that students are seeking. I can tell you that all counsellors at MRU are registered professionals (either registered psychologists or registered social workers trained in psychosocial interventions) and we offer short-term counselling to support students in their personal and academic success. The other contributing factor may be that students have grown a lot since they sought counselling in high school. As an adult, you may have more clear goals for counselling and can engage in a different way in the process than you were able to as a teen.

If you try counselling at MRU it will likely be different because of these factors. However, it does not mean that counselling will be exactly what you want in the first session. It might very well be amazing and you will feel relief and hope. You might walk away with a bit of insight, a strategy for coping, and feel curious about next steps. You might reach the end of the session and you and your counsellor might just have just gotten to the point where you both understand what your goals are for counselling, and you have only the very beginnings of a plan for change. You might just have had the chance to share your story and you feel tired and emotional after the session. So a first session can be quite different depending on the student, the concern, the counsellor, and the extent to which you can build a connection and working relationship. Sometimes that working relationship and connection is quick to bloom, sometimes it takes longer, sometimes people find another counsellor is a better match.

Despite the different possible outcomes noted above, I hope that you will feel listened to and that you will gain some clarity around the changes you are looking for.

I hope this information helps you to take another chance at finding the help you are hoping for.

All the best,

Mirjam Knapik, Ph.D., R. Psych.

Hello,

Thanks for submitting the first question of the new academic year. It’s a great one, too, because the term counselling is being used so broadly now to mean support for many of life’s demands and challenges. Likewise, therapy can refer to treatment and relief of both physical and mental pain, and can be medically or developmentally oriented. So it has become confusing for many people seeking help. The short answer is this: yes, we offer individual and group therapy/counselling sessions as well as workshops that increase students’ capacity for well-being. It is free and confidential.

In case you are interested in more of an explanation: When making the decision about seeking help, it is often more useful to consider the training and credentials of the person whose support you are seeking, and then find out what kind of service that person, or the work setting they are in, offers users. MRU Student Counselling Services has registered psychologists and social workers with a clinical designation,  meaning they are trained to provide support for people with mental health concerns and they have met the registration requirements for their regulated profession in Alberta.

This support can include working with people who have a diagnosis of a mental illness, those who are struggling with their mental health and well-being but who don’t have a diagnosis, and it can include helping people through experiences of loss, trauma, identity questions, life skills, interpersonal challenges, barriers to academic success, career and life decisions, and so on.

MRU Student Counselling Services provides brief therapy. This is in consideration of both our resources and linking students to services that best their needs. If you are hurting, struggling in some areas of your life, or interested in personal growth, please attend at our walk-in block of sessions every afternoon between 1 and 4 pm, book an appointment, or join us for our workshops and webinars (live chat workshops online that you can do from home in the evening). In a one-on-one appointment, you and your counsellor can discuss how to best meet your needs.

All the best for the coming academic year,

Mirjam Knapik, Ph.D., Registered Psychologist

Question: It seems almost impossible to get an appointment with a consistent counsellor in a timely manner.  Appointments every 1-1 1/2 months seems like an excessive time to wait. What is being done to lessen the wait time for students?

I’ve had to wait over a month to see my regular counsellor.  I was doing well till I couldn’t see her on a regular basis anymore.  My mental health has been declining very rapidly since I last saw her.  Will MRU be hiring more counsellors? When will the problem of excessive appointment wait times be fixed?

Your questions about Student Counselling capacity to serve MRU students is an ongoing concern for us. We are always reviewing demands and our resource and try to discover the best way to manage these. For example, we have instituted walk-ins to allow for timely access, and this has helped students to get in close to the time they feel the need to connect with a counsellor.  It has also resulted in fewer empty appointment spots. When students don’t show for their appointment, we are able to move those attending walk-in afternoons, into these openings. However, the problem you are identifying is the long wait between appointments for ongoing counselling.

First, I want to say that I am sorry to hear your mental health deteriorated between your sessions.  Although it is possible for students to see their own counsellor when the counsellor is doing the walk-in blocks (this would be for briefer check-ins)  not all counsellors do these walk-in sessions. So perhaps this was the case for your counsellor and it is not ideal, as you point out, to then see a different counsellor.  I hope you will discuss this issue of timing of appointments with your counsellor so that you can look at additional options and problem solve around this issue. 

For example, an excellent option between appointments are groups and workshops. We are increasing the number of ongoing support groups in order to meet the increasing demand. Some students initially resist this but I can tell you that many students get more benefit from being part of an ongoing counsellor-led support group in between sessions, than they would get from working more frequently with their counsellor one-on-one. We have a group for Indigenous women, one for students on the Autism Spectrum, and two groups going for students struggling with anxiety. Learning together about mental health issues, building skills and improving resilience, mutual support, and feeling less alone are some of the potential outcomes from joining such a group. More will be developed as students learn about the benefit of support groups and agree to attend, and next year there will be an exciting new resilience building program for struggling students that is being led by the Office of Student Success and that will include counsellors and learning strategists. 

Another consideration is that we are a brief counselling service. Sometimes students indicate their doctor recommended weekly sessions, and we are unable to meet this demand. In this case it is important to discuss other options in the community. The student and counsellor can work this out. We will continue to support this student until they are connected with the right resource. Students may also be referred to the mental health nurses to help them access additional resources.

In terms of our resources, they have been challenged for various reasons. However, I’m happy to report we have been trying to hire all semester and recently found a successful candidate. So I’ll announce here that Jennifer Hoy is joining our team part-time. However, we also recently learned that one of our counsellors has decided to retire in December. We are happy for her and will celebrate such milestones. It also means we are again searching for Registered Psychologist or Registered Social Workers (spread the word!).

I thank you for your question. I hope that it clarified some challenges and that it encourages others to talk to their counsellor about what is and is not working for them in counselling. I would be happy to meet with anyone in person as well, to hear how our service could be improved, within the limits of our resources. The demand for counselling is unlikely to go down and our resources are unlikely to increase. We recognize that more frequent follow ups between appointments is important for many students. So we will continue to consult students, look at how other universities are handling the demand, and do the best we can with the resources we have both on and off-campus.

All the best,

Mirjam Knapik, Ph.D., R. Psych.