Enabling Student Success by Supporting Mental Health

On a day when communities across Canada are talking candidly about mental health, Sheridan College is pleased to highlight...

On a day when communities across Canada are talking candidly about mental health, Sheridan College is pleased to highlight several of its ongoing initiatives aimed at de-stigmatizing mental health diagnoses and helping students to overcome academic, personal or emotional health concerns that can impede their success.

Student Advisement: As students’ first point of contact, Sheridan’s Student Success Officers assist students to adjust to college life and their academic program, access the information they need to make appropriate decisions, and help them connect with internal and external experts who can help them overcome difficulties or concerns.

Individual Counselling: Every day, at each of Sheridan’s three campuses, students can speak in confidence with professional counsellors to discuss issues such as relationships, conflict, anxiety, depression, motivation, life balance or loss of self-esteem. Sessions are solution-based and are conducted in a respectful, sensitive, and non-judgemental environment.

Group Counselling: The Counselling Office also runs a peer mentor program, a mature student group, a learning disabilities group, an athletic stress release group, an anxiety group, an addictions group, a residence outreach and information group, and an Asperger’s group. Through these networks, students can explore and express their experiences, safeguard against delving into social isolation, and seek validation and understanding.

Accessible Learning Services: Students with a documented disability are able to access learning assistance, alternative formats, testing accommodations, peer assistance, and note taking services in order to help them overcome the barriers that otherwise might prevent them from achieving their goals and reaching their full potential.

As one of Canada’s leading postsecondary institutions, Sheridan College is dedicated to the provision of outstanding academic programs and the support of student and graduate success. Recognizing that one in five Ontarians experience a mental health illness in their lifetimes, Sheridan’s ongoing efforts were created to enhance students’ coping skills, help students recognize their strengths, and improve their confidence and self-esteem. By offering a number of avenues to start the conversation, Sheridan strives to normalize the life experience for individuals living with mental health diagnoses and to support any student who requires assistance to overcome life’s challenges.

For more information, please contact:

Christine Szustaczek, Director of Corporate Communications & External Relations
Tel : 905-815-4169 or Email : christine.szustaczek@sheridancollege.ca
Web : Student Services