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Self-harm stats put campuses in the red

» Over six per cent of post- secondary students self-harm, says a new report

Alexis Stockford
The Omega

Mc health professionals
are alarmed over self-
harm on campus after a recent

of post-secondary students had
intentionally hurt themselves
in the last year and up to 20 per
cent had done so at some point
in their lives.

“The statistic is unsettling,”
said Cliff Robinson, head of
counselling at Thompson Rivers
Univeristy (TRU). “But the
thing that’s most sad for me is
that for some people it’s easier
to [hurt themselves] than it is
to talk about their own mental
health condition, and that
speaks to stigma about mental
health and mental illness.”

Released by the Mental
Health Commission of Canada
(MHCC) the week of January
26, the report measured 13
indicators of Canadian mental
health, including self-harm
among college students. Other
indicators include suicide
rates, anxiety among school-
aged youth, anxiety or mood
disorders in seniors, and
hospital readmissions within 30
days due to mental illness.

Self-harm among post-
secondary students was one of

: four indicators marked red for

“significant concerns.” Another

: eight came in yellow for “some

: concerns” or uncertain results.

: Only one indicator measured in
: the green.

report revealed that 6.6 percent :
: what the MHCC calls the “most
: comprehensive set of indicators :
: for mental health illness

: in Canada,” measuring 63

: different indicators of mental
: illness. Results on the other 50
: indicators will be released in

: April.

: Self-harm and TRU

: In many cases, Robinson

: said, students who self-harm

: began in high school and the

: behaviour carried over when

: they entered university. The

: Canadian Mental Health

: Association has estimated one
: to four per cent of all people in
: BC self-harm and 14 to 39 per

: cent of those are adolescents.

The report is part one of

“It’s generally a period of

life where emotions are high,”
: said Kerri McLean, manager for
: Mental Health and Substance
: Use Services. “They’re intense

.. [think as a result of that

: individuals aren’t quite sure or

: don’t have the healthy coping
strategies that older adults may
: have if they’re in a more secure,
stable environment.”

Robinson said TRU

: counselling does see a number
: of self-harm cases but not

: enough to be consistent with =:
: the MHCC report. For him, that :
: raises concern that there may
: be TRU students who are self-
: harming but have not reached

out for counselling.
About 10 per cent of

: students use TRU’s counselling
: service and about two-thirds of
: that workload is due to student
: mental health conditions.

: Dealing with stigma

: According to Robinson, only a
: small percentage of self-harm
: cases are actually suicidal.

: People may also self-harm as

: away to deal with personal

: upheaval, anxiety, depression,
: or emotional distress. He also
: said not everyone who admits
: to self-harm is hospitalized.

“We're not going to

overreact on your behalf,”

: Robinson said. “Our job is to

: figure out what it’s going to take
: for you to deal with whatever

; mental health thing you've got

: going on, and ina vast majority
: of cases, you're going to come

: in and talk to us and [the rest of :
the time] it’s business as usual.”

Other options available

from TRU counselling include:
; assessment by the campus

: doctor, counselling sessions or
: day-to-day interventions such
: as interactions with professors
: or extracurricular clubs.

If intervention is necessary,

: students may be referred to

: Interior Health. According

: to McLean, each patient is

: assessed by symptoms, mental
: health history, and history of

: abuse (substance or otherwise)
: or trauma. Depending on

: that assessment, patients are:
: streamed to outpatient services, :
: single and group therapy, crisis
: intervention, connection toa

: life-skills manager, or longterm
: care.

“They may have self-

: harming behaviours, but you

: need to have a much fuller

: understanding of what might
: be driving those behaviours

: and then refer them properly,”
: McLean said.

She added that Mental

Health and Substance

: Use Services has a unique

: partnership with the university.
: TRU is one of the few campuses : . » :
: : : to my own clients,” he said.
: to havea regional health worker :

: attached to the counselling

: department. McLean said in

: cases where intervention might
: be needed, the worker can

; then streamline the referral to

: Interior Health.

   

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Image by Alexis Stockford, The Omega

Long road ahead

: Robinson said he is excited to
: read the full report come April,
: but knows it will highlight how
: much work is ahead for mental
: health professionals like him.

“We will no longer have

: the excuse of ‘we didn’t know,
: or that excuse that I often
? use, which is ‘I can only speak

: “Now I kind of know what my

: clients are saying in the context
: of people in general, and

: we've got to put some money

: and resources and strategic

: planning into where the

: problems are.”

 

Did you know: Douglas Counseling Services

Angela Espinoza
News Editor

Mi news
@theotherpress.ca

 

“Did you know?” informs
Douglas students about
college services. If you’re part
of a campus organization for
students and want to raise
awareness, email us at news@
theotherpress.ca
Da College offers
counselling services that
cover personal counselling,
career counselling, and
education counselling. While
different, each serves the same
purpose of offering help to
students who seek it, whatever
the inquiry might be. “The
intention is that we are to
be of help for students,” said
coordinator Sandi Strate.

“For students it’s not a very
comfortable place to be when
youre not doing well, and our
job is to look at [what] that
student can do and get from

Douglas College what they came processes exist at Douglas

: College, with Strate stating the

”

for.

Strate explained that

: oftentimes, students can feel

: nervous when considering

: counselling for various reasons,
: ranging from insecurities (“Am
: lin the right program?” “Is this
: is the right time for me to be

: in school?”) to concerns over

: confidentiality.

In regard to education,

students are

“We also act as advocates

: for students when there’s been
: some kind of disagreement

: around a policy or sometimes

: it involves instructors or grade
: appeals,” said Strate.

Two different appeal

: policy on grade appeals is likely
: to change. “When there has

: been a disagreement about a

: grade, students would come...

: and we'd look at the situation.”

: This process involves going over
: the course outline, discussions

: with the instructor in question,
: and analyzing if a better grade:
: : was earned asa result. “Students :
: Strate stated that while students : :
: can visit the counselling centre

: at any time, there are some

: situations in which the college

: will deem that a respective

: student needs counselling

: services. “There is a policy at

: the college where students are

: placed on academic probation

: when their cumulative grade

: point falls below 1.50, and when
: that happens ...
: asked to come see us.”

have to have more than, ‘I don’t

: like my grade, there has to be
: some real grounds for a grade
: appeal.” :
: Plagiarism and cheating are :
: also dealt with when students:
: seek appeals at the college.

As for personal counselling,

: Strate stated, “We see students
: for all kinds of reasons, but ...

: looking at things like anxiety

: and depression tend to be very
: big.” Strate added that issues

: such as anxiety and depression
: could come as a result of many
: causes. Whether the student

: has gone through a breakup, is
: struggling with their grades, or
: has experienced the death of a
: loved one, all are valid reasons
: to be experiencing distress and
: to seek counselling.

Strate also stated that

: counselling is important to

: seek out when anxiety issues

: arise, as they could bean “onset
: of some bigger mental health

: issues.” Many do not begin

: to experience strong signs of

: mental illness until they’ve

: entered their teens and 20s, and :
: Strate added that the recurring
: pressures of school can often

: push undiagnosed students to
: their limit.

“Any time a student needs

: a listening ear, we encourage

 

Image from Thinkstock

: them to come talk to us sooner
: rather than later,” said Strate.

Counselling services are

: offered at the New Westminster
: campus in room 4600 and

: the David Lam campus in

: room A1o50 every Monday to

: Wednesday from 8:30 a.m.

and every Thursday and Friday

: from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The

“support” section of the Douglas

: website also lists numerous
: emergency help lines for after-
: hours services.