Between Us/Entres NousFall 2019 Edition

Co-edited by: Paula Desaulniers (Durham College) and Candice Lawrence (Fanshawe College)

Chair’s Report

Submitted by: Maheen Sayal, MSW, RSW, Sheridan College

Hello Everyone!

With another fall semester almost behind us, I hope this newsletter finds you in good spirits and ready for the upcoming holidays to catch up on some well-deserved rest and quality time with friends and family. Fall always reminds of transitions and changes not only in the weather but also of the transitions we as counsellors are presented with in the work we do with our students. The changing landscape of the post-secondary sector and the students we serve can have some challenges but also an opportunity for us to reflect on what changes need to happen in our clinical practice. I am looking forward to our Joint Regional Meeting on December 9 and hope to meet many of you there.

On October 23, I attended the HOSA fall meeting by teleconference. During this meeting, I shared from OCC/ CCCO regarding our planned fall activities, objectives and strategic priorities for 2019-2020, and current themes in college counselling. The following current themes and trends in college counselling were reported to HOSA, discussed in our recent executive meetings and discussed on the OCC/ CCCO list-serve:

Complexity of presenting issues and increase in student crises earlier in the semester and lack of resources in responding as quickly as faculty or staff would like

Difficulties with supporting the unique needs of international students on our campuses especially crises triggered by lack of financial resources

Caseloads/scheduling/room for adequate assessment and follow upMore collaboration with community partners to respond to high risk students

Culturally sensitive practices in working with Indigenous students Increase in students with mental health issues and crises, and corresponding system

delivery response (e.g. short-term solution focused counselling, stepped care model, triaging crisis appointments, same-day appointment models, referrals to the community, suicide risk assessments, Mental Health First Aid/ safeTALK/ ASIST training for staff)

Medical and recreational use of cannabis policies and safe spaces to use

OCC/ CCCO Objectives and Strategic Priorities for 2019-2020:

1. Responding to Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action.

2. Collaborating with other key mental health partners to enhance counselling service provision to students – (e.g. CICMH, CCDI, CACUSS, and Communities of Practice).

3. Sharing knowledge of counselling trends and best practices across the college system to enhance student success.

4. Updating our OCC/CCCO membership directory to reflect credentials (e.g. social workers, psychologists, RP) and specific roles (e.g. personal, accessibility, career, and crisis, group).

5. Providing an opportunity and sharing professional development and networking opportunities as well as rewarding excellence to encourage OCC/ CCCO members to maintain their professional designations and to grow professionally.

6. Ongoing monitoring of financial policies, goals and adjust according to fiscal situations.

Key Issues/ Activities planned by OCC/ CCCO to year-end include:

• OCC/ CCCO hosted a display table/ exhibitor space at CICMH “Whole Campus, Healthy Communities” Conference on October 15 and 16 in Toronto – collaborating with CICMH and sharing of OCC/ CCCO promotional material and resources, particular college counselling programs, services, best practices, research initiatives, groups, resources, etc.

One of our OCC Executive members, Heather Drummond, is a member of the Technical Committee developing the Psychological Health and Safety for Post-Secondary Students. She has provided some guidance, insight and “behind the scenes” information to help us formulate and share our feedback. The call for Public Review was sent out to the

listserve by Heather in September to encourage College Counsellors to give their input to this standard and was made available on our website.

• Joint Regional Meeting (JRM) on Dec. 9/ 19 at College’s Ontario in Toronto – Counsellor Shirley Porter (Fanshawe College) will be facilitating PD on the topic “Treating PTSD: A Compassion-focused CBT approach to treating trauma”. This topic is especially suited to a post-secondary environment because of its applied and contained nature.

• We have transitioned the OCC/ CCCO bank account to Algonquin College where our current treasurer John Muldoon works.

• Registrar Jennifer Babbin has updated the OCC/ CCCO directory, which is accessible on our OCC website: https://occccco.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/occ-ccco-member-directory-2019-20-1.pdf

• Planning for the spring AGM will occur in the New Year as further information comes forward regarding the CACUSS conference in GTA. CCVPS conference will not be held this year as CACUSS is schedule to take place May 31 – June 3, 2020 in Toronto. We are planning to host our AGM during this period in conjunction with CACUSS.

Our May AGM at Mohawk College in Hamilton was a success! We engaged in knowledge exchange where we had presentations on Stepped Care Model. Congratulations to Audrey Rosa (Algonquin College) Michelle McIntosh (Niagara College) and Laraine Hale (Fleming College) for winning the OCC Award of Excellence for Counselling Practice.

We began this fall with a full OCC/ CCCO executive, which included the following members:

Chair - Maheen SayalChair Past- Shawna Bernard Secretary - Greg TaylorWebmaster / Social Media Consultant - Heather Drummond Registrar – Jennifer BabinTreasurer – John MuldoonBetween Us/Entre Nous Editors - Candice Lawrence and Paula Desaulniers HOSA Liaison – Bonnie Lipton-BosProfessional Development Liaisons – Sue Furs and Lavlet FordeNorthern Representative - Darryl MacNeil Eastern Representative – John MuldoonCentral Representative – Alyse NishimuraSouthwestern Representative - Candice Lawrence Indigenous Representative - Jamie Warren Francophone Representative – Katherine Whiteside

Our executive has set the following meeting dates for this year:

- Monday, October 7th – Executive Teleconference - Monday, November 4th – Executive Teleconference - Monday, December 9th – JRM – Colleges Ontario in Toronto – all day- Monday, January 20th – Executive Teleconference- Monday, March 23rd – Executive Teleconference- May 31-June 3rd – OCC AGM at CACUSS conference (Details TBD)- Monday, June 8th – Executive Teleconference

If there are any issues, which you would like brought forward at our executive meetings, please feel free to contact your regional rep or contact me directly. The purpose of OCC-CCCO is to network with our counselling colleagues to better support our professional counselling work with college students. We all do very important work to support the mental health of our students and sometimes it is difficult to have work-life balance but self-care in this line of work is critical and my hope is that you will all continue to find time and ways to make it a priority in your lives. I hope to see many of you at the JRM! If you wish to contact me, please email at maheen.sayal@sheridancollege.ca or call 905-459-7533 ext. 2891.

Wishing you a restful holiday break and a Happy New Year!

Maheen

PLEASE JOIN US – December 9, 2019

OCC/CCDO Joint Regional Meeting and Half-Day Workshop on Treating PTSD: A Compassion Focused CBT Approach,

Presented by: Shirley Porter, Med, RSW, CCC, Fanshawe College

For more information, please visit our Events Page:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/occccco-joint-regional-meeting-tickets-81396766921

Congratulations to Michelle MacIntosh, Niagara College

Winner of the OCC Award of Excellence for Counselling Practice

Awarded at OCC-CCCO AGM in Hamilton, ON

May 13, 2019

Nominators: Jay Burdon, Associate Director, Niagara College

Angela Arsenio, Counsellor, Niagara College

Joanna Cielen, Professor, Niagara College

One of Michelle’s best features is her unconditional positive regard for her student clients. Her belief in their ability to succeed greatly impacts their outlook on their issues. One of her placement students commented about the broad range of therapeutic approaches (empty chair, DBT, solution-focused) that Michelle utilizes and that she never saw a student leave the room without feeling better than when they entered. Because she cherishes her students’ abilities, they share with her their journals, stories and pieces of expressive art, which allows them to be rewarded for being vulnerable and trying something new. She is able to push them to face their fears and to break harmful habits and because of her strong therapeutic alliance with her students, she can always maintain her clinical relationship with them. Because she has nurtured relationships across the college, from administration to faculty, she is able to build circles of care for students who are struggling and cannot advocate for themselves due to the respect she has earned from her colleagues.

Michelle is continuously looking for opportunities to improve our service delivery model. Along with Counsellor Angela Arsenio, Michelle helped develop and deliver a 10-week DBT skills based workshop. During this, and other group exercises, Michelle has shown she can think so quickly on her feet. She is a skilled facilitator she does not need to rely on her notes. She effectively guides the room on a new adventure depending on their interest and feedback. Because of her strength, skill and fearlessness, colleagues look to her as a creative problem solver. She can see solutions and elude others. Michelle is always in command of the room. At the same time, she can identify when she had made an error and is able to face challenging situations with confidence and grace and find ways to make amends.

In addition to the DBT workshop, Michelle co-designed a 14-week elective course with Professor, Joanna Cielen addressing various aspects of mental health and wellness, including principles and practice of mindfulness, meditation, sleep, movement, eating, and more. The course will provide both a theoretical and experiential foundation for cultivating mindfulness in daily life and developing a resilient mindset.

Every semester Michelle is asked to be a guest speaker in a number of different courses at the college and she enthusiastically accepts and delivers some of the most memorable of lectures. Her knowledge base and ability to reach her audience is exceptional. Her approach to teaching is based on the universal design for learning, which allows for flexible and creative learning environments and can accommodate diverse learning styles and needs. This is perhaps why she is so effective in reaching so many students. Professor Joanna Cielen has been a witness to Michelle’s magic on a number of occasions, seeing full engagement of students for up to three hours, not an easy task under the best of circumstances. Her story telling abilities are exceptional, her use of multi-media tools are very effective and relevant but her ability to allow for action and expression is what often leaves students empowered and excited about what they are learning. Inevitably, her use of creative experiential activities allow students to link the theory with their reality and when asked to provide feedback about their experiences in Michelle’s guest speaking classes, it is common to hear the following:

“What a transformative and enjoyable class”

“Tough topic but Michelle made it safe, engaging and empowering” (class on sexual assault and sexual objectification)

“A very enthusiastic and knowledgeable speaker. I loved all the hands on activities”

“She had me focused for the entire three hours, that hasn’t happened for a very long time”

“I felt like my opinion was valued, thank you for hearing my voice”

As a professor Joana has heard a number of her colleagues indicate how fortunate they are to have someone so knowledgeable, skilled in design and delivery of lectures, and perhaps most importantly, someone so willing to step in and share their expertise in a way that motives and inspires. In the end, everyone benefits: the students, the professor, the program, the college. Michelle is a true team player that goes beyond her responsibilities as a counsellor. Someone that is fully devoted to Niagara College students’ success and willing to assist in any way possible.

Michelle is constantly looking for opportunities to improve both professionally and personally. She practices what she preaches. Teaching meditation and mindfulness classes, running, working out, attending yoga classes, practicing healthy eating habits.

Michelle inspires both at work and outside of work. For years, she was a leader in a running program, guiding and inspiring new runners to establish and reach their individual and group goals. She would often share her challenges as a runner and ways to navigate the responsibilities of work, family, and self-care. Currently she trains three times a week in a fitness studio at 6:45 am, before her day at work begins. A few months ago a friend was struggling with getting back to running, so what did Michelle do? She offered to come to the friend’s house early in the morning and help her to run and this occurred during the cold and dark winter months. Regardless of the weather, she would show up, provide support and guidance, and a loving and compassionate ear. A truly exceptional human being!

______________________________________________________________________________

Are You a New Counsellor at Your College?

You may want to check out the OCC/CCDO Website to find out how to become a member and to check out our PD Resources, Counsellor Café, and

Links.

https://occ-ccco.ca/about/

Congratulations to Laraine Hale, Fleming CollegeWinner of the OCC Award of Excellence for Counselling Practice

Awarded at OCC-CCCO AGM in Hamilton, ON

May 13, 2019

Nominators: Jamie Warren, Indigenous Student Counsellor

Greg Taylor, Counselling Coordinator/Case Manager

Rayna Laughlin, Counsellor

It is with great pride to nominate Laraine Hale for the 2019 OCC Award of Excellence for Counselling Practice in recognition of her outstanding leadership and dedication as a counsellor, teacher, speaker, and advocate in the area of Indigenous mental health.

Laraine is a full-time Counsellor at Fleming College and a part-time lecturer at Trent University. She is a highly respected practitioner amongst her colleagues as well as within the local Indigenous community of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. As an Indigenous woman and social worker, she embodies the traditional teaching of *Etuaptamumk, as she is incredibly well rounded in a rich array of Western and alternative therapeutic approaches, while bridging these teachings with Indigenous ways of knowing, living, and healing. As her training is grounded and guided by anti-oppressive practices, cultural safety, and social justice, she demonstrates a high

level of integrity and commitment to social justice by challenging colonial and oppressive practices and creating positive change for Indigenous students.

Regardless of what modality she derives her teachings from, she remains committed and intently focused on her students and their needs. She not only honours her students with humility and respect for their stories, but supports and empowers them to be brave and speak their truth with great sincerity. Laraine walks right beside her students (not in front of them and not behind them), wherever they are on their journey of wellness and healing, and as they work toward their education and career goals.

Laraine is also well known for being a gracious, passionate, and outspoken advocate for Indigenous students and the barriers they experience in the post-secondary institution. Whether she is lecturing her class of social work students, speaking at a conference for mental health practitioners, or serving as a former Indigenous Representative on the Ontario College Counsellors Executive Committee, Laraine is an outstanding and captivating speaker. She challenges her audience to meaningfully consider their role as settlers in reconciling with Indigenous peoples in Canada and inspires them to take action as responsible allies.

Though she has done some incredible work in the areas of Indigenous mental health, cultural safety, and truth and reconciliation, she continues to demonstrate a strong sense of cultural humility and remains fully committed to supporting and empowering Indigenous students. It is without hesitation that Laraine would make an outstanding and deserving candidate for this award.

Congratulations to Audrey Rosa, Algonquin CollegeWinner of the OCC Award of Excellence for Counselling Practice

Awarded at OCC-CCCO AGM in Hamilton, ON

May 13, 2019

Nominators: Karen Barclay-Matheson, Counsellor, Algonquin College

Doug Stringer, Manager of Counselling Services & spiritual Centre, Algonquin College

Melissa Gordon Joseph, Counsellor, Algonquin College

Lauren Matheson, Counselling Intern, Algonquin College

We would like to nominate Audrey Rosa, Counsellor at Algonquin College and Eastern Representative for OCC for the OCC Award for Excellence for Counselling Practice.

Audrey has been with the College for 20 years and has shown incredible service to students which have presented at the Counselling Centre at the Woodroffe Campus. Audrey was originally hired to address the ever-increasing multicultural perspective of issues that students presented with, as she had this expertise from her many years working with this population. Audrey went on to provide these students with excellent service in her ability to understand where the student was coming from, their unique cultural perspective and ability to connect and guide them on the transition of being in a new cultural environment and blending what they knew to what now was. She helped students increase their ability to connect with other students that had different cultural approaches by helping create and maintain the successful Multi-Cultural Buddy Network for many years.Over the years, she also has honed her skills in the area of trauma and is known on the team to embrace clients who struggle in this area by being able to be present with them and help them ground, stabilize, and start the work on healing. She always has enthusiasm and deep care for all her students.

When Audrey is partaking in peer or clinical supervision, she always approaches the debriefing and consulting process in a professional manner with an expertise that is shown in the depth and breadth she can see cases. She has also taken on students for clinical supervision and they have reported to find her wonderful in her approach of encouraging the autonomy of both supervisee and the client. She encourages presence and effective use of self, which appears to significantly contribute to their success of developing counsellors. Her dedication is also seen in how she upholds this skill base by continuously seeking out new and emerging trends in the area (poly vagal approach, Sensory motor techniques, Imago therapy, and internal family systems). In her supervisory role, she introduces supervisees to counselling techniques through literature, didactic exercises, and the recommendation of training opportunities. She is also always open to being flexible to meet the needs of students in an ever-evolving post-secondary environment and making sure they get a chance to be able to address their concerns.

Finally, Audrey has always been an active participant in all things College Counselling and is always communicating and trying to push for increased awareness around Counsellor’s needs, as well as students. She recently took a sabbatical in the 2016/2017 academic year that focused on stress management and in particular two forms of management: Acustress and Acubliss. She was able to connect with other researchers and service providers in the community. All of what she had done and contributed has been relevant to the changing atmosphere and times in the College community and she will be missed when she retires this upcoming June. We hope the OCC selection committee takes into consideration the caring, fun loving, dedicated nature Audrey has and her ability to connect, motivate, and embrace the students and her colleagues with the sole purpose of ensuring everyone’s well-being.

NEW!

Welcome to the Counsellor Appreciation Section!This year, we are starting a counsellor appreciation section. We would love it if you would share any notes of thanks that you have received from students or

staff. These anonymous notes will highlight the important role that counsellors play in the postsecondary experience, particularly from the student/staff

perspective.

Conestoga CollegeSubmitted by: Amy Baird Manager – Student Engagement

Winter 2019 Emotional Resiliency Workshop Attendee:

“I plan to use DBT (Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness skills, emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills). Additionally, using the wise mind and making sure to balance the emotional mind (warm) and the reasoning mind (cold) when making emotional decisions. When in a troubled state, it can be helpful to check the facts and ask yourself questions such as what event triggered the emotion, what assumptions or interpretations am I making about the even and does my emotion match the facts about the situation? I found this workshop offered by counsellor M. C. helpful.”

safeTALK Fall 2019 Attendee:

“The safeTALK training provided by Counselling Services has given me much information on how to recognize when someone may be having suicidal thoughts. Recognizing changes in behaviour such as distancing oneself from friends and recognizing words that could imply suicide such as having a solution to ‘end this’ will give me the opportunity to help if someone is having suicidal thoughts. This training also encouraged me not to view this topic as a taboo. Suicide affects everyone in some way or another and it should be talked about.”

SafeTALK Fall 2019 Attendee:

“In order to show someone that I am listening, it is good to maintain eye contact, be silent until the other person is finished speaking, keep an open posture and be on their level. This was an excellent workshop taught by Shawna. I gained the skills needed to be able to successfully speak to an individual that may be having suicidal thoughts and to be able to help them by connecting them to people who are experienced in helping those who are having a difficult time. I left this workshop feeling more confident in my skills around this topic thanks to S.B.

Mental Health Stakeholder Lab:

“This experience made me aware of the importance of promoting positive mental health and wellbeing for each individual. As a nursing student, I was able to share my knowledge of self-care as one of the ways to reduce the level of stress and share some stressful situations that I have experienced in Conestoga College community. Moreover, I have realized that I am not alone, that what I feel is valid, that every individual in the college community experiences stress, and that we cope with it differently. I believe this Student Stakeholder Lab will definitely be beneficial in the long run and I am excited to see where the Student Mental Health Strategy goes.”

“I wanted to express my thanks to K. M. and E. M. for conducting the safeTalk training for the Bachelor of Community and Criminal Justice learners last week. The class will do some deeper intervention work in the coming weeks and your training establishes some amazing foundations for the next steps, so I am quite grateful.

Normally, we have done safeTalk in third year just before the learners go out on placement. As the program Coordinator and I consulted, we see the value in doing this for both 2nd and 3rd year BCCJ students. As we think ahead however, offering it for 2nd year and 3rd year would be great.

In any case, regardless, I wanted to say that I am always so grateful for your work with us and in the courses I teach and for these connections to each other and to our learners.”

Faculty, Bachelor of Community and Criminal Justice/Human Service Foundation programs, Conestoga College

Through the Counselling Department’s practice of providing in-class workshops for students, I have had the opportunity to get to know individual counsellors. I have found the best support happens in the hallways when I see someone like Shawna, stop to say hello, and end up asking a burning question about my own experiences reaching out to students or on behalf of other faculty who have questions or concerns. Those 5-minute encounters have empowered me to act with increased confidence in my role as faculty and as a teaching and learning consultant. I truly appreciated the generosity of the folks in Counselling in sharing their expertise and insight with colleagues such as myself.

Thanks for all you do!

Laura StoutenburgTeaching and Learning Consultant, Brantford CampusConestoga College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning

“Over many years, I have had the privilege of working with a number of Counsellors at Conestoga to coordinate Professional Development opportunities for all employees. Shawna Bernard has been my main contact and is wonderful to work with. The Counsellors are always so accommodating and flexible, and give willingly of their busy schedules to facilitate SafeTALK workshops throughout the year and always volunteer to facilitate workshops at our annual employee conference. These workshops are so important for staff and faculty and Conestoga is very lucky to have this expertise among us.”

Regards,Melanie SullivanProfessional Development & Training Coordinator, Doon Campus Room 3A503Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning

“I'll never forget the support our closely-knit program received from our counsellors when we lost a student leader in a motorcycle accident. While we grieved, they stepped in and with clear-headed direction and emotional support got us through that difficult time. In addition, a few weeks ago I was delivering a workshop for new faculty about the college support services for student and faculty success. A young man spoke up when I got to the part about counselling. It seems he had been a student who would not have survived without the support of one of our counsellors. He could not say enough about the heart-felt impact that experience made in his life.”

Nancy Nelson, M.Sc (T), PhD Candidate, FEC, P. EngTeaching and Learning ConsultantConestoga College ITAL

“I am a student of Conestoga College. I was going through a tough situation, which I had never ever imagined. I failed the course, and it was a heart breaking news for me as all my hard work was in vain. I tried so hard to make myself prove that I was right but nothing good came up. Then my professors told me about the student counselling services in the college. They were very helpful and kind... they listened to my situation with a lot of concern. The student counselling department then consulted me how I can get rid of my bad phase of life. Then today is the day I am looking each and everything in a positive way."

International StudentConestoga College

Fanshawe College

Submitted by: Candice Lawrence, MEd, RSW

Co-organizer - Reclaiming Our Time Conference for LGBTQ+ Students, Faculty and Staff: “Thank you for all you have done and groundwork you have put down for generations to come. It is because of people like you, that things change. Also, thank you for the laughs and kindness.”

Email from a Student: “Thank you again for all that you do. You have been a great help and I could not have gotten these grades without your help.

Have a great day!”

Comments from Student Peer Volunteers about the Peer Support Program (developed by A. C., one of our Counsellors):“Being a Peer Support Volunteer has helped me be more empathetic and supportive of people who are struggling. It is not about lack of willpower. And with Sidewalk Talk I had a lot of exposure talking to different people and this helped with my confidence. I used to be isolated in my room; I would not come out because I did not want to talk to people. A lot changed that first day of Sidewalk Talk. I have a lot more confidence now. Peer support was my time to rest and talk to other people.”

“Because of peer support, I am more open with my family and friends, and with my program about self-care and mental health. Using the active listening skills has improved my personal relationships. I have strengthened connections with coworkers and with people in my personal life.”

“This role improves your communication and conflict resolution skills which are critical for success on the job. The role can be put on a resume, you get certificates from this program like MHFA and SafeTalk, and you build up the soft skills that employers are looking for. You also get to learn more about yourself and others.”

“Seeing the connections that peers have built with each other and supporting one another. I could vent and problem solve and celebrate accomplishments with other peers. There was a level of relatability.”

“Because of peer support, I am now better able to set personal boundaries with group members in class and I am more supportive of my friends who are struggling now.”

Email from a Parent: “Hi Everyone.

On behalf of our family, I just wanted to thank all of you for your commitment and genuine care with our daughter. When she committed to Fanshawe we were not thrilled that she wanted to

go so far away with no familiar support but after meeting all of you, I can’t imagine she would be in better care anywhere else.

We are comforted to know that she has all of you in her corner. As A rests and considers her future we will communicate with you all soon. Her determination to succeed in her program remains strong.”

Feedback from Students Accessing Peer Support: “Students are saying that Peer Support helps with loneliness, social skills and ‘recharges’ them.”

Feedback about Peer Support from CMHA Crisis Workers: “The peer support students that work at Fanshawe are really great and even if students have to wait to see us they don’t seem to mind as the peer support students do a great job in meeting their needs as they wait. It makes our job a lot easier as the students are not frustrated by the wait by the time they get in to see us.”

Lambton College Counselling and Wellness DepartmentSubmitted by: Karolina Kulinska, RP, Counsellor

Hello Fabulous Counselling Team:

I just wanted to reach out to say thank you for all you are doing to support our students, who I know are in great need, much earlier in the semester than we typically see.

I sat on the bathroom floor with one of my students in crisis this week, have listened to several faculty debrief about their students in crisis, how many they have walked down to counselling and have reflected on the intensity of needs that we are all seeing. I am fully aware that you all bear the brunt of this work, and know that even though it is "your job" at Lambton, endless days of dealing with crisis and witnessing raw emotion, eventually takes a toll on one's self.

Please be sure to take the time to take care of yourselves while you are supporting our most vulnerable students. All of your efforts do not go unnoticed and are so greatly appreciated. You are all such an important part of our student's well being and success.

With thanks,

A faculty member

An Ecological Call to Meaning MakingSubmitted by: Jared Dalton, MSW, RSW of Fanshawe College

“I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day, and then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a

crisis. I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.”

These powerful words delivered by the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg, elude to the common experience often referred to colloquially as eco-anxiety. Eco-anxiety is used to describe a specific fear that elicits distress or panic when individuals consider the threat posed by climate change. In so much as this fear is a rational response to legitimate climate science, it is not pathological, however, in so much as it interferes with the ability to meaningfully engage in daily activities, it is disordered.

The school of existentialist psychotherapy has long understood the relationship between mortality salience, the awareness of one’s own death, and anxiety. It is latent death anxiety and its defenses, however, that the existentialists recognize as leading to neurosis as they consider the benefits of making manifest one’s fears of personal annihilation. In his textbook on existential psychotherapy Yalom argues, “While the physicality of death destroys us, the idea of death may save us”. This idea of death is arguably something that the reality of climate change offers.

The idea of death, however, is not a common object of clinical exploration. While Clinicians readily unearth core schemas of worthlessness, past traumas, and losses, death anxiety is seldom explored in clinical practice. While there are likely several reasons for this, Becker (2007) suggests that this is due, in part, to an adherence to a cultural norm of death denial and death defiance. Adherence to a culture, which frames cancer as a battle to be fought, encourages the warehousing and exclusion of its older adults from everyday life, and prioritizes the productivity of the bereaved over the allowance of time for mourning and healing. A culture that at all costs is oriented towards preserving denial and avoidance of what is the most natural part of life, the great equalizer that is death.

However, in the case of climate change, the science is clear that those are the stakes. Death, mass extinction and societal erosion are what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2015) outlines as the potential risks of not responding to this looming threat. These outcomes become increasingly likely in the current political context around the world that is driven by climate change, and ultimately death denial. For as Murakami (1993) reminds us “most human activities are predicated on the assumption that life goes on. If you take that premise away, what is there left?”

Contrary to Thunberg’s assertion, despair and panic, are not all that we are left with. Where once denial and avoidance served as a psychological defense to the mortal predicament, choices afforded by Viktor Frankl in his Logotherapy approach emerge. Opportunities exist to construct meaning out of death awareness through experience, creativity and vocation, and through fundamental attitudinal change. Practically, the college counsellor can leverage these opportunities to invite students to engage in personal and collective action, to utilize creative outlets to contain and express existential fears and longings, to orient themselves towards their goals, and to engage in ongoing reflection of their experiences and values. This process can lead to immense growth and psycho-spiritual maturation.

However, for all that is offered by the awareness of our death, it does also pose a serious threat of relevance to the college counsellor. Terror management theory observes that when faced with the reality of death, individuals may become more likely to adhere to cultural, religious and symbolic systems that offer a psychological defense against this biological reality. Systems that contain narratives of an afterlife, that moralize death and dying, and that provide distance between the deceased, and us serve this purpose particularly well. While this adherence may offer some comfort, it can also lead to hostility toward those who challenge these systems of belief through non-adherence or through adherence to alternative systems. The more absolute the system, the more its adherents view alternative narratives as a direct threat to the sense of safety the system provides.

In the context of the current climate crisis, this terror seems to be subconsciously managed by extreme polarization and the vilification of others. For some this leads to xenophobia, racism, gender based violence and other forms of discrimination, for others it leads to the rapid dismissal and labelling of contradictory perspectives as hateful or dangerous. The discourse in our recent federal election offers just one example of this mechanism at work. It is of paramount importance to enable clients to reject this subconscious and collective attempt at alleviating their death anxiety as it poses a significant threat to self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, and the ability to form and live in diverse, compassionate communities.

In order to achieve this the therapist must first come to terms with their own impending death and engage in their own process of meaning construction. They must reject any urge towards looking to external absolutist systems and paradigms that demand or depend on the exclusion and vilification of others. They must find their own will to meaning through recognizing that, until the very last breath, all of human life, no matter how great the suffering is ripe with the potential for personal meaning. For in Frankl’s words “what is to give light must endure burning”.

While the anxiety and despair experienced by students in the face of climate change are rational responses to the mortality salience it offers; Beyond the fear and despair lie opportunities to fully embrace experiences, to live meaningfully in accordance with their values, and to courageously choose their own response in a world characterized by disconnection and fear.

References:

Murakami, H. (1993). Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. New York: Knopf Doubleday

Frankl, V. (1959). Man’s Search for Meaning. Boston: Beacon

Becker, E. (1973). The Denial of Death. New York: Simon & Schuster

Yalom, I. (1980). Existential Psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books

College Updates

Centennial College

Submitted by: Lishan Baileyegn

We hope everyone has been keeping well – the fall semester has been quite eventful so far! As we mentioned in the Spring 2019 Newsletter, we were working towards merging our counselling and accessibility departments, unveiling an electronic documentation system and beginning to implement a stepped/personalized care approach to service delivery. We are very excited to share that we have worked diligently with our wonderful leadership team to achieve these outcomes. Our new name is now CALCS, which stands for the Centre for Accessible Learning and Counselling Services.

One of the first changes we have worked to implement is an electronic health record database and we have gone live and begun using Input Health for scheduling and documentation of clinical notes since September. Input Health has also given us

the capability to implement our same day walk-in clinic method of service that we offer each day at each of our campuses. This same day walk-in system has been a responsive solution to meet the rising need of students requesting immediate or urgent same day service. Our same day walk-in service is designed to prioritize new students and students in crisis. We are also working to adopt a single session approach to our counselling practice and have been taking part in PD opportunities to strengthen our capacity to offer this.

Through our stepped/personalized care approach to service delivery, we offer individualized personal and accessibility counselling and accommodations along with psychoeducational groups and workshops. Our aim is to be able to enhance existing programming and add new initiatives over the coming semesters including peer support programming and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders where beneficial. Given we are also undergoing space renovations, mainly at our Progress Campus, we are hoping to

enhance accommodated course assessment space and offer students in distress a safe and private/quiet space to de-escalate if they are seeking this support.

Our new leadership framework now also features four new counselling coordinator positions for Access and Accommodations, Intake and Scheduling, Case Management and Sexual Violence Supports. These coordinator incumbents have been key in helping to shape the direction of our future as a department and have provided significant contributions to our team thus far. We are also in the process of hiring two full-time permanent Counsellor Positions to provide additional support and back-fill our long-serving Counsellor colleague, Diane Yip who has retired from Morningside Campus as of October. Diane has worked at Centennial College for 18 years and has made significant and lasting contributions

and we wish her the very best in her well-deserved retirement!

Although we have undergone considerable change in a short period of time, which has not always been easy, we have remained focused on our goal and continued to work to support one another through the process. This has been instrumental in helping us achieve change thus far and will help us continue engaging in this important work as we carry on in the academic year.

With that said, we look forward to reading updates from all of our colleagues across the province and look forward to keeping you posted on our progress in the spring 2020 newsletter! As the holidays draw near, we wish everyone a safe and joyful break!

From all of us here at Centennial,

Steven RhondaRoma RashidiEric DunnLishan BaileyegnDiane YipCatherine ChenKevin BournsBarbara Pierre

Mona ChanIrene Volinets Carla GreyJen SwantonAmita SinghStephanie Hale Ilana Goldsmith

Conestoga College

Submitted by: Shawna Bernard, MSW, RSW

Happy December everyone! I hope as you are reading this, you are enjoying some down time at the end of another busy fall semester.

This semester, our counselling department is continuing to work with a range of other support services within Student Success Services at our college. Our counselling department provides service within the myWellness umbrella services at Conestoga (https://studentsuccess.conestogac.on.ca/myWellness/levelsofcare). In the counselling department, our main focus has been the provision of individual counselling supports

as well as providing groups and workshops within a stepped care model of service for students. This fall we welcomed a new counsellor to our team at the Doon campus, Shanna Giroux. We were also pleased to have Erin Mackay as a counsellor at the Doon campus following a year of teaching. Our other counselling staff includes Shawna Bernard (Doon campus), Lynn Robbins-White (Doon campus), Marshall Chanda (Doon & Guelph campuses), Keith Martin (Doon campus), Lydia Almorales-Ray (Doon campus & Conestoga Residence), Adrienne Dutta (Doon & Waterloo campuses), and Adam Koenig (Cambridge campus). Our co-ordinated care counsellors, Melissa DeNoble (Doon campus) and Comfort Afari (Doon campus), continue to provide co-ordinated care and case management support to our students. Counsellor Alicia Glynn is on maternity leave this year. Patty McColl continues to be the Clinical Manager in Counselling Services. In addition to Counselling Services, students can also access the Medical Care Clinic (Doon Campus, Room 1A102) as well as the new Peer Support & Self-Help Service being offered by Peer Navigator Kayleigh Hilborn in the Breathing Space (https://studentsuccess.conestogac.on.ca/myWellness/PeerSupportAndSelfHelp ). Our college is continuing to develop a Mental health strategy under the guidance of Heather Callum, Project Manager, Student Wellness.

We have been involved with various initiatives this fall semester. The biggest news at Conestoga this year has been the growth of our international student

population, with over 8,000 international students currently enrolled in Conestoga programs. We are currently working on responding to the unique needs of international students who access our services and developing new support initiatives and partnerships to support our international students. One of our counsellors, Lydia Almorales-Ray, continues to provide a counselling presence at our college residence two days/ week. Another counsellor, Shanna Giroux, sits on Conestoga’s new Sexual Violence Task Force. We have been providing more outreach to our varsity athlete student population with Talk Today initiatives such as training our student athletes in safeTALK this fall, with further initiatives being planned for winter semester to coincide with the Bell Let’s Talk campaign.

Our counselling department offered successful groups this fall. The Mindfulness & Meditation to Reduce Stress Group, co-facilitated by Shawna Bernard (counsellor) and Linda Juodvalkis (faculty), has had students regularly attend weekly sessions to learn and practice mindfulness meditation practices. The Just Breathe. Just Move group, co-facilitated by Erin Mackay and Kayleigh Hilborn, has been a successful offering for students who would like to incorporate movement activities such as walking and running to improve their mental health. A new “Brain Flex for Success” series has been offered by co-ordinated care counsellor Melissa DeNoble in partnership with Leaning Strategist Mike Murray. Workshop topics in this series have included prepping for successful papers, career exploration, overcoming

anxiety and stress when studying, and preparing for exams.

safeTALK trainings have been provided this fall to our varsity athletes as well as during Health and Wellness week. Students in the following programs have also been trained this fall in safeTALK: OTA/ PTA, Bachelor of Community and Criminal Justice, Health Office Administration, and Social Services. We are also receive safeTALK requests for winter semester. New for Conestoga, in winter semester we are planning to offer a Skills for Safer Living Group on campus for students who experience suicide ideation. This group will be co-facilitated by CMHA staff as well as Peer Navigator Kayleigh Hilborn.

It has been heartwarming to recently reach out to members of our college community for the new “Counsellor Appreciation” section of Between Us. Several staff members and students have provided testimonials. We appreciate the support of our colleagues as we all work together as partners towards the goal of student success on our campuses.

Durham College Access and Support Centre

Submitted by: Paula Desauniers, M.Ed, RP, Counsellor

This term our team of four counsellors, located in Access & Support Centre at Durham College have kept very busy supporting our most vulnerable students. In addition, this semester we have added various workshops to the services available

to our students on both the Oshawa and Whitby campuses. Topics included: Executive Skills, Anxiety Management Strategies, Disability Awareness, Emotional Expression through Art, and Do It Yourself Coping Tools.

In addition, the counsellors have resumed the coordination/supervision of our peer-coaching program. Currently we have 10 peer coaches who are currently supporting 81 students with time management and organizational strategies, learning skills, and providing social support and guidance. Our peer coaches have also led weekly social groups as well as a guided meditation group.

The counsellors in the Access & Support Centre are now working in conjunction with Durham College’s new Well Being Centre. This Centre was launched in fall 2019 as an outcome of a campus wide mental health review. The Well Being Centre created as a first point of contact for mental health distress on campus through a triage model. The Centre houses wellness coaches, mental health nurses, and a recently hired Registered Psychotherapist.

Fanshawe College Counselling & Accessibility Services Centre

Submitted by: Candice Lawrence, M.Ed, RSW, Counsellor

This Fall Term has been extremely busy for both our Personal and Accessibility Counselling Teams. We continue to remain grateful over the past many years, to have

the opportunity to bring in MSW and MA’s in Counselling Psychology Interns, and this year we started out with four fantastic Interns, and will be excited to welcoming yet another Intern for the winter term.

We continue to operate our Passport to Wellness program and are currently offering the following workshop topics:

Presentation Anxiety (offered on multiple occasions and times)

Knit well Circle (ongoing drop-in knitting circle)

Be Well: Skills for Emotional Wellbeing (a cycling 5-Module Series)

Drop-In Mondays (open discussion group on substance use and harm reduction)

Accessibility Peer Support Group (facilitated by students, for students)

Social Group (facilitated by AS Counsellors, for those on the Autism Spectrum)

Healthy Relationships And Communication (four 1-hour sessions)

High Definition (7-week group for students with ADHD)

Let’s Talk Thursdays (an open, drop-in group for talking about depression, learn new coping)

Drumming In The Zone ( an open drum circle offered twice per term, to facilitate socialization, relaxation, and community)

We have three Counsellors available who offer Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) to the college community, including students trained as Peer Support workers, and

Resident Life Advisors. This continues to be part of our attempts at increasing Mental Health literacy among our faculty, students, staff, and administration.

We continue to use the Stepped Care Model of Service, and this September, have implemented Well Talk, our drop-in single sessions for 3 days per week. Our model of service also includes drop-in, half-hour Brief Consults, Urgent one-hour sessions for those who are at a higher risk, the addition of evening hours for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and Crisis Support sessions provided by CMHA Crisis Workers.

We are delighted to welcome our newest part-time Counsellor Wendy Pearson, and to welcome back Tina Thukral-Sidhu from her maternity leave. Jenn Meksula is off on sabbatical until next September and will be doing some research on universal design and taking courses in teaching adult learners.

Georgian College Submitted by: Greg Taylor, M.Ed., RP,

Counselling Coordinator/Case Manager

We have had LOTS of change in personnel at Georgian recently and it is very exciting to have several new team members.

At the end of the summer, Nancy Blain retired from Barrie Campus after working for 43 years at Georgian. How is that for longevity (not all as a counsellor but a good chunk of it)? Cheryl Becklund retired in the summer from Orillia Campus. Kelly Woods

from Barrie Campus just had a baby girl end of August and is now on maternity leave.

Barrie Campus had three new Counsellors, one as a replacement for Kelly’s maternity leave:

Brad Garrison comes from the Toronto area where he had a private practice as well as working as a Community Counsellor with the Aids Committee of Toronto. He also worked as a group therapist and case coordinator for a “partner assault response program”. According to Brad, his “clients almost exclusively identified as members of sexual, gender, or ethnic minority communities and face stigma, identity and belonging, discrimination, and isolation.” Brad is familiar with the post-secondary counselling environment, having experienced this at the University of Toronto Health and Wellness Centre.

Charlotte vonProndzinski came from employment as a Psychometrist and Psychotherapist in private practice after returning to Canada from two years of work as a community-based counsellor in the Cayman Islands. While in the Cayman Islands, Charlotte dealt with a very culturally diverse population that was dealing with many trauma and addiction issues. Before going to the Cayman Islands, Charlotte was a child and youth mental health counsellor with the Georgian Bay Family Health Team and prior to that, she had done a lot of private practice with children, youth and families with attachment disorders.

Kelly’s maternity leave replacement is Heather Kent who has extensive experience working in a college setting, while also

having a private practice, providing counselling to individuals, couples and families. In her practice, Heather also provides Animal Assisted Therapy and has a trained/certified therapy dog named Jaguar (“Jag” for short), who is a complete delight for all our staff in Student Success! Heather also has a background working as a child and family therapist. Heather is originally from the East Coast, Cape Breton to be exact.

Barrie Campus also has two more Yorkville University Masters of Counselling interns this year, Larissa Levesque and Rebecca McManee, who will be with us for this term and winter term.

With Cheryl Berklund having left for retirement, Sonya Watson went from Barrie Campus to Orillia Campus to join Katherine Whiteside.

Owen Sound still has Carrie Shute as FT and Linda Thomas as PT.

It was great to have more Georgian staff attend the CICMH Conference in Toronto this year (Carrie, Katherine, myself and Jennifer Lloyd, our Manager of Mental Health Strategies).

Our College has recently undergone a Student Services Review and we will be undergoing a “re-org” very soon. Brian Muscat, our direct manager, has recently been designated as the Dean of Students and four directors will report to him. Counsellors will directly report to the Director of Wellness & Accessibility Services.

Loyalist College: Belleville

Submitted by: Cassie Richardson

At Loyalist, we have a small but mighty staff of two Counsellors and have been working hard to create new initiatives to better serve our student population. Over the past few months, we have:

Launched an internal version of the Positive Space program, a workshop and sticker program aimed at increasing awareness and understanding regarding sexual and gender diversity amongst students, faculty and staff.

Developed a partnership with a local community-counselling agency, to provide free, timely couple and family therapy to students who could benefit from it. This was an initiative made possible through grant funding provided by the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health.

Increased visibility of Counselling Services by attending various school wide events with a booth promoting “Persistence through Puzzling” where we encouraged students to exercise their brains by completing various puzzles and learn about the counselling services while there.

Created a promotional poster, targeted at encouraging

International students to consider accessing counselling services.

Niagara College

Health, Wellness & Accessibility Services

Submitted by: Karen Csoli, PhD OCT, Associate Director

The Niagara College Health, Wellness & Accessibility Services office congratulates Michelle MacIntosh who was recognized with the OCC Award of Excellence for Counselling Practice. The award honours counsellors who demonstrate excellence and innovation in the provision of counselling services and who have significantly contributed to student success at their college. Michelle has launched many innovative counselling initiatives at Niagara College that have contributed to student success including a 10 week DBT skills-building program and 4 week Koru mindfulness workshops.

In conjunction with Niagara College Student Administrative Council (NCSAC), Health, Wellness & Accessibility Services is in the process of preparing to launch a Peer Wellness Program. The program will see Wellness Peers provide supportive, empathic listening to fellow students in the NCSAC Wellness Lounge. It is anticipated that the program will be launched in January 2020.

Counsellor Jennifer Babin and Learning Strategist Emily Appleyard are preparing to bring Thriving in Action to Niagara College in Winter 2020. The goal of the program is to provide coping skills and learning strategies to students who are at academic risk. Health, Wellness & Accessibility Services will be collaborating with Academic Advising to launch this initiative.