CapU’s Mental Health Resources

March 1, 2025 Andrea Chiang

The needs of CapU’s community go beyond therapy as students struggle to find a sense of connection and belonging

Andrea Chiang (they/them) // Contributor

“I know that it is very tough to start a new life when a student, you know, leaves that country, their home country,” says Parnit Kaur, a student Digital Ambassador at The Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) department at CapU, who has worked with Capilano University students struggling to balance their schoolwork, expenses and living in Canada. According to the Universities Canada website, one study found 89 per cent of reported postsecondary students feeling overwhelmed by their responsibilities and another study revealed 75 per cent of reported postsecondary students struggling with their mental health. Many students are often unaware of the mental health resources at their university or find the costs too high to seek out treatment or help.

At CapU, part of a student’s fees goes towards the mental health resources available on and off campus. On campus, there are counselling services (Birch Building, room BR267) available every weekday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for drop-in or booked appointments (604-984-1744) and the YES—Your Early Support—program run by Student Affairs (Library Building, room LB116) that students may refer themselves to if they are struggling with academic, personal or financial difficulties (earlysupport@capilanou.ca). Off-campus, students have access to four free sessions with online counselors from Empower Me or they can use their Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) Health Insurance to cover 80 per cent of each therapy session up to $1,000 a year with PsyVitaliti and other registered psychologists.

However, CapU’s mental health resources are limited in accessibility, inclusiveness and effectiveness. “[CapU counselors] have appointments after appointments and they’re just like, ‘Okay, what’s your problem? Let’s work it out.’ And then that is it. It’s not like one session we get to know each other,” says Hargun Kaur, a CapU student who felt that her CapU counselling session was ineffective. This lack of support reflects the strain health care providers are put under as well. Counselling and Mental Health Services at CapU has six counsellors, with only two being full-time. They are responsible for providing counselling services for the entire student body. Sessions can be booked quickly by recurring students or any of the hundreds of students who want to use the services for the first time. In an interview with Jules Smith, the coordinator of CapU Counselling Services and a counsellor herself, she states that many mental health care providers and administrators are looking for ways to adapt and respond to the growing demand for mental health services in the modern climate.

According to some anecdotes from the student body, some members of our university’s population believe that there currently aren’t adequate on-campus mental health resources that are specifically tailored for marginalized communities, including, but not limited to, LGBTQ+, Black and Indigenous students. Currently, there are counselors from a range of diverse backgrounds, but the question of cultural competence is brought into question when it’s acknowledged that there are no counsellors available from Indigenous racial and cultural backgrounds or LGBTQ+ counsellors. Ensuring that counselors of diverse backgrounds are available is vital to providing culturally informed and sensitive mental health care to the diverse student body at CapU—a reality that is consistently demonstrated in therapeutic literature. According to Hargun Kuar, her experience with a therapist from her home country was much more positive compared to her experience with CapU counselling: “I think [my perspective] made sense to that therapist a lot quicker because she was also there in a same, similar culture […] even though we’re like, not the same people, me and my therapist, […] I didn’t have to explain so much.” Although the hire of an Indigenous counselor is planned for the upcoming academic year, at the moment, students will have to utilize off-campus resources when seeking support specific to LGBTQ+, Black and Indigenous issues.

Mental health is not exclusive to individual counselling; there are social and community aspects as well. “It’s about looking at well-being through a holistic lens,” says Jules Smith. “Now we have a student life area, so they organize activities that create connection and belonging. That’s huge for mental health.” Student Life sends monthly newsletters through student emails about any campus events such as Welcome Wednesdays, and CSU plans events every month with updates on their Instagram. The CSW also holds weekly badminton, soccer, volleyball, pickleball and basketball intramurals for anyone who wants to find a community or people to play the same sport. There are also wellness classes for meal planning and special pop-up events such as bunny stretch yoga. All of which are free and included in student fees. For students seeking community through hobby groups, there are clubs, and for students interested in joining on-campus organizations advocating for the progress of CapU as an institution and advocating for student rights, there are student collectives, including the Black Student Union, Indigenous Students Collective, and Queer Students Collective.

Although CapU’s mental health resources are currently limited, students, staff and the community are working towards expanding programs and outreach and striving toward increasingly progressive access to mental health resources for all. Currently, CapU’s psychology department students and staff are working on a Peer Support Program. Amy Jean McElwain, a coordinator of the Peer Support Program, says their intent is to focus on connecting with students. “Sometimes you really feel like when you’re really in it at school, you just feel so alone and you’re stressed and it just—we just want people to feel like—to realize they’re not alone, you know,” says McElwain.

Making mental health resources inclusive and accessible for all of CapU’s diverse populations is an ongoing collaborative project with numerous levels of authority at the university. While striving for progress at the institutional level is extremely important, it’s also important to acknowledge that some students may currently need to seek external resources as well to access the support that is most suitable for them. So, for students in need of crisis support, community or more inclusive options, below are some resources available in the greater Vancouver area:

For Black Students:

For Indigenous Students:

For LGBTQ+ Students seeking for gender-affirming care or support:

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