Thompsons Rivers University’s wellness centre has a group of participants and volunteers that is making a significant impact on the wellness of its students through workshops peer led support and specialized training which is Naloxone training as well as counselling and along with Kamloops mental health and substance use is offering students an inclusive space to deal with university and everyday challenges.
Chelsea Corsi the wellness coordinator of TRU’s wellness centre stresses their presence and impact on the wellness and support to the students stating that “We have a hangout, kind of homework, play game area. We have our, like, kind of cat kitchen area where you can have a microwave. We have free tea. We also do naloxone training, we kind of provide a holistic package of different health resources for students”.
She says that from their research conducted through surveys and other statistics its seen that mental health is the biggest struggle that ranges from feeling anxious, seasonal disorders and loneliness. She added that “students are working more hours now than before due to the rise of inflation”.
Consent Tea an initiative and work group organized by TRU wellness center that emphasizes the importance of consent and communication in relationships and self-advocacy. For instance,
Feedback is done by collecting statistics The center collects student feedback, such as over 8,500 drop-ins last year which is based on the report collected from the number of checkups with the wellness centre assistant and uses a feedback tool to gauge student satisfaction. The center has many regulars, indicating success. The TRU mental health awareness also has another way of assessing the students responses and feedback after their assessment and support provided to students and which is a set of stickers that are offered to them such happy face, sad face and a meh face and its reported that most of the feedbacks received are happy face and hence the measurement of success of the wellness centre and its services.
In 2021, Thompson Rivers University Student Union ranked the center as one of the top outstanding services on campus based on student feedback, indicating strong positive responses from students. Chelsea also says how they hire the volunteers for the centre as each volunteer or interested participant goes under a training which involves learning about mental health which involves knowledge about stress in school, workplace and relationships as well as naloxone training. After the training each trainee is sent a set of nine questions for a reflection of their learning which is about what they have learnt about the role, what they like about the role and what they would have liked more to learn in the training that worked and which they think wasn’t covered and finally a reflection is provided to Chelsea. Peyton who is one of the volunteers at the wellness centre first assess a student and then Chelsea spends almost two hours in synthesizing the information which is then shared with the team and is three-page written feedback and is reviewed together for almost forty-five minutes. Finally, after all the assessments and feedback from her team a student is then given a report and suggested on the areas that needs to be looked more into and solved and then the support and counselling is given.
Nicole Hagan from Kamloops Mental Health and Substance use says that “students facing severe substance use concerns are referred to where TRU students undertake an assessment to create individualized treatment plans off campus”.
A student must complete an intake assessment provided in the facility to facilitate the formulation of recommendations and a treatment plan, encompassing both their services and those available in the community. This process is contingent upon the individual’s mental health and substance use status.
If a TRU student presents with a substance use issue, they have access to all relevant services and programs for which they qualify, except for mental health services, as these are provided through the counselling department at TRU. Students experiencing depression or mood disorders will be sent to TRU counseling. According to Nicole from Kamloops Mental Health and substance use said that they see a very few drop in from TRU students regarding drug abuse while on contrary receive more students with issues such as suicidal thoughts and relationship issues which they again send to TRU Wellness centre for counselling and support.
Kamloops Mental Health & Substance use provides drop-in hours with a clinician accessible for assessments. They provide many group programs available to TRU students. Numerous TRU students are sent to mental health group programming that addresses drug use, and assists TRU students experiencing a psychotic break, which differs from substance use. The mental health groups specifically focus on psychosis, a state where a person finds difficulty in realizing what’s real and what is not.
So, from providing relaxing areas to peer-to-peer interaction and with services that allow one to get free from addictions and mental stress Kamloops Mental Health and Substance use are here at the forefront to support student success and well-being.
Reference:
- TRU Wellness centre (Chelsea Corsi)
- Kamloops Mental Health & Substance (Nicole Hagan)