Use Counselling Services

The door of Health Services’ packed waiting room stands directly opposite the quiet couches inside Wilfrid Laurier University’s Counselling Services office – one of the school’s most untapped resources.

Students rarely hesitate to ensure that their physical health is up to par by visiting the doctor, but sadly their mental health is often overlooked.

A negative stigma surrounds counselling that should not exist. Students are under a tremendous amount of stress at university; ignoring their mental health can have a detrimental impact on their relationships and their academic performance.

Counselling Services offers personal counselling, as well as performance coaching for those who need help conquering procrastination or managing stress. They also offer specialized services for music students and athletes to optimize their performances. They can provide tips for overcoming traumatic events and offer services for those who have recently endured a break-up, abuse, roommate tensions or the loss of a loved one.

As exemplified by the women of this week’s In Depth article on emotional abuse (cover), for those who have suffered from unhealthy partnerships in the early part of their dating lives, counselling services is an excellent resource to help both men and women define boundaries to ensure they will not be manipulated by future partners.

With the wide array of services, which also include online articles and reading materials, the possibilities for Counselling Services to help students are endless – all the while abiding by a student’s budget.

Unlike many services on campus, a student can book up to eight appointments per semester free of cost whether they are a full-time, part-time, graduate or undergraduate student.

Although some may feel uncomfortable booking and continuing appointments, students are paired with a counsellor who fits their needs and personality type and appointments can even be made over the phone.

Counselling is a service that those outside of university will pay hundreds of dollars for, so students are the ones who will really suffer if they continue to under utilize such an accessible resource as Counselling Services.