This month, the Committee on Student Mental Health (CoSMH) moved forward by voting to confirm the completion of two recommendations addressing service access and delivery (27 and 32).
Recommendation 27 calls for an external review of staffing practices and structure in Counselling Services, a review of the embedded counsellors, and implementation of the ratio of 1 counsellor to every 1,000 students, ensuring additional resources during peak periods. The external review was conducted by Credence & Co. in December 2018. Counselling Services is working toward implementing their recommendations, including a revision of their management structure. The utility of the embedded counsellors in faculty, residence and affiliated schools is continually being examined and reevaluated through evidence-informed decisions and feedback from stakeholders. Counselling Services has also exceeded the recommended student to counsellor ratio, which includes psychiatrists, a mental health nurse, complex care case manager, and 5-10 residents and interns to increase their clinical capacity. The Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo-Wellington (CMHA WW) has also lent additional counselling support on campus during times of crisis.
Recommendation 32 addresses the continual development of a stepped-care approach and a complex care team. Membership of the Complex Care Team at UWaterloo includes a senior psychiatrist, intake manager at Counselling Services, mental health nurse, psychologist, and newly hired clinical case manager. This team has been meeting since last summer, and is developing a referral process for students with complex mental health issues. This group is using literature reviews and a qualitative survey of other Canadian post-secondary institutions to help inform the continual development of UW’s Complex Care Team. In addition, the use of standardized assessment systems is being explored for this team.
Check back regularly for progress updates through the CoSMH website!
