Anybody who has tried to see a counsellor on campus can attest to the abysmal wait times.
Having nearly a month between visits to counsellors can make the whole process seem so infrequent that it’s meaningless. And, let’s not pretend like the threat of a $100 fee for missing a session doesn’t cause some mental anguish of its own. There just aren’t enough counsellors to meet student demand.
It was probably with this in mind that Carleton announced its new online mental health resources, that promises to link students up to counsellors over the internet.
In the wake of services like Better Help, which promise to provide mental health services at a convenient and affordable rate, it may seem like we’ve entered a new age of therapy.
Gone are the days of booking counsellors, waiting weeks on end, and forgetting whatever it was that you were so stressed about by the time you see them. Now, you can replace that with the new e-counselling service and save yourself the hassle. Right? Well—not exactly.
Electronic mental health services are certainly better than no mental health services, but let’s not pretend like it’s a replacement for face-to-face counselling. While e-counselling is a good alternative when in-person sessions are not an option, being in the physical presence of your counsellor makes it much easier to connect with them and receive the emotional support you need.
If student demand is for more counsellor availability—and it is—then replacing in-person counselling with electronic counselling is just slapping a band-aid over the problem.
E-counselling is a worthy service that we need supplied to the students that ask for it—but it’s not a replacement for in-person counselling. Let’s stop shortchanging students when it comes to their mental health.
