The government of Nova Scotia unveiled a new public e-mental health program on Oct. 30. Every post-secondary student in the province will now have access to seven new online mental health services.
This suite of online support programs, known as HealthMindsNS, was created by Elizabeth Cawley of the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU) and funded by the provincial government.
The province budgeted $463,000 this year to pilot these online mental health therapy tools for post-secondary students.
Cawley, who spearheaded the project, said she found that only half of the students who needed mental health services were seeking them out.
“The aim of this program is to address the fact that not every student wants to go to a classic one-hour counselling session,” she said.
The programs in Nova Scotia include video chat therapy and counselling, relaxation activities and mood training sessions aimed to help students cope with stress. Additionally, professional telephone counselling would be provided 24/7, 365 days-a-year.
Clancy McDaniel, vice-president (external) of St. Francis Xavier Students’ Union, said in a press release that the province of Nova Scotia has given a preventative approach to mental health care.
“We know that post-secondary students are more susceptible to mental health challenges, and these online tools reduce the burden of counseling services on campuses and ultimately help more students access appropriate and timely care,” she said.
Cawley said while they didn’t survey Nova Scotia students in particular, they looked at broader trends that showed the demand for these programs.
“There is very good research and data for programs like this one. We have really good metrics on this and every program in the suite has a strong successful research base at another institution,” Cawley explained.
Josh Nowlan, a second-year kinesiology student at Acadia University, welcomed the project.
“I would use it . . . it’s more convenient than going to a clinic,” he said.
Nowlan said it having online tools will also help bypass the stigma around seeking help.
“When you go to a clinic, maybe somebody sees you [and] they think something is wrong—you don’t get that online.”
Cawley said while the program may seem only preventative, online services are overall beneficial to the mental health system across the spectrum, not just students seeking a bit of extra support.
“When programs like this are launched, there is also increased capacity with counsellors,” she said.
While this program was only provincially funded, it is going through an eight-month trial period with extensive data collection, according to Cawley.
“We’ll see how the program will work, but we think it will work well . . . after that, we can show that is a program that should absolutely be federally funded.”
