Issues&ideas

EDITORALYSEKOTYK |

THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017 |

THE VOICE

7

Mental health a college issue

As end-of-term pressures increase, so does the need for student support

Langara's counselling department offers students support to help in their educational success and personal growth. sasHa ZEIDLER PHOTO

Diverse campus, diverse needs

International students may require culture-specific support

= By LAURA BROUGHAM

n Langara College's di-

verse campus, international

students face unique is-

sues when seeking mental
health support.

According to Michele Bowers, de-
partment chair of Langara’s counsel-
ling, students from other cultures might
be more inclined to talk to friends rath-
er than a counsellor.

“Different cultures have different
cultural beliefs and values, including
different ideas of and attitudes towards
mental health,” Bowers said in an email.
“Some [international] students come
from cultures where there is greater
taboo or stigma surrounding mental

health.”

In fall 2016 there were 3,649 inter-
national students enrolled at Langara,
which made up nearly a quarter of the
student body, according to the college’s
website.

While mental health ser-
vices are available on cam-
pus, cultural differences and
language barriers could stop
students from seeking help,
according to Daisy Bai, a
registered clinical counsel-
lor.

“(There is a] lack of social
support, both from their im-
mediate social, like family
or friends, as well as that general sup-
port from the school system,” Bai said.
“Because they have that major language
barrier, a lot of them don't really have

the courage to speak up, or they don't
have the vocabulary or the knowledge
how to describe their experience better.”

Queenie Choo, CEO of

up a

—DAISY BAI

$.U.C.C.E.S.S., an organization that
supports immigrants to Canada said
international students face extra stress
because they need to find a new group

“A lot of them don't
really have the
courage to speak

REGISTERED CLINICAL COUNSELLOR

of friends, while learning the language
in their new country.

“Domestic students have their net-
work of friends already established.
International students, they
start looking for friends in the
new country,” Choo said.

One way to help inter-
national students feel more
comfortable is to spread
awareness of the programs
available on campus, accord-
ing to Bai.

“It would be pretty nice
to have that in their first day
of orientation,” Bai said. “Or
whenever they go to their class their
teacher can speak a little bit about that
about how it is okay to talk about dif-
ficulties with them.”

Student exam stress soon to be tested

STUDENT ANXIETY
IN POST-SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Feeling anxious

64.5 per cent of college students
experienced anxiety at some
point over a 12-month period.

Enduring fatigue

88.2 per cent of students felt
exhausted during the school year
— not from physical activity.

A lengthy to-do list
89.5 per cent of student felt over-
whelmed by all the tasks they had
to do at least once in the year.

SOURCE: CACUSS 2016 STUDY

Psychology
department to
study test anxiety

= By SASHA ZEIDLER

ith final projects piling up
and exam season quickly
approaching, Langara Col-

lege’s psychology department is spear-
heading a study focused on test anxiety.

The centre of the study is attention
bias in test-anxious students, the theory
that students under stress will focus on
their worry and fear rather than on the
test or exam in front of them. Langa-
ra’s psychology department chair, Erin
Skinner, will present her research plan

at the Scholarship Cafe on March 30,
an event that allows Langara research-
ers to present their projects.

“It's a mental health problem. People
have so much fear of failure that it can
really take away from their quality of
lite,” Skinner said. “I am interested in
looking at what is going on with test
anxiety, how we can alleviate it, as well
as can we shift our culture to a less per-
formance-based evaluative culture.”

The long-term study, currently in
ethical review, will highlight two types
of test-anxious students: those who
have fear leading up to the exam but
overcompensate by studying, and those
who cannot recall information during
the test itself. Skinner believes there
may be cognitive differences between
these types of anxieties and hopes to
begin her study in May by focusing

on attention, memory and memory re-

trieval failure before developing strate-
gies to help mitigate test anxiety. She
hopes to report on her initial findings
by next year.

Sarah Hamid-Balma, director of
mental health promotion at the Cana-
dian Mental Health Association, B.C.
Division, said it is important for stu-
dents to seek help early.

“There is usually anxiety in other
parts of their life. It is really rare to just
see it [in tests], but it is possible. It is
important to tell someone,” she said.

Organized by Kevin Smith, assistant
department chair of design formation,
the Scholarship Cafe will be held on
campus from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“I am super excited by everyone’s
enthusiasm for the research they're
bringing forward,” Smith said. “As the
coordinator, I'm really happy to be
packaging it all together.”

Online help
fills gap in
counselling

Web-based services
may help decrease
appointment delays

= By KURTIS GREGORY

hile students at Langara
College may have to wait
weeks for an on-campus

counselling appointment, the Langara
Students’ Union's health plan includes
online counselling services which could
offer a more immediate solution.

According to Michael Krausz, a UBC
psychology professor who does research
and development around online mental
health, web-based services are a poten-
tial solution for overburdened counsel-
ling departments.

“What you want as a therapist is to
use most of your time with the most
severe cases,” Krausz said. “So if you're
able to serve those who are in a mild
to moderate need with, for instances,
an online platform, then you have more
time for other patients which probably
need more face time with you.”

Langara students have had access to
a discounted online video counselling
service through the LSU’s health plan
since 2015. With Studentcare, students
can speak to a licensed psychologist
through online video-call sessions.

However, Krausz said the vast major-
ity of current online mental health ser-
vices are incapable of providing detailed
solutions.

“There is only a very small percent-
age which address several needs, from
an assessment to an intervention to in-
formed decision making,” he said.

According Sophia Haque, who works
for Studentcare, antidepressant usage
among post-secondary students has
been on the rise, while psychologist
and counsellor visits have been rising
as well.

Even so, many Langara students
aren't aware the online service is offered
to them, but some are still glad they
have access if they need it.

“It’s definitely huge knowing that it’s
there and available,” said Connor Mc-
Donald, a criminal justice student.

Other students at Langara said they
might even prefer online counselling
over conventional services.

“It’s a good idea, because we don’t re-
ally have a lot of that, especially in col-
lege,” said Alicia Stevens, an English
student at Langara. “Stress really gets
to people.”

Student works inside the library.
SASHA ZEIDLER PHOTO