The Counselling Centre at Saint Mary’s University

The Counselling Centre provides a broad range of confidential services all free of charge to students currently registered and attending classes at Saint Mary's.

We offer individual personal counselling, couples counselling, academic coaching and consultations. Our team of professionals will help you meet your academic and personal goals. We understand how stressful university life can be and how making small changes can have a huge impact. Staff are generalists in their training. Students wishing to speak with a Psychologist/Clinical Therapist with specialized training in a given area (e.g. addictions, learning disabilities, etc.) should go to apns.ca.

We try our best to respond as quickly as possible to meet the needs of our students. We are not an emergency clinic therefore we will refer all emergencies to the QEII Emergency Department, located on Robie Street. Students under 18 go to the IWK Emergency Department, located on Summer Street.

Students new to our service can be seen the day they call, drop by for a quick 20-30 minute intake appointment during the academic year, or they can choose to wait for a 50 minute therapy appointment. Our wait list can be 3 weeks and longer for an 50 minute therapy appointment and for academic coaching. Many students choose an intake session where we assess their needs. Students don't need a referral to use our services.

If you would like to book an appointment for personal counselling or academic coaching, you can call 420-5615, email counselling@smu.ca or drop by our office, 4th Floor, Student Centre (turn left once you get off the elevator).

Our hours during the academic year are 9:00am-12:00pm, 1:00pm-5:00pm and during the summer 9:00am-12:00pm, 1:00pm-4:30pm.

For more information on mental health and life balance please visit http://ourhealthyminds.com/

 

 

Join us for Well Wednesday activities once a month starting September, 2011 through to March, 2012. For more information please click here.

 

February Thoughts from The Counselling Centre

 

Making the Most of Being Single…On Valentines Day

 

 

February 14th, as well as midnight on December 31st, are two times each year that many people experience increased pressure to be in a romantic relationship.

 

Although it could be argued that this pressure exists year round, these two days can be particularly stressful for singles. This month, we look at how to make the most of being single on Valentine’s Day.

 

 

A few tips:

 

- Accept that there will be certain periods in your life before that “special person” has made an appearance. For those of you who wonder if your ex was that person, take some time to think about whether he or she may have been the right person for you at that point in your life…but that the right person for this stage and beyond has yet to arrive.

 

- Avoid the temptation to jump into a relationship because you believe that you simply can’t be alone. Whether this is on a rebound or because you feel that you can’t be happy being single, remember that this kind of reasoning can lead to some pretty bad choices in relationships. Sure, we all know that it is unreasonable to expect perfection with regard to our partners, but holding out for “very good” probably isn’t such a bad idea!

 

 

-  Remind yourself that the reason you are not in a relationship is either because you choose not to be, or because you have not yet found the right person and you will not simply settle for being with anyone.

 

- Think about possible opportunities to meet people outside of your traditional circles. For example, if you commonly have the experience of not connecting especially well with people on campus, at bars, etc., try broadening your horizons a bit. Consider taking a non-academic class off campus, joining a club, or participating in an activity that you have always wanted to try. Even if it doesn’t produce a relationship you will still have fun, engage with other socially, and perhaps learn something new.

 

- On Valentine’s Day, treat yourself well. Watch your favorite movie, take a break from your studies (if possible), or buy your favorite specialty coffee that you usually don’t allow yourself to have. Or even better, buy that favorite coffee and give it to someone else!

 

- Connect with your friends – especially your single friends. Perhaps you could get together for a great dinner or a special night out. Many of the friendships from university will be difficult to maintain after you graduate (think about how many people you still see from high school)…enjoy the freedom you have today and make those lasting memories now.

 

Cheers to all the Saint Mary’s singles from The Counselling Centre!