Book an Appointment
Meet with a Counsellor to build a plan that supports your mental health needs.
Intake Appointment
New to our service? Schedule a 30-minute appointment to help us understand and support your personal counselling goals. Intake appointments are available at various times throughout the week.
To book an intake appointment, email counselling@smu.ca or call 902-420-5615.
Regular Appointment
Schedule a 50-minute appointment for personal counselling with your counsellor.
We offer early evening appointments for clients who are unable to attend during set business hours. Ask your counsellor about their evening appointment availability.
Rescheduling, Cancelling, and No Shows
We make every effort to meet with students as soon as possible. At certain times during the year, you may have to wait longer for an appointment. Because of this, we ask the following:
- Unable to attend your appointment? At least 24 hours in advance, email counselling@smu.ca or call 902-420-5615 to reschedule or cancel your appointment.
- Running a little late? We allow a grace period of 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, your appointment is marked as a “no show.”
If you have two consecutive “no shows,” or two consecutive late cancellations or reschedules, you will be asked to meet with the Manager for a 30-minute meeting before booking another appointment.
FAQs
Counselling involves identifying and building personal strengths and resources, which can help you address and overcome challenges in your life. Counselling is focused on improving your understanding of yourself and your situation. You can then use this insight to develop plans and make goals.
Many people benefit from counselling. Counselling can reduce stress, improve mood, build healthier communication skills, increase self-esteem, and provide support when navigating difficult situations.
Students come to the Counselling Centre for many reasons. This could include anxiety, depression, self-esteem, relationship concerns, roommate or family conflict, anger, grief and loss, or sexual assault.
You can think about issues you might want to address or goals you might want to achieve. Between appointments, you may be asked to do “homework.” This can involve building skills, thinking about situations in healthier ways, or taking actions to address issues outside of appointment times.
While the information you share is confidential, there are limits to confidentiality. This can include if your counsellor has reason to believe you are at risk of hurting yourself or someone else. Another example is if your counsellor is made aware of a situation involving a risk of abuse to a child or dependent.
In your first appointment, your counsellor will discuss confidentiality and the limits to confidentiality, as well as answer questions about release of information.
Intake appointments are normally booked within one to two weeks.
From September to April, there is normally a two to three week wait time for counselling appointments. This wait period is normally shorter in the summer.
We make every effort to meet with students who require urgent counselling within 24 to 48 hours.
You can request a specific staff member, but you may have to wait longer depending on availability. While all staff have areas of interest, no staff member specializes in certain areas.
We cannot prescribe or offer advice on medications. For questions on medications or diagnoses, contact your family doctor or the Student Health Clinic.
Only in exceptional circumstances will we provide a note.
The Counselling Centre at Saint Mary's University
4th Floor Student Centre, SC406
923 Robie Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3H 3C3
Phone: 902-420-5615