Following McGill’s May 11 announcement that the Fall 2020 semester will be offered online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health services across campus are preparing to accommodate increased student needs while adapting to a virtual environment. The exact steps that will be taken to ensure this support, however, are[Read More…]
Tag: mental health
McGill needs to rethink its mental health response to COVID-19
Living through a pandemic is mentally demanding, if not extremely jarring. Concerns over a parallel mental health epidemic have prompted international organizations and the Government of Canada to funnel resources into virtual mental health services. On May 3, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $240 million investment to support virtual[Read More…]
Montreal start-up Aifred Health is applying AI to mental healthcare
Mental health treatments for conditions such as depression are currently based on an arduous ‘trial and error’ process. Matching people with the right care is difficult: An individual experiencing depression might consult different specialists who may recommend various different kinds of treatment, none of which could actually work. Aifred Health,[Read More…]
Well Week 2020 aims to promote student health
McGill’s Student Wellness Hub and the Healthy Living Annex will host the second annual Well Week from Jan. 27-31. This year, Well Week coincides with Bell Let’s Talk, a campaign to raise awareness and discuss stigma around mental health. The Hub hopes that Well Week will build on last year’s events.[Read More…]
Supporting student wellness through synergy
The annual Synergy Mental Health conference, hosted by Students in Mind (SiM), continued the discourse on mental wellness with a particular focus on cultivating a community on campus promoting healthy minds. The conference featured various activities, such as a journal writing workshop and a talk on how to navigate the[Read More…]
International issues have on-campus consequences
Negar Borghei was a human nutrition and dietetic credentialing master’s student at McGill. She was well-connected on the university’s MacDonald campus and adored by her friends and classmates. Along with 175 other passengers, Borghei was on Ukranian International Airlines flight PS752 on Jan. 8 when it was shot down in Iran.[Read More…]
Mind your headspace
As the approaching finals mark the end of another semester, the spike of stress, anxiety, and mismanaged student mental health crises warrant a conversation about headspace. It is by no means news that mental health services at McGill do not effectively accommodate students’ needs: There are many instances of students[Read More…]
Unsolicited phone call elicits concern from students about patient privacy
Social media posts made by a McGill student about the Student Wellness Hub sparked criticism about the Hub’s accessibility. Charlie Baranski, U3 Arts, tweeted on Nov. 15 about the Hub rescheduling a therapy appointment which he made over 80 days prior. Two hours later, he received an unsolicited phone call[Read More…]
Mental Health Commission of Canada announces post-secondary mental health standard
The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) recently announced a collaboration with the Canadian Standards Association to develop a standard for the psychological health and safety of post-secondary students. According to the Commission’s website, post-secondary educational institutions are free to adopt and modify the policy, known as the Post-Secondary Students[Read More…]
When healthy eating becomes unhealthy
As people strive to achieve the ideal body type, improve cognitive function, or enhance athletic performance, they often turn to food choice as their mechanism for change. People put into their bodies what they can expect to get out of it; therefore, it makes sense to eat ‘healthy,’ nutrient-dense foods[Read More…]