• This is required for your first visit to establish your profile with our clinic. After this, you'll be able to book online.

During an initial visit we will explore themes and how you are doing more broadly. We will need to know what your goals are for the session and how you think you can be best helped. This may be your first experience with therapy, and you might not know what your goals are. Not to worry - we will help you figure that out.

We will ask about the concerns that brought you to seek counselling support and what might help improve your situation. We will explore how your academic life is going; your sleeping and eating habits; how you are managing day-to-day life; your family background; mental health challenges you may have faced in the past; and current substance usage, if any. These questions are designed to help us understand you, but it is your choice what you'd like to share with your counsellor.

We will also ask how you are feeling right now, how your mood is, and, importantly, we ask all students about whether they have thoughts of hurting themselves. We may involve our physician partners to assess thoughts of hurting yourself.

After exploring the challenges you are facing, we will collaboratively provide guidance for your next steps.

Our clinic does not offer crisis support. Please refer to crisis supports to find 24/7 mental health support.

We will still see you within 15 minutes of your scheduled appointment time but may not be able to see you if you arrive later. If you are late and in distress, we will try to arrange for you to see your scheduled therapist or someone else, but we cannot guarantee availability. If you call our reception team to let us know that you will be more than 15 minutes late, they will assist in rescheduling the appointment for you.

We understand that emergencies arise and occasionally a student will miss an appointment. As we strive to be available for any student who needs help, if you miss your appointment without canceling it, you will be charged $20 for the missed appointment. To minimize the impact of missed appointments or "no shows", you will need to wait two weeks before you can be rescheduled with your counsellor.

While we prefer to see you in-person, you may be seen virtually, with some caveats:

• Due to licensure restrictions, if you are not located in Ontario you'll need to call reception to verify your eligibility.
• If you get disconnected during the session, log back in to reconnect or call reception to figure out next steps. The session can always be rebooked.
• You are responsible for having appropriate technology (device with a camera & microphone), and necessary Wi-Fi service to access the online appointment. Please ensure you're having the appointment in a quiet, confidential environment.
• If connection is poor or choppy, we may stop the session and ask for clarification.
  
  

You are not required to prepare anything in advance of meeting with a counsellor, however you could consider trying the following to see if they benefit your situation.

Based on what brings you joy, you can play music, write a reflection, cut back on substance or device usage, call a friend, go for a jog, or simply take a deep breath or two. Taking a moment to calm yourself can go a long way.

Consider reflecting on what brought you to seek counselling supports, and what your goals for the session could be.

Additionally, there's several online resources, workshops, group care sessions, and peer support networks that may provide useful recommendations prior to meeting with a counsellor.

If you need to reach your counsellor, you can call reception at (519) 661-3030. Please do not reach out to the counsellors directly.

You can also book your follow-up appointment with your counsellor at the end of your first appointment.

Actively enrolled students of Western, Huron, or King's are covered and can access counselling care. Most students who have left Western or graduated may access care for up to six months.

Accessing counselling outside of Thames Hall may be covered under Purple Care, and SOGS Health plans.

In general, your counsellor will keep what you say confidential, consistent with the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). By confidential, we mean that it can be shared with your circle of care, the counsellor's supervisor, and documented in the medical record. Your circle of care includes the nurses, physicians, and counsellors involved in caring for you. Only members of your clinical care team can access your record.

There are a few exceptions to confidentiality. If you present as a risk to yourself or others or your behavior deteriorates to the point that you are unable to care for yourself, then the counsellor or trainee will need to disclose to more people to ensure yours and others' safety. These may include Western Special Constable Service, London's emergency response teams, and other health professionals. Other exceptions include our requirement to report any concern of potential harm to a child or someone residing a long-term care facility; protecting Western employees from workplace violence or harassment (if the student is also a Western employee); complying with court-ordered subpoenas; and being a victim of sexual abuse by a healthcare provider (we have duty to inform the provider's college but don't have to reveal your identity).

We know that meeting all of your academic requirements can be difficult on occasion. Our therapists can provide a Student Medical Certificate. Academic relief is determined by your academic department or advisor, not our clinic.

Student Medical Certificates written by our therapists do not guarantee that academic relief will be granted. Moreover, please note that not all requests for a medical certificate can be granted. Our therapists can write the dates that you attended your appointments here and the general themes discussed. Specifics are not included to protect your privacy and confidentiality. Our counsellors consider each request on a case-by-case basis. Our goal is to help you engage fully in your academic activities.

Please note that there is a cost associated with this kind of document completion. You will be charged $26.00. Once you have paid the fee in Thames Hall, your document will be released to you.

If you would like a copy of your medical record, please email health@uwo.ca. It may take up to 30 days to complete the request. If, instead of your entire record, you only wish to have a list of dates seen or a summary of the counselling sessions, please indicate that on the request and we will do our best. Please note that there is a cost associated with this service. For the first 20 pages, it is $30. For each additional page, it is another $0.25.