Information for Parents and families

Entering university is a significant developmental milestone for students, and it reverberates throughout the family. Although each student, and each family, is unique, there are some issues that commonly occur for parents and families. Here is some general information about developmental issues in university age students.  It speaks to some of the concerns and questions that you might have about your student and about our services.

McMaster University Counselling and Mental Health Services for Students:

The Centre for Student Development provides confidential, brief counselling for both personal and academic concerns.  Services include individual appointments, walk-in consultations, psycho-educational programming, a learning lab, and services related to physical or learning disabilities.  Referral to appropriate community resources, medical care and psychiatry will occur when needed.

http://csd.mcmaster.ca/

Campus Health Centre is the medical clinic on campus.  The Centre is staffed by several family physicians each day as well as nurses and other support staff.  Medical specialities available to support mental health services include naturopathic therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy and psychiatry. All physicians are available for counselling and prescribing of medications for mental illness.  Referral to counselling services, community services, medical specialists and psychiatry are some of the options available for ongoing care.

Psychiatry services are provided at Campus Health by referral from a Family Physician for consultation and ongoing care as required.  The Mental Health Team Nurse coordinates the combined services provided by the psychiatrist, medical doctors and counsellors of CSD.

http://www.mcmaster.ca/health/

A variety of different concerns are frequently brought to health and counselling, including adjusting to college life, stress management, anxiety, depression, loss, substance abuse, loneliness, sexuality, eating concerns, and relationship difficulties. If you are concerned about your student, encourage them to come in to see a counsellor or physician. We ask that students call to make their own appointments, rather than having you make one for them.

Confidentiality and consultations: It is natural for parents who are concerned about their child's well-being to want information about whether their student has come to counselling or health services and if they are making progress. However, confidentiality is critical to the success of the counselling endeavour, and we adhere to all legal and professional guidelines pertaining to the confidentiality of student counselling information. These guidelines prevent us from releasing any information about a student's participation in counselling without their written consent. This means that we cannot share with you whether we have, or have not, seen or heard from your student, even if they have told you themselves that they are coming to see a counsellor. However, we do want to hear from you if you have serious concerns about your child, and are worried about their safety. Please remember that any information you share  with a  counsellor  will be discussed with your student.