Student Mental Health Support – Dawson Partners with keep.meSAFE
Student Services has launched its new partnership with a more comprehensive student assistance program. Beginning immediately, the Counselling department will be referring students, when appropriate, to the keep.meSAFE service by Lifeworks. Lifeworks (formerly Morneau Shepell) is the same provider as Dawson’s Employee Assistance Plan for faculty and staff.
Since the students’ return to campus following the online semesters during the pandemic, Student Services has bolstered the Counselling service with an external student assistance program. The pilot project proved beneficial over the last year and the College has opted to continue offering such a service, but with a new provider.
In addition to the on-campus support from our dedicated team of social work technicians and psychologists, students are able to access mental health assistance via a convenient mobile app (My SSP) or by calling 1-844-451-9700. With a simple sign-up module and easy navigation, keep.meSAFE will provide quick access to much-needed support. Student Services has been assured that sessions with counsellors will be unlimited and that the service will be available 24/7, 365 days a year.
The service is available in over 60 languages and students can share their preferences for support based on culture/gender/language and other criteria that will make for a more comfortable counselling experience. Faculty and staff can also download the app and access consultation for questions relating to student mental health situations. They are also encouraged to reach out to mentalheath@dawsoncollege.qc.ca if they have concerns about a student’s well-being.
The process for connecting students has not changed. If you know of a student that you think might benefit from such a service, they should first be referred to Dawson’s Counselling team my emailing mentalhealth@dawsoncollege.qc.ca
The intake process is still handled by Dawson’s Counselling team, who is in the best position to decide whether a student should be seen by a counsellor here, or referred to the keep.meSAFE program. Although the preference is usually to arrange an appointment with a Dawson counsellor, the volume of demand for the service is often overwhelming. The keep.meSAFE option ensures that regardless of demand, our students always have access to mental health resources.
For more information about the service, please visit Dawson’s Counselling page at www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/counselling
