At UCQ we have an infirmary (nurse) room in the event a student feels unwell or needs first aid.

The Mindfulness Space (F30) provides a quiet space to take a break from the excitement of campus life. To be mindful is to focus your awareness on the present, acknowledge and accept your thoughts and feelings without judgment.

The space is set up to encourage students to practice mindfulness with various activities like:

• Guided Meditation
• Yoga
• Chess
• Colouring Books
• Quiet relaxation and contemplation

The Mindfulness Space is open to UCQ students, staff, and faculty.

All currently enrolled UCQ student can access the UCQ Student Counselling Library on D2L. It is an online Self-Help Library and offers more than 450 links to helpful sources. The twenty topics currently available are all related to health, wellness and the success of our students. You can find videos, articles, podcasts, Apps and much more on the following topics: time management, stress, relationships, conflicts, exams, study skills, procrastination, sleeping, food issues, inspiration etc. So in the privacy of your own home and at a time that suits our busy students best, information is easy accessible and readily available.

It is important to stress that the Online Self-Help Library is not in lieu of counselling, but as an extra resource and a facilitation to contact the counsellor on campus. The websites favorited will not be monitored or endorsed by UCQ, so students need to be informed that these are suggestions and for critical reading only.

Please contact the counsellor directly when you have a question or concern regarding the Online Self-Help Library.

We all experience times of stress or difficulty when we need to reach out to others for support. The Counselling Centre provides a safe, confidential, non-judgmental space where students can talk about issues that impact mental wellbeing.

The Counselling Centre provides support and guidance to students on any problems that may arise including but it not limited to:

• Adjusting to life as a university student
• Balancing family responsibilities and academic studies
• Academic challenges (e.g. managing work load, insufficient study skills)
• Managing stress
• Interpersonal difficulties and conflicts
• Making important life decisions
• Feelings of sadness, anger, or fear
• Life-threatening illness or death of a loved one
• Dealing with the death or illness of patients in the clinical practice

Please contact the Counselling Centre directly to book an appointment.

Note: The Counselling Centre offers support for mental wellbeing but does not offer mental health services such as diagnosis and care of mental health issues. If mental health assistance is required, the Counselling Centre will assist you in connecting with a certified mental health professional.

Since 2013 UCQ has had a Healthy University Committee. This committee has representatives from students, departments, and faculty. The goal of the Health University initiative is to raise awareness about well-being and promote a healthy lifestyle within the university as a whole. As main main in Calgary has introduced the Campus Mental Health Strategy, the current focus of the Healthy University Committee is on developing and implementing improvements for the UCQ community.

The ‘healthy universities’ approach views health and well-being as:

• An important aspect of the purpose of a university
• Rooted in the belief that “health is created and lived by people within the settings of their everyday life: where they learn, work, play, and love”

Benefits for students: The healthy universities approach aims to create…

• More motivated students
• Improved student experiences
• Greater student retention
• Greater achievement and productivity for students as citizens within their families, communities, and workplaces

"Healthy universities" activity currently taking place at UCQ:

• Fitness Programs
• Peer Mentor Program
• Football Tuesdays during the Winter semester for students, staff, and faculty
• Self-care table with free resources and food during exams week
• An environmental recycling program

THERE IS MORE TO DO and so faculty and staff invite YOU to participate in this important initiative to make UCQ a successful and truly healthy university.

Please feel free to contact the healthy University Committee to discuss our thoughts, ideas, and how to get involved.

References

1. Dooris, M. and Doherty, S. (2010). Healthy Universities: current activity and future directions – findings and reflections from a national-level qualitative research study. Global Health Promotion. Vol. 17(3), 6-16.
2. Dooris, M. and Doherty, S. (2010). Healthy universities – time for action: a qualitative study exploring the potential for a national programme. Health Promotion International. Vol. 25, No. 1, 94 – 106.
3. World Health Organization (WHO) (1986). Ottawa charter for health promotion. Geneva: WHO.