The learning environment and support from the faculty/department/colleagues directly impacts students’ mental health. Thus, by re-shaping and altering the learning environment and campus experience, the university can play a significant role supporting success during and after graduation, as well as student wellbeing. Some of the key elements that GSS supports and aims to create include:
The results of the most recent GSS Graduate Student Survey illustrate the complex mental health problems students face. 25% of students feel physically unable to perform in classes. 33% express concerns about mental health, with respondents attributing this added stress to various factors, including academic workload (55%), preparation for life after graduation (50%), and finances (40%). 60% of the respondents claim that they face unhealthy levels of stress, while a majority believe that this negatively affects their academic performance.
As such, the GSS advocates for:
Development of clear policies and procedures that allow students to access services and support without fear of stigma
Early identification and multi-level response structure
Providing a wide range of accessible mental health services
Aligning institutional policies and procedures to support mental health services
Creating a healthy, friendly campus environment
Ensuring students are informed of all the services/programs offered at the campus
UBC Student Services Health and Wellbeing are the online resources students should approach first when faced with a health/wellness concern. Below are some of the useful features students can benefit from.
They have an online health support tool where people can answer questions to quickly see options specific to their needs and location instead of browsing resources aimlessly.
Student Health Services: Students can visit a doctor, nurse practitioner, nurse, or other medical professional virtually or in person.
Counselling Services: Students can book a Counselling appointment by phone if they are persistently stressed, anxious, or sad. Specifically, they have wellness advising appointments, same-day, single-session counselling, group counselling programs, individual counselling, indigenous students support, and embedded counselling programs.
Counsellor in Resident is a free, confidential counselling service, open to all students that want support with getting on track to improve their wellbeing.
Nurse on Campus is a program where students can drop by in-person to ask questions or connect to resources for health and wellness topics.
The Wellness Centre is another great resource for a number of reasons, including:
Many graduate students may also be working as UBC faculty or staff. UBC Human Resources also have HW resources. Specifically, they have access to the following:
UBC Wellbeing is a collaborative effort to make the University a better place to live, work and learn through a systems-wide approach to wellbeing across our campuses. The work of UBC Wellbeing is guided by the Okanagan Charter, a shared call to action for partners, leaders, and community members to make campuses become health-promoting institutions.
EIO advances equity and human rights at UBC by promoting diversity, eliminating discrimination, and engaging the community in dialogue and action. They have a strong focus on student mental health and wellness.
The CFA (homepage) facilitates disability-related accommodations and programming initiatives designed to remove barriers for students with disabilities and ongoing medical conditions. The Disability Accommodation Policy LR7 provides guidance for students, faculty, and staff to understand the process through which accommodations for students with disabilities are made at the University.
CFA can assist with:
Contact info: info.accessibility@ubc.ca and phone: 604-822-5844
Therapy Assistance Online: Start managing your wellbeing with tools for stress and anxiety, relationship issues, substance use and more.
Here2Talk: Call for free and get immediate support for your mental health, available 24/7 in multiple languages.
604.822.3203 / info@gss.ubc.ca
452 – 6371 Crescent Road
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T1Z2
Monday – Friday
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.