ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø

To advance ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø Polytechnic’s commitment to fostering positive student mental health and well-being.

This policy applies to all ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø students.

The traditional, cultural and spiritual wisdom passed down through generations by Indigenous peoples. It encompasses a deep understanding of the natural world, including ecosystems, plants, animals, and how humans relate to these elements. This knowledge is often holistic, rooted in a connection to land, community and oral traditions. Indigenous knowledge systems are adaptive, context-specific and resilient, offering valuable insights for sustainable living and environmental stewardship.ÌýÌý

An analytical framework that examines how various social identities—such as race, gender, class, sexual orientation, ability, and more—interact and intersect to shape an individual's or group's experiences, opportunities, and challenges. It recognizes that people do not experience discrimination or privilege based on one identity alone, but rather as a result of the complex and overlapping nature of their various identities. This lens highlights the compounded effects of multiple forms of inequality and helps to ensure more inclusive, equitable policies and practices that consider all dimensions of a person's identity.

A state of well-being in which the individual realizes their own abilities, can reasonably cope with the stresses of life, can live, study, and work well and is able to contribute to the community.

Mental health, like physical health, exists on a continuum. It is a dynamic changing state that can deteriorate or improve given the right set of circumstances. Therefore, mental health concerns, if identified and treated early, have the potential to be temporary and reversible.

The mental health continuum model is designed to help identify specific changes in health and performance in six different domains: mood, attitude and performance, sleep, physical health, social well-being and substance use/gambling/gaming issues.

The provision of mental health support for those affected or traumatized by a critical event.

The non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.

Negative attitudes, beliefs or behaviours about or towards a group of people because of their situation in life, including discrimination, prejudice, judgment and stereotypes.

The presence of the highest quality of life in its full expression of the following dimensions:

• cultural
• emotional
• mental
• physical
• social
• spiritual

1. ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø is committed to providing mental health and well-being supports and resources that:
   • foster a supportive, safe and inclusive learning and teaching environment
   • include mental health and wellness advising and intervention and crisis response services when needed
   • ensure mental health and wellness literacy for students and employees
   • reduce stigma and remove barriers from accessing support
   • provide a range of services and supports across the mental health continuum
   • are built on the ethics of care, compassion, collaboration and community action
   • acknowledge that belonging is foundational to a healthy, fulfilling student experience
   • are continually assessed against best practices and informed by data collected from the ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø community
2. ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø recognizes that campus community mental health and well-being is a shared responsibility, with students, employees and local communities working together to create a safe and supportive environment.
   
3. Principles of holistic mental health and well-being are infused in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø’s learning environments, operations, business practices and policies.

1. Students are engaged at various stages of the mental health continuum and are offered prevention, intervention and critical incident support and crisis response.ÌýÌý

1. Students are active participants in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø’s institutional mental health and well-being strategies, contributing insights from their own lived experiences.
2. A student’s individual plans for mental health and well-being are determined collaboratively, and students are empowered to make decisions about the supports they receive and how they access them.
3. ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø incorporates evidence-based and trauma-informed lenses into its mental health and well-being supports, resources and processes.
4. Students have opportunities to provide voluntary feedback and input on mental health needs and well-being services through student experience surveys and other quantitative and qualitative data collection tools.
5. Wellness services and programming are available on a centralized platform, where students can access all the necessary information in alignment with the legislative and directive requirements.Ìý

1. In alignment with ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø’s Reconciliation and Inclusion Plan, approaches to mental health and well-being:
   • reflect the diversity of ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø’s community and is designed to be welcoming and to build a sense of belonging for all students
     
   • ensures that equitable, culturally safe mental health supports and resources have an intersectional lens and meet the unique needs of the individual student
   • are informed by Indigenous ways of knowing and healing and the wisdom of campus eldersÌý

1. ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø works to create a culture of well-being and an empowered, connected and resilient student community.
2. Community partnerships are built that support students’ wholistic well-being and promote healthy living.

1. The sharing of personal health information of students follows legislated privacy obligations in accordance with the Personal Health Information Protection Act and when applicable, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
2. ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø respects the confidentiality of its community by restricting routine access to information to those with a need for such access, as well as by providing education and training to those who are regularly involved in the administration of reports and complaints.
3. Confidentiality cannot be assured in the following circumstances:
   • an individual is at risk of harming themself
     
   • an individual is at risk of harming another
   • there are reasonable grounds to believe that others in the ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø or wider community may be at risk of harm

1. This policy will be reviewed every three years in accordance with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act.
2. Annually, ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø will report available aggregate data and a summary of initiatives that reflect the implementation and effectiveness of this policy to the Board of Governors and the Ministry of Colleges and Universities and will make this information available publicly.Ìý

• Appendix: Student mental health and well-being resources

• Behavioural Intervention Team (BIT) Policy
• Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Policy
• Inclusion Policy
• Personal Health Information Protection Act Statement Policy
• ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø Medical Centre Policy
• Sexual Violence Policy
• Student Code of Conduct

• ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø’s Reconciliation and Inclusion Plan

If you are in crisis or have immediate concerns outside Personal Counselling & Accessible Learning Services’ hours of operation, the following resources are available:

• : Canada’s Suicide Crisis Helpline
• 1.866.925.5454 or text GOOD2TALKON to 686868
• : 1.888.377.0002 for Domestic students
• : 1-877-234-5327 for International students

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health also has a variety of resources available about .

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Approval Date:ÌýJanuary 2025