CREDIT: COURTESY OF ICOPEU
Fanshawe incorporates interaction with counseling. Students have access to videos, games, applications and other websites that can provide information on mental illness and ways of getting help.

Starting at a new school can be a stressful transition. To ensure that you are getting the most out of your learning, it is important to reduce stress whenever possible.

Fanshawe College’s Counselling and Accessibility Services is available to work with students that are having problems and also offers a service known as iCopeU.

Suzanne Book, senior manager of Counselling and Accessibility Services at Fanshawe College, says that sites such as iCopeU are useful tools for dealing with various forms of mental illnesses.

“Mental illness is an umbrella term for various situations that students can be in,” Book said. “Some students coming to Fanshawe for the first time could become stressed from the pace of the classes or anxious for exams as well as depressed if they are disappointed with their grades.”

“[iCopeU] could be a good start for people that are trying to learn about the issues they are facing … and maybe get some additional help if that is what they need.”

According to Shirley Porter, a councelor with Fanshawe College, the site offers a variety of options to students in need.

“ICopeU is a service directed at different college communities. Here at Fanshawe, we have a specific site that students can access 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Porter said. “It has coping tools and MP3 relaxation tracks to help you … it is a very interactive resource.” The interactive coping tools that the site offers include:

Reach Out

Reach Out is a game that tests a player’s knowledge on mental health facts with the help of Josh Ramsey and Mariana’s Trench.

The “coping kit”

The site provides a step-by-step guide for making a crisis plan. According to the introduction to the resource, “We can forget to balance ourselves. When the toughest times hit having a list of things to do or people that can help can mean feeling in control sooner.” Once students have finished their crisis plan, they can print it out to have in a time of need.

Taylor Holden, a representative for mindyourmind, explains the importance of having sites such as iCopeU in an interview with Porter.

“It is important to raise awareness about mental health because it gives students information and when that information is accessible online, you know how to help and how to react when going into a councilor’s office,” Holden said.

ICopeU connects to external resources such as mindyourmind. ca. Family Service Thames Valley program, mindyourmind, is an outgrowth of the Youth Discovery Program. The mindyourmind program is part of the London Mental Health Crisis Service (LMHCS).

“Mindyourmind was doing this years ago before the Internet became a source for all of us and it is a very safe and accessible way for people to get information [and to] get creative ideas to test your mind,” Book said.

“They work with young people to get their feedback and their stories, so for us they are a very important organization and they have been asking us what we are seeing with students so it has been a very good partnership.”

The site provides students with a broader variety of options for coping with stress.

Students can access:

• Interactive games and applications

• Wellness articles

• Facts on mental illnesses

• Personal expression (stories, blogs, poems, videos, dance and artwork)

• Interviews with advocates, authors, musicians, athletes and other people affected by life experiences

“The fact that we are online allows us to reduce stigma because it is non-confrontational,” Holden said. “Once you get that information you can go get help and you know beforehand what it will be like to get help.”

According to Porter, the school works in collaboration with students to run initiatives on different issues that peers could be facing.

“A number of initiatives have been taken on by the Fanshawe Student Union and we work with them on a set of events throughout the year,” she said.

In addition to working with the students, Porter says that councelors offer their services for specific events and groups.

“In terms of what we are involved with in counseling, some councelors are trainers of mental health first aid and have been running twoday workshops for faculty and staff members,” she said. “We also do RA training to help residence advisors deal with stress and how to deal with students that are stressed.”

For Book, it is important that all students are informed about resources such as iCopeU.

“In some cases I have done exercises with students on-site,” Book said. “We often recommend iCopeU to students that we are seeing for appointments but we will make sure we continue to raise awareness at our events.”

Whether or not the transition to Fanshawe is stressful, resources such as iCopeU and mindyourmind.ca can be useful for evaluating stress levels and being aware of places you can go to get help if you need it.