Mental Health Resources

CALL 911 IF AT IMMEDIATE RISK

IF YOU ARE: 

• feeling desperate and hopeless
• worried you might hurt yourself
• having or know someone having suicidal thoughts
• alone with no one to talk to

IF YOU HAVE: 

• made a plan, the means to hurt yourself or someone else
• attempted suicide
• hurt yourself before

Students in need of immediate medical attention should call 911, or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

YOU CAN ALSO CONTACT CAMPUS POLICE AT 416-978-2222 IF YOU’RE CONCERNED ABOUT ANYONE’S SAFETY.

24/7 Emergency counseling services

U of T My Student Support Program (My SSP) | 1-844-451-9700. Outside of North America, call 001-416-380-6578.
Culturally-competent mental health and counseling services in 146 languages for all U of T students.

Good2Talk Student Helpline | 1-866-925-5454
Professional counseling, information and referrals helpline for mental health, addictions and students well-being.

Contacts for Different Types of Distress

Life is complicated and doesn’t always go as planned. If you are in distress, we can connect you to the help you need.

Download the Feeling distressed (PDF) for contacts resources to support you through different kinds of distress:

• 24/7 EMERGENCY
• Mental health
• Academic
• Financial (difficulties due to unexpected circumstances)
• Housing (temporary housing crisis)
• Sexual assault/safety
• Equity offices and communities of care on campus

Contacts include on-campus and community supports during business hours and 24/7.

U of T Telus Health Student Support provides University of Toronto students with immediate and/or ongoing confidential, 24-hour support for any school, health, or general life concern at no cost to students. You can call or chat with a counsellor directly from your phone whenever, wherever you are for a range of concerns. Students who use U of T Telus Health Student Support still have access to existing campus and community mental health services; U of T Telus Health Student Support is an additional support service.

Download the U of T Telus Health Student Support app: Apple App Store | Google Play and keep reading so that you understand what to expect.

You can also access the service 24/7 by calling 1-844-451-9700. Outside of North America, call 001-416-380-6578.

Learn more about the U of T Telus Health Student Support Program by visiting the U of T Telus Health Student Support website.

The Office of Graduate and Life Sciences Education in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine has two dedicated on-location counsellors available exclusively to our graduate students:

1)  Laurie Coleman (MSW, RSW) is a Wellness Counsellor and Coordinator at Health and Wellness, Student Life.  Since 2011, she has been part of the on-location mental health team. She provides service Mondays – Thursdays, 9am – 5pm at 500 University Ave. In addition to this, she will be available every other Tuesday evening at the Koffler Centre. She also co-leads the Grief Support Sharing Circle, Mindful Eating: Food & Mood and Mindful Moments on campus.

2)  Heidi Cho (MSW, RSW) Wellness Counsellor and Coordinator at Health and Wellness, Student Life. Part of the on-location mental health team, she provides service for GLSE/SGS students on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, 9am-5pm.  

The on-location service is a brief counselling service that aims to connect students with a counsellor in a timely fashion in order to get the support that they need. The counsellors are trained to provide personally tailored treatment specific to what students are experiencing.  The on-location counsellors are also familiar with other campus and community supports and can help students find and connect with other supports, if needed. Many students find it helpful to meet with a counsellor to have a space to talk about these issues and to obtain professional support in managing them.

How to make an appointment

To schedule a first appointment with a counsellor, please contact the Health and Wellness Centre at 416-978-8030 (select option “5”) or drop by Health and Wellness at the Koffler Student Services Centre, Room 111, and ask to book a time with a GLSE (i.e. Temerty Faculty of Medicine) counsellor. Follow-up appointments can be scheduled directly with a counsellor.

Alternatively, students can also ask faculty or staff to refer them to these services.

For more information, please see the GLSE Student Health and Wellness website.

Although many university services and the Health & Wellness Centre are closed evenings, weekends and all Statutory Holidays, there are many other local walk-in clinics and external resources that students can access.

Please click here for more information. Information can be found under the 'Contacts' heading.

For research-stream graduate students in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the Leave of Absence Stipendiary Fund is available for an approved Leave of Absence (LOA) due to health issues (i.e. physical) and/or mental health challenges which temporarily impair a student’s functioning during his/her graduate studies. Funding is available up to $5,000 per student for one term on a one-time only basis. Ideally, students must submit an application package (as outlined on the Program Fees and Stipends Page) to the Office of Graduate and Life Sciences Education in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine (MSB 2360) before the deadline and prior to the start of their LOA. Students who remain registered during the requested LOA will not receive LOA Stipendiary Funding. 

For more information on funding related to a Leave of Absence, please refer to the Program Fees and Stipends page.

There are many workshops offered through the University of Toronto Office of Student Life.

Topics include:

• better coping skills,
• mindfulness,
• grief support groups,
• sexual health information,
• suicide alertness training and
• better sleeping.

Please visit the Student Life Workshops website for details, eligibility and questions regarding the confidentiality of attendance. Workshops are listed under the 'Programs' heading.

The Graduate Peer Support Network (GPSN) is a student-led, student-centred initiative that aims to support University of Toronto graduate students in their health and well-being.

Here, you can access: 

• Information and applications to our peer mentorship program
• Mental health and support resources available to students at the University and in the community 
• A calendar of seminars, events and activities with themes ranging from conflict, discrimination, imposter syndrome to physical fitness

The Student Life office has launched a Student Mental Health Virtual Agent to help students navigate mental health supports at the University of Toronto. ‘Navi’, short for navigator, is an anonymous wayfinding tool that is available 24/7. Navi uses IBM’s Watson Assistant, a virtual agent that uses natural language processing to understand questions it receives, to provide accurate and relevant responses through a simple chat function.

Currently, Navi can speak to 48 broad topics related to mental health including: stress, anxiety, loneliness, harassment, discrimination, bullying, academics, career, sleep issues, accessibility, coping techniques, abuse, eating disorders, how to get involved, health care access, and more. The tool will be updated regularly to speak to more topics.

The School of Graduate Studies has developed an excellent Health and Wellness website that includes a directory of resources by campus, category (i.e. academic support, accessibility, health and dental, mental health, safety, international students, faith and spirituality and family and recreational) and language/accessibility.

Looking for mental health services, resources, or academic supports? Need to talk with someone about your experiences of supervision? The SGS Wellness portal, developed in collaboration with the University of Toronto Graduate Students' Union (UTGSU), can help point you in the right direction. 

"Prioritizing Your Wellness as a Graduate Student" is a presentation made to new graduate students at the beginning of each new term. This presentation outlines the importance of mental health, providing resources and considerations for student wellness.

You can download the slide deck from the latest presentation below.

Download the PDF.

The MBP Health and Wellness Committee has created a handy, printable Mental Health Resource handout, including information regarding:

• accessing counseling services
• dealing with conflict-related challenges
• community telephone Helplines
• online mental health resources

Download the MBP Mental Health handout here.

Below are links to printable posters that can be put up in your lab, or other approved spaces, to raise awareness of mental health resources available for MBP Students.

• Counselling Services Poster
• General Resources Poster
• Phone Helplines Poster

Below is a list of MBP Faculty members who have completed University of Toronto IAR ("Identify, Assist and Refer"). This training helps prepare Faculty to identify individuals experiencing mental health difficulties, offer assistance and facilitate help-seeking behaviour.