Algonquin College and The Royal strike a new mental-health partnership
October 10, 2019
President Claude Brulé announced the partnership Thursday during a ceremony in Nawapon. “With The Royal’s support and expertise, we are going to be able to shine a brighter spotlight on mental health than ever before – reducing the stigma, educating our College community, and leading the way for post-secondary education in Canada,” he said.
The Royal is a 284-bed, mental-health care and research facility in Ottawa. The partnership will allow Algonquin students to take advantage of various mental-health services from their homes using digital technology to participate in psychiatric clinics, and join a mood disorder group offering psychological therapy for anxiety and depression. As well, The Royal will provide professional development and training opportunities for Algonquin employees.
President Brulé lauded the partnership as the embodiment of Algonquin’s values of
Caring, Learning, Integrity and Respect and a perfect complement to the College’s Healthy Living Education initiative. “This partnership will help us move forward on the path of understanding, compassion, and collaboration,” he said. “It puts new emphasis on recognizing and treating mental illness before it stops our learners from doing the things they want to do and, more importantly, being the people they want to be.”
Other speakers, introduced by Jeff Agate, Associate Director, Student Support Services, also spoke to the necessity and benefits of the partnership.
“This initiative exemplifies The Royal’s new vision of being a hospital without walls,” said Dr. Susan Farrell, Vice President, Patient Care Services and Community Mental Health at The Royal. “Our aim is to help people manage their health and wellness while living their lives rather than organizing their lives around getting to an appointment at a hospital.”
Through the leveraging of telemedicine and the creation of virtual health services, students will be able to obtain support when and where they need it, she said, noting that “partnerships and collaboration are key to this.”
Dr. Gail Beck, Clinical Director of The Royal’s Youth Outpatient Psychiatry Program, and a member of Algonquin’s Board of Governors, echoed that theme in a keynote speech. “Our partnership will improve the care we both provide and will ensure that many more youths have access to evidence-based care as soon as they need it,” she said.
Beck praised the College – and Student Support Services staff, in particular – for its ongoing commitment to student mental health. “With you doing your work and us doing ours, the impact that you have will not be additive, it will be multiplied,” she said. “And that’s what this partnership will do; it’s going to multiply our impact … and make it possible for more young people to graduate from college.”
Student representatives made similar observations. “I am so proud of a partnership that prioritizes (Algonquin’s) commitment to student health,” said Students’ Association President Deijanelle Simon, noting how the pressures of student life – everything from exams and home life to social media and working – can affect a student’s mental and physical health. She expressed the hope that students will take advantage of the new services “to own their health.”
Joshua Kellar, a student in the Social Service Worker program, received sustained applause for a speech that drew on personal experience to highlight the importance of the partnership. “I could not have succeeded here without the mental-health supports I found once I arrived (at Algonquin College),” he said, describing himself as a person recovering from addiction. “Under the pressure of demanding course loads, students like me can easily find themselves falling back into depression, addiction, and self-harm, making every day a battle to stay the course.
“That is why this partnership with The Royal is so important – it lets students know that they are not fighting that battle alone,” Kellar said, “that there are supports in place to guide, encourage, and support us.”
Some of those existing supports were in evidence during the event. Project Lighthouse, the Umbrella Project, the Wellness and Equity Centre, Human Resources, and the AC Hub were among the display booths providing a backdrop to the partnership announcement.
As well, a short video—presented by Laura Stanbra, Vice President, Student Support Services, and Ben Bridgstock, Director, Student Support Services— sketched the new services to be offered. They described the partnership as a unique and pro-active measure, noting that Algonquin employees will receive training from The Royal’s clinicians to better deliver much-needed mental-health services to students.
President Brulé pointed out that arranging the partnership involved several months of effort and he thanked Stanbra and Bridgstock and their teams for bringing it to fruition.
“I am proud that, together, we have been able to turn this very ambitious idea into a reality that will help thousands of people,” he said.
List to CBC Radio's profile on AC's new partnership with The Royal.
(Second photo: Joshua Kellar, a student in the Social Service Worker program)