Dal targets student depression with online program

New students deal with stress of university life

Depression can be a difficult thing for students to deal with. Photo courtesy of morguefile.com

During her first three weeks of the academic year, Katrina Rideout felt like quitting. The first-year Halifax university student was dealing with depression and anxiety. While she had dealt with these feelings before, she found herself "barely pushing through" her first year, she said.

Rideout didn't know anyone when she arrived, but "met people sitting outside having a cigarette," she said. The people she met would invite her to parties. Yet, she found it "a little harder 'cause I'm not that talkative and I'm not putting myself out there."

Feeling better

Dalhousie University is trying out an online self-help program for students who are experiencing mild to moderate depression, stress and anxiety. Dalhousie launched the "Feeling Better Program" in mid-October and is going to continue it through this term and possibly into the beginning of summer. After that, the university will evaluate the program and may make changes.

The online program started for several different reasons. "Some people would prefer to do a program online as opposed to actually coming in," said Susan Battista, a PhD student in clinical psychology at Dalhousie. Battista is involved with the program as a part of her studies. She says there some people are concerned with finding the time to attend a face-to-face program or enduring long wait times to see a counsellor. If students "want something immediate they can go online and start the program."

Consisting of seven core modules and optional modules for men and women, the program is monitored with "program coaches, e-mails and weekly phone chats," said Battista. The program coaches are not counsellors and there are eligibility requirements for the online program. Students must not be receiving counselling anywhere else or be on any psychotropic medication.

The program modules talk about subjects like activity level and mood, thoughts and beliefs and social relationships. The program aims to engage the participants by getting them to look at themselves and their expereinces.

Dealing with depression

It is not uncommon for students to deal with depression, stress and anxiety. Universities have counselling services available and "we do get quite a few first-year students in for counselling," said Grace Leung, a counsellor with Saint Mary's University.

There are various causes of depression, from a genetic disposition, low self-esteem to grief. With students coming to school for the first time, the support network that was in place during high school has now changed. First-year students often "complain of having no friends and of feeling lonely," said Leung.

Roughly eight per cent of adults will experience depression at some point in their life, reports the Canadian Mental Health Association. Suicide accounts for 24 per cent of deaths for people between the ages of 15-24, according to the association.

The effects of depression and anxiety on students are "big," said Joanne Mills, a psychologist and co-ordinator of Student Counselling Services at Mount Saint Vincent University. "It interferes with their academics, life and wellness."

MSVU has tried group meetings for students dealing with these problems, but with "not a lot of success," said Mills. She prefers the more personal approach of one-on-one counselling. A self-help program is not the same as counselling.

But as for online help, it's a "great idea, if somebody is motivated in self-help," said Mills. While MSVU is reaching out to students online, it would take research on the effectiveness of online help before they would implement such a program.

Another first-year student who spoke about her feelings of depression and anxiety admits she found it "weird not having the usual support network," and university is a "different mindset from high school." Sometimes she finds the adjustment to university life scary and overwhelming and either "throws herself into work or hides," she said. She copes by channeling her energy into her blog and "anything artistic."

She would only speak on the condition of anonymity.

While neither student would qualify for the program, when asked whether or not they would try it their opininons differed. The anonymous student said she wouldn't "because part of where my head is at is to find actual connections with people," adding that she is online enough.

"You have to be open to new things, if the other stuff doesn't work," Rideout said, adding that the program "sounds kinda cool."

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