George Brown Polytechnic is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
George Brown Polytechnic’s Counselling & Student Well-being Services offers support for currently registered students who are physically located in Ontario. Our diverse team of experienced counsellors provides confidential support to help students navigate current challenges that may impact their personal well-being and academic success.
How we support students
Our counsellors take a student-centered, trauma-informed, and anti-oppressive approach to support your well-being.
We use a stepped care model, which means that there are different types of support available depending on your needs, preferences, and goals. Our services include self-directed resources, single-session counselling, peer support, mental health case management, and wellness and skill-building groups. A counsellor can help you explore these options and find the support that works best for you.
Our counsellors are registered mental health professionals with specialized training in a variety of counselling approaches. They are here to provide a safe, welcoming, and non-judgmental space where you can talk about challenges, build coping skills, and work toward your personal and academic goals.
What our counsellors can help with
You can discuss any personal or academic concerns that are impacting your well-being and academic success.
Examples of concerns that students bring to counselling include, but are not limited to:
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Adjusting to post-secondary life
- Anxiety and depression
- Interpersonal conflict
- Gender and sexual identity concerns
- Stress and time management
- Grief and loss
- Sexual and intimate partner violence
- Financial stress
- Substance use concerns
- Coping with traumatic events
No issue is too big or too small.
Benefits of counselling
Having someone to talk to in a safe, informed capacity can make an important impact on your well-being.
Some of the benefits that you may gain from a single counselling session are:
- New ways of addressing personal and academic challenges
- Perspectives and clarity
- Practical tools and strategies
- A roadmap for pursuing and achieving goals
- Increased self-awareness
FAQ
Can counsellors diagnose or provide medication?
No, counsellors cannot provide a mental health diagnosis or medication.
If you are looking for a mental health diagnosis or medication, you must see a medical doctor, a nurse practitioner, a psychiatrist or a psychologist (note that Registered Psychologists in Ontario can diagnose mental health conditions, however, they cannot prescribe medications).
Is EVERYTHING that I share completely confidential?
Information that you give your counsellor is confidential. This means that the counsellor will not provide anyone with information about you (or even that you came to counselling) to anyone without your permission.
Information about seeking help from Counselling Services does NOT go into the student’s academic record and will NOT be given to parents, employers, or any government representative.
However, the law requires a counsellor to breach confidentiality if the following applies:
- It is clear that a person’s life is in danger, including your own.
- A child appears to be at risk of being harmed or neglected.
- Information is subpoenaed by a court of law.
View our Privacy Policy for more information.
How can I get help with registering for school, courses, or OSAP?
For help with registration, contact the Office of the Registrar.
For questions regarding OSAP, you can find support through the Financial Assistance office.
For help with your schedule or academic requirements, please contact your academic department. You can also find external academic support through the Student Association.
If you need tutoring, check out the Tutoring and Learning Centre.
I have an issue with my classes, grades, or my professor. Can you help me with this?
It depends on the type of support you are seeking. If you need emotional support or help with identifying how to approach the situation, a counsellor can help you. If you want help with appealing a course or a grade, please contact the Academic Support office in the Student Association or your academic department.
I need accommodations for a mental health issue. Can you help me with this?
If you have a mental health diagnosis, or suspect you may be experiencing a mental health concern that is affecting your courseload or corsework, you may wish to register with Accessible Learning Services (ALS). If you do not have a formal diagnosis, you can speak with a medical provider about assessment/documentation, or book an appointment with a counsellor to discuss your concerns and next steps.
If you are hoping to get an accommodation for circumstances that are unrelated to a disability, you can meet with a counsellor for support and to help you navigate the next steps.
How do I learn more about my student healthcare options?
George Brown Polytechnic's student health benefits program is facilitated through the Student Association's partnership with Alumo (formerly WeSpeakStudent). Visit the Student Association's website for more information and contact details.
How do I talk to my doctor about my mental health?
A medical doctor can diagnose health issues, provide or refer you to appropriate treatments, and help manage mental health challenges effectively. Seeing a doctor is crucial for getting the right support and interventions early on. So it's helpful to be open and honest with your doctor about your feelings and symptoms. Prepare for your visit by noting down your symptoms and how they affect your daily life.
Share your feedback
Your feedback is always welcome. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us.
Counselling Services' Privacy Policy
George Brown Polytechnic’s Counselling and Student Well-being Services (herein “Counselling Services”) is in Toronto, Canada and serves registered students who are experiencing a range of challenges, including mental health challenges, academic concerns, stress, and interpersonal issues. Services are provided online and in person from the St. James, Waterfront, and Casa Loma campuses.
Our staff, including regulated healthcare providers, are committed to collecting, using and disclosing personal information responsibly and only to the extent necessary to provide services.
Consent
Please be advised that by providing personal information or personal health information to Counselling Services, in relation to our services, you consent to the collection, retention, use and disclosure of your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable privacy law.
Confidentiality
Counselling Services recognizes that the information you provide is private and we are committed to keeping that information confidential. All information is collected, used, and disclosed in accordance with privacy legislation, such as the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”), R.S.O. 1990 and the Personal Health Information Protection Act (“PHIPA”), 2004. This privacy policy, and our commitment to adhere to applicable privacy law, applies to all personal information and personal health information that we collect in the course of providing counselling services. Counselling understands and takes seriously its responsibility to securely and lawfully handle all personal health information in our custody or control.
Limits of Confidentiality
Your privacy is important to us. Information shared in counselling is kept confidential and will not be disclosed without your consent. However, there are certain situations where counsellors may be required or permitted by law to disclose information without your consent. These circumstances include:
- If you disclose that you are at risk of harming yourself or others
- If a child is being harmed or is at risk of being harmed
- If you disclose that you are being harmed by a regulated healthcare professional
In these circumstances, we may need to breach confidentiality to ensure the safety and well-being of all involved.
Collection, use, and disclosure of information
Counselling Services will, at all times, comply with applicable privacy legislation in the collection, storage, use, and disclosure of information.
Counselling Services collects, uses and discloses personal information, as well as personal health information, for the primary purpose of providing counselling services and/or providing resources that may assist students with issues they are experiencing.
Counselling Services also collects, uses, and discloses information for secondary purposes that include abiding by reporting obligations of licensed professions that are subject to professional Colleges (i.e. the College of Psychologists of Ontario, College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, etc.); complying with legal obligations under privacy legislation; to administer, audit, and improve counselling services; to communicate with students; for training and compliance purposes; and as required or permitted by law.
Personal health information is accessible within Counselling Services by individuals who need to access the information in relation to counselling services. As well, personal information may be accessed by staff, where needed, to perform authorized services such as scheduling appointments, facilitating referrals, and managing information security.
Use of Cookies
George Brown Polytechnic, Counselling Services, and third parties may use technologies including cookies, beacons, tags, and scripts to collect online information. These technologies are used for a variety of purposes, such as analyzing, administering, and improving our online services. By using our web-based services and/or visiting our websites, you consent to our use of cookies and similar technologies.
Google Analytics
George Brown Polytechnic also uses Google Analytics to gather information about traffic on parts of the website and mobile application, used to provide Counselling with statistical analysis of user behaviour and to identify trends. The purpose of this information collection is to audit and improve users’ experience and counselling services. Google Analytics is a web analysis service provided by Google. Google utilizes the data collected to track and examine the use of the website and mobile applications, to prepare reports on those activities and share them with other Google services. Google may use the data collected to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network. Google collects cookies and usage data and processes such information in the United States. For more information on Google’s use of information collected through Google Analytics, please consult Google's Privacy Policy. Google does offer an option to opt out of analytics data collection.
Third-party service providers
George Brown Polytechnic may use third-party service providers to deliver certain services that require access to personal information stored in our servers. We have contracts with these service providers prohibiting their use or disclosure of this personal information for any purpose other than to provide their services to George Brown. These third-party service providers are also obliged to employ security safeguards to protect personal information.
Security measures
George Brown Polytechnic uses various physical, electronic and procedural means to safeguard personal and other information that it collects, including but not limited to:
- Ensuring your personal health information is stored securely in a physical file and/or in an electronic health record.
- Limiting access to the information to our Counselling Services staff and other support staff who require the information to provide services to the user.
- Limiting the access to and use of the information by third-party technology service providers to that required to provide their services.
- Providing training to our employees about their responsibilities in relation to the protection of, and access to, user information.
- Administrative safeguards, such as reference checks of prospective Counselling Services staff.
- Technological safeguards, such as passwords and firewalls to control access to our electronic information systems.
- Encryption of chat messages when in transit and encryption of stored online chat support conversation transcripts.
Retention of information
In order to provide counselling services and to fulfill our legal obligations, George Brown Polytechnic will need to retain personal information, including personal health information. We retain personal health information we have collected for 10 years.
Access and correction of personal information
Requests for access to personal information must be made in writing. With only a few exceptions, students have the right to see what personal information Counselling Services has on file about them. Students will be asked to make this request in writing to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Coordinator. The Freedom of Information and Privacy Coordinator can help you identify what records Counselling Services might have about you. George Brown reserves the right to charge a nominal fee for such requests. If George Brown cannot give you access, we will tell you within 30 days if at all possible and tell you the reason why access cannot be provided.
If a student believes there is a mistake in the information, the student has the right to ask for it to be corrected. This applies to factual information and not to any professional opinions Counselling Services may have formed. Counselling Services may ask the student to provide documentation that the information in the file is wrong. Where Counselling Services agree that there is an error, the service will make the correction and notify anyone to whom it sent the incorrect information. If Counselling Services does not agree that there is an error, the service will include in the case file, a brief statement from the student on the point and then Counselling Services will forward that statement to anyone else who received the earlier information.
Requests for access or correction should be directed to George Brown’s Freedom of Information and Privacy Coordinator as indicated below along with any questions, concerns or complaints about our information practices, and/or management of specific information.
For any questions and concerns, or to submit an access or correction request, please contact the Freedom of Information and Privacy Coordinator at privacy@georgebrown.ca.