About Our Services

Counselling Services provides support to students actively registered in a program of study at Algonquin College. Students must be enrolled at Algonquin College in a minimum of a single course consisting of at least 24 hours of instruction to be eligible to use Counselling Services.

Your access to Counselling Services will be discontinued upon program completion, or when you are no longer enrolled in a program of study. Counsellors will work with you to prepare for the planned cessation of services. Should there be an unexpected change in your student status for any reason, counsellors can provide up to one additional session to assist you in transitioning to community-based resources.

Interested in enrolling at Algonquin College? Learn about our services for prospective students.

All of our Counselling Services, whether they are related to mental health, career, or academic concerns, are initially accessed through same day or next day access. Our counsellors will work with you to create a customized plan from a broad range of mental health, career, and academic resources to help you address your concerns.

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What we do: Counselling Services offers free individual and group counselling to current students. We provide short-term goal-orientated psychotherapy. Our team includes counsellors who are Registered Psychotherapists or Social Workers with master’s level education and may also include interns who are completing their masters level education under supervision of a registered psychotherapist or social worker.

What we don’t do: While we offer initial appointments quickly (often the same or next day), we do not provide immediate or emergency support. We cannot provide medical notes or academic accommodations. Counsellors do not diagnose or prescribe medication.

Benefits of counselling: Counselling can help improve emotional well-being, personal growth, or mental health. Many students build self-awareness and coping skills that support their academics, personal lives, and overall well-being.

Risks of counselling: Counselling may involve talking about difficult thoughts or experiences, which can sometimes feel uncomfortable. You are always in control of what you choose to share and what you would like to focus on.

Business hours & booking: Counselling Services is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. To get an appointment, you can either call or visit the Welcome Centre.

Cancelling & no-shows: If you need to cancel, please give at least 24 hours’ notice so your appointment can be offered to another student. There is no fee for cancelling or missing an appointment. If you are late, your session will be held for the first 15 minutes and may be cancelled after that. You are always welcome to reschedule.

Types of appointments: Counselling sessions are up to 50 minutes and can be either inperson, virtual, or by telephone.

Counselling Services is private and confidential. You will receive a form explaining more about the privacy of your health information and limits of confidentiality. This form will be reviewed in your first session.

Counselling records are confidential and are not included in academic records.

Recording: To protect confidentiality, counselling sessions may not be recorded by students or counsellors in any format (audio, video, or otherwise). This helps maintain privacy and trust. You are welcome to take your own written notes. Occasionally, an intern may ask to record a session for educational purposes; if you are asked to participate in a recorded session, the intern will review privacy with you before you consent. You can always decline to have your session recorded.

Teams Chat: Counsellors cannot participate in chat conversations with students outside of scheduled appointments. To reach a cousnellor, please contact the Welcome Centre.

E-mail: Counsellors may email resources, and the Welcome Centre may send appointment confirmations or administrative messages. Email is for scheduling and general information only; it is not for urgent or personal discussions. Emails sent to or from a Counsellor are added to your counselling file. If you prefer not to receive emails from your counsellor, please let them know.

Confidentiality and Technology: While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, we cannot guarantee the security or confidentiality of electronic communication (such as Zoom, Teams, phone, chat, or email). There is always some risk that information shared online could be intercepted, misdirected, or unintentionally disclosed.

If you need a different type or level of care than what we can offer, we will help refer you to appropriate resources.

For immediate mental health support: Counsellors are not reachable outside of appointments. For emergencies, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department. 24/7 helplines:

• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 9.8.8
• Good2Talk: Call 1.866.925.5454, text GOOD2TALKON to 686868, or message online
• Crisis Line: Call 1.866.996.0991
• Distress Centre: Crisis Line: 613.722.6914 / Distress line: 613.238.3311

Counselling Services also offers other supports as part of our Stepped Care 2.0 model, including workshops and self-help resources such as workbooks and online tools.

You are encouraged to speak with your doctor or primary health care provider about any mental health concerns.

You need a private, safe space and a reliable internet or telephone connection. If needed, you can reserve a private office in the Welcome Centre for your appointment. You cannot attend while driving, and you must be located within Canada.

Technology issues may occasionally disrupt sessions. If this happens, your counsellor will try to reconnect or contact you by email to arrange an alternate plan, such as switching to another format or rescheduling.

You have the right to ask questions, decline services, or stop counselling at any time.

If you ever feel unsure or uncomfortable, please speak with your counsellor. If you have a serious concern about a counsellor’s professional conduct, you can also speak with the Manager of Student Counselling and Wellness Supports via the Welcome Centre, or contact the counsellor’s regulatory body (OCSWSSW or CRPO).

As a counselling service, we are required to keep a record of each of your interactions with anyone in our service. That record will be retained for 10 years after your last contact with us. All members of Algonquin’s Counselling Services will have access to your counselling record. This includes all counsellors at the Ottawa and Pembroke campuses. It also includes the Manager of Counselling Services, Counselling Services’ intake staff, and Aboriginal Counsellors in the Mamidosewin Centre. Members of the Welcome Centre will also have access to the section of your counselling record that contains your contact information in order to book appointments at your request. Please note that your counselling record will only be accessed by those listed above for the purpose of providing you with mental health support services.

Your counselling record will be stored in a secure manner and its contents cannot be directly accessed by anyone not listed in this document. No information will be released from your counselling record without your consent; except in the circumstances described in the Coordination of Student Support Services and Limits of Confidentiality sections below.

When appropriate, your counsellor will consult with other mental health professionals and engage in clinical supervision in order to provide you with the best possible service. When discussing aspects of your case with a member of Counselling Services or a qualified expert, every effort will be made to exclude information that could identify you in order to protect your privacy.

The Managers of Algonquin College’s Counselling Services, the Centre for Accessible Learning (formerly Centre for Students with Disabilities), and Health Services, along with the Director of Student Support Services, may share information about your needs in order to best coordinate the services to be delivered to you.

Counselling Services is legally obligated to disclose information about you to the appropriate authorities, with or without your consent, in the following circumstances:

1. There are reasonable grounds to believe that you are likely to harm yourself or another person.
2. There are reasonable grounds to believe that a child under the age of 17 years is at risk of being abused or neglected.
3. There are reasonable grounds to believe that a resident in a long term care or retirement home is at risk of being abused or neglected.
4. Your counselling record has been subpoenaed by a court of law.
5. You disclose that you have been sexually abused by a regulated health professional.

In most cases, we may believe that it would be helpful to share information about you with someone outside of Counselling Services, such as a member of another Algonquin department, your parents, or your family doctor. In these situations, we will discuss the benefits and risks of releasing this information and ask you to decide which information should and shouldn’t be released.

In those rare situations where we believe that it is necessary to disclose confidential information about you without your consent, we will a) only release information that we believe is relevant to the situation and b) only release information to those whom we believe need to receive it. When it is appropriate and safe to do so, we will notify you if we have released information without your explicit consent.

When you meet with a counsellor for your initial appointment, your counsellor will provide you with a copy of our Confidentiality and Informed Consent Form to review and sign. We may decline your request for “counselling” services should you choose to withhold your consent to receiving counselling services under these policies. In such a case, we will provide you with a listing of available services not affiliated with Algonquin College to help you find a suitable service provider.

If you have any questions or concerns about these policies, please feel free to discuss them with a member of the Counselling Services team.