Faced with the increase in requests for psychosocial support in recent years, higher education institutions have adopted management practices to triage and manage these requests. There are various options, but generally the online form or e-mail is the most popular. Here are a few examples:
- At Université Laval, students must use an online appointment booking platform to access services, select an appointment and fill in a request for assistance form. There is then an initial meeting with a member of the psychosocial team to clarify the situation and assess the person’s needs. Depending on the case, she may be referred to the Help Centre or other appropriate resources.
- At Polytechnique Montréal, students write an email requesting a consultation and are contacted the same day to discuss their service options. They can then choose their own service or be accompanied in this choice.
- At the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, most requests for psychological support services are made using an online form. A psychosocial counsellor assesses the request on the basis of suicide risk, impairment of functioning, impact on school performance and the presence of risk and protective factors. The questionnaires are evaluated within 24 to 48 hours. Following this assessment, a priority rating of 1 to 3 is assigned, depending on the degree of urgency. Urgent situations are dealt with during the same week.
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