Counselling

After-Hours Emergency

If you are in danger or fear for someone’s safety, phone 911 and notify Douglas College Security if on campus. Find more 24/7 crisis services on the resources page.

Douglas College’s accredited counsellors provide free, accessible and confidential support to students with a variety of concerns that may be affecting your studies or personal well-being. Through one-to-one or group support sessions and workshops, we’ll work with you to explore what’s happening in your life and help you identify strategies to manage or resolve the challenges you’re facing. Our counsellors will teach you skills to better handle stress and increase resilience, how to cope with sudden personal challenges or just help you feel better.

When to seek counselling

If any of these statements apply to you, or something is weighing on you and you just need to talk, book an appointment today:  

  • I feel overwhelmed, stressed, anxious or depressed about school/my personal life.
  • I feel unmotivated and keep procrastinating and/or missing deadlines.
  • I experienced a loss and am grieving.
  • I lack the confidence to voice my thoughts or feelings.
  • I am experiencing difficulties with my family/peers/relationships.
  • I experienced/am experiencing sexual harassment or violence and don’t know what to do or how to cope.
  • I struggle to manage intense negative emotions, such as anger.
  • I don’t know what kind of career I want.
  • I am worried whether I am making the right choices for my future.
  • I am struggling to balance school, work and my personal life.
  • I am not doing well in some of my classes and don’t know how to get back on track.
  • I am in my first semester of Academic Probation and am blocked from registering for more courses.
  • I need help with filing a Petition for Exemption to College Policy to ask for a tuition refund or late withdrawal.
  • I have had a negative experience in the classroom/on campus and want to file a complaint.
  • I am facing some difficulties related to my education and don’t know what my rights and responsibilities are as a student.

Please note that there are limitations to the services Douglas counsellors can provide to students residing outside of B.C. Please visit the resources page to find Canada-wide services. 

Give us your feedback

Have you received counselling services recently? Would you recommend them to other students? We’d love to hear about your experience via a short, anonymous survey.

Give feedback

Workshops

Visit the Douglas events calendar to find details and registration links for the following Winter 2022 workshops:

  • Say it Right: Resolving Conflict with Communication: Jan. 27
  • Beat the Clock: How to Manage your Time: Jan. 28 or Feb. 9
  • Stress Less for Success: Managing Test Anxiety: Feb. 3 
  • Navigating College as a Mature Student: Feb. 10
  • Find your Fit: Career Explorations: March 7 and 14

Drop-In Support Groups

Visit the Douglas events calendar to find details and registration links for the following Winter 2022 drop-in groups:

  • Thursday Meditations: Thursdays (Jan. 20 - Apr. 14)
  • International Café Tuesdays: Tuesdays (Feb. 1 - March 29)

Mindfulness for Anxiety Support Group

This weekly support group runs each semester and teaches you how to manage your anxiety through mindfulness techniques. Each session includes mindfulness practice, mental health check-ins and discussions and activities related to coping techniques for anxiety/stress. Visit the webpage to learn more about how you could benefit and how to join.

HUMD 1130: Career Explorations and Personal Development

Douglas counsellors are also instructors for HUMD 1130. This course is offered in the Fall and Winter semesters and counts for academic credit towards your Douglas credential.

In this course, you will gain understanding of your personality and how it influences your career choices and ability to work cooperatively with others. You will learn how to conduct occupational research and develop skills in interpersonal communication, goal setting, problem-solving and decision-making. You will also assess your personal needs, values and interests, and how those factor into your career success.

Confidentiality

We respect the concerns you may have about the privacy of the information you share with your counsellor. Information shared with counsellors is confidential and nothing will be released to third parties without your signed consent, except when required by law.

If a counsellor or their files are subpoenaed, they must disclose what is asked of them by the courts. Counsellors are also required by law to report clearly imminent dangers to self or others, as well as instances of current child abuse.

Your counsellor will go over the terms of confidentiality with you in your first session and ask you to sign an Information & Consent to Counsel Form.