Mental health support for university students: what parents should know

Trust your worry. If your child talks about not wanting to live, seems unsafe, or you can't reach them and something feels wrong, act. Call 911 if anyone's safety is at risk. The 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline answers calls and texts 24 hours a day, every day of the year. It also helps people who are worried about someone else, so you can call it yourself.

If your child lives in residence and you can't reach them, call campus safety or residence staff and explain your concern. Give them your child's name and building.

Good2Talk is built for Ontario's college and university students. It's free and confidential, and it runs 24/7 by phone, text and online message. Students in Nova Scotia have their own Good2Talk number.

Kids Help Phone serves kids, teens and young adults across Canada, 24/7. Students can text CONNECT to 686868 to reach a trained volunteer crisis responder, or call 1-800-668-6868 to talk with a professional counsellor in several languages. Indigenous students can ask for a First Nations, Inuk or Métis responder by texting FIRST NATIONS, INUIT or METIS to 686868.

Save both numbers in your child's phone before move-in day. Students reach for help faster when they don't have to search for it.

Ontario law requires every publicly assisted college and university to have a student mental health policy. Since 2024, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act says the policy must describe the programs, services and supports the school offers, and the school must put it into practice.

In practice, most campuses run free, short-term counselling. Waterloo's Counselling Services is no charge, private and confidential, with in-person and virtual sessions. It books immediate crisis appointments within 24 hours and urgent ones within 3 to 5 days, and it can support students for up to six months after graduation while care transfers.

U of T's Health & Wellness offers same-day counselling appointments and peer support. Western's Mental Health Services provides short-term support for stress, distress and mental health difficulties, funded through provincial health care or the University Health Insurance Plan for international students.

Campus counselling is usually short-term by design. If your child needs ongoing care, ask the counsellor about a referral to a family doctor, psychiatrist or community service near campus.

Students with anxiety, depression, ADHD or another condition can ask for academic accommodations, such as extra exam time or a quieter room. They register with the university's accessibility office, not with each professor.

A formal diagnosis isn't always the starting point. U of T's Accessibility Services invites students who are seeking accommodations for mental health or attention concerns, without a formal diagnosis, to meet a facilitator and talk through options. Ask your child to contact the accessibility office in the summer before first year, so supports are ready when classes start.

The best time to talk about mental health is before anything is wrong. A short plan made in August means nobody has to think clearly in a hard moment in November.

Sit down with your child and look up their campus together. Find the counselling booking page, the after-hours line and campus safety's number, and save them in both phones. If your child already sees a doctor or therapist, ask how care will continue once they move. Waterloo, for example, only serves students living in Ontario, so a co-op term elsewhere can change who they call.

Students far from home can feel isolated fast, and time zones make a nightly call harder. Campus services are open to them on the same terms. Western says its mental health services are funded through provincial health care or through the University Health Insurance Plan, the compulsory plan for international students at Ontario universities.

Help your child save Good2Talk and 9-8-8 in their phone during the first week. Kids Help Phone's phone counsellors work in several languages, which can help a student who finds it easier to talk about feelings in their first language.

Counselling records are private. U of T Scarborough explains that under Ontario's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, a student must give permission before the university releases information about them to a third party, even a parent. That covers grades, academic status and residence status.

So you may not hear from the university if your child is struggling. Ask your child directly. If they agree, they can sign a consent form so a counsellor or the registrar can talk with you.

First year brings real stress. U of T Scarborough lists homesickness, fitting in, heavier workloads and less structure as common pressures in the first months, and a drop in marks is common. Normal stress comes and goes. Watch for changes that last: not sleeping or sleeping all day, missing classes for weeks, pulling away from friends, or talking about feeling hopeless.

When you raise it, ask open questions and listen more than you talk. Acknowledge how they feel. Then offer one concrete step, like booking a campus counselling appointment together on the phone, rather than a list of fixes.