Indigenous Post-Secondary Student Mental Health

Indigenous students identified that accessing mental health supports on campus can be difficult. In our recent needs assessment, students said there were limited appointments offered and that often the appointment availability conflicted with the student’s course or personal schedules. Indigenous students also identified that mental health services were difficult to locate and navigate. This may lead to frustration and deter students from seeking out support in the future.

Our needs assessment also found that the current conversations and implementation of ‘self-identification’ of Indigenous ancestry amongst post-secondary campuses has led many Indigenous students to struggle with their cultural identity. Indigenous students shared that they do not feel Indigenous enough to access Indigenous services and resources available on campus. Creating a welcoming space, meeting students where they are in their identity journey, and inviting students to access services, resources, and cultural events are ways to improve this insecurity among Indigenous students.

Indigenous staff have identified an increase in complexity of issues faced by Indigenous students in post-secondary. Indigenous students are seeking access to Indigenous based mental health supports and resources as many feel the western model of mental health care does not meet their needs. Indigenous students are dealing with their own grief and loss from friends, family, members from their home community and do not know how to grieve in a healthy way. Some Indigenous students have shared they do not have support from friends or family back home and require additional emotional, mental, and spiritual support. Indigenous students are dealing with complex trauma such as intergenerational trauma, racism, depression, anxiety, and identity issues resulting from historical and colonial policies. In addition to these experiences, Indigenous students are also struggling with homelessness, food insecurity, and dealing with addictions and substance use resulting from some of the experiences identified. Having increased availability of staff, resources, and supports for Indigenous students in post-secondary campuses will reduce the number of barriers and lead to improved mental wellness and academic success.

With the demand of Indigenous students seeking mental health and cultural supports on campus, Indigenous staff are often taking on duties they were not sufficiently trained for with their assigned role. With limited hired staff available on campus, it may result in increased workload and occupational stress leading to burnout and empathic strain. Indigenous staff have expressed difficulties in accessing supports as having no support from management has left them to find their own resources, forcing staff to use personal sick time.