Algonquin College partners up with Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre to bring added resources to students and employees

Algonquin College is partnering with The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, a teaching and research hospital that looks to help those living with mental illness and addiction. The endeavour is meant to bring new mental-health resources to the college’s students and employees

The collaboration will allow students to take advantage of different services from the comfort of their homes, by using technology to participate in psychiatry clinics and psychological therapies, as well as mood disorder groups covering topics like anxiety and depression. It will also allow the Royal to offer professional development and training opportunities to the college’s employees.

“The mental health of our learners and employees is a top priority for us and so we are very proud to collaborate with The Royal,” says Claude Brulé, President and CEO of Algonquin College. “This partnership not only helps us enhance existing services, but also allows us to offer new resources, and provides us the tools to make a difference.”

Together, they will also offer a mental-health education series that will run until April 2020 and feature psychiatrists from the Royal, sharing information on issues including self-harm, eating disorders and borderline personality disorders.

“By working in collaboration and leveraging telemedicine technology, The Royal and Algonquin College are creating mental-health services that fit easily into students’ busy lives to provide help when and where it is needed most,” says Joanne Bezzubetz, President and CEO of The Royal. “This exemplifies The Royal’s vision of working with partners to offer community-based care and innovative services that are integrated into other aspects of people’s lives — we call this a hospital without walls.”