Centre for Student Development and Counselling

Ryerson Community Crisis Support

Professional counsellors are available to support groups of students who have been affected by a sudden and significant death of someone close to them.  For example, this could include the sudden death of a member of the community (classmate, staff or faculty) by accident or illness. If you wish to arrange for this service please contact the Centre for Student Development and Counselling (416) 979-5195.

Our role is to help normalize the symptoms of distress, make recommendations about healthy self-care, and provide referrals to appropriate services as necessary.  Counsellors from in the Centre for Student Development and Counselling will typically offer to provide ongoing counselling services to the students and referrals to external resources for faculty and staff.

Please be aware that following your initial call to the Centre for Student Development and Counselling a number of logistical arrangements must be put in place:

• Typically, one of the counsellors will meet with you as soon as possible to assess the needs of the group.

• All those involved and/or affected by the loss will then be notified as to the availability of this service and the option of attending.

• Counsellors must clear their schedules and find a common time for the session that works for all the participants.

• Arrangements regarding the number of participants, relevant groupings, and booking of rooms must occur. Typically there are no more than 10 participants in a group in addition to several counsellors.

Although we will try to provide a timely response to an urgent request, it is highly unlikely that an immediate crisis intervention can occur. It can sometimes take several hours, or even a day to organize a crisis support session. We will respond to your request as soon as possible. In the interim, we will endeavor to create as much safety and support as possible for you and those directly affected by the tragedy.