By Naseema Raja Mohamed

Wait times for counselling services at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) can take up to several months, according to student testimonials and the school’s Centre for Student Development and Counselling (CSDC).

Counselling wait times have been up to three months in the past, as previously reported by The Eyeopener. In 2016, students who were not concerned for their safety, nor struggling with day-to-day tasks had to wait up to four weeks for an intake appointment after their initial triage appointment.

In an email to The Eyeopener the CSDC said, “Wait times for ongoing one-on-one counselling average seven weeks, which is well within industry norms for ongoing psychotherapy.” But this can vary throughout the year, with a typical range of one to four months. 

The CSDC also stated wait times for students with immediate safety concerns as well as those who identify as Black, Indigenous, or Trans and students with eating disorders are expedited.

“Students currently have immediate access to initial counselling appointments and brief therapy,” read the email, stating that appointments can be scheduled for the same day or within a few days to a week depending on availability.

Between May 2024 to April 2025, the centre saw 2,116 students. There are currently 21 full-time counsellors.

Counselling at TMU is free for students, according to the CSDC website.

Students at TMU express mixed experiences with counselling wait times depending on many factors. Some students wait a couple of weeks for counselling appointments, while others experience delays of several months.

Dania Gulshan is a second-year master’s student in spiritual care and psychotherapy at the University of Toronto who did her undergraduate degree in psychology at TMU. Gulshan said she waited almost six months after applying to see a counsellor at TMU in the winter semester of the 2022/23 academic year.

Jane*, a first-year TMU student, was told at her intake appointment she might have to wait “several months” to be matched with a TMU counsellor.  

“My intake counsellor sent me some external references, but after looking at all the [options], I just felt like they wouldn’t be a good fit for me because they were white therapists and I feel like it’s just harder to connect with people who are not of my ethnic background,” she said. 

Jane took it upon herself to find a therapist using her student insurance. 

“I really need to find a job or find some way to get the money in order to keep on going because without therapy, I will be struggling a lot mentally,” she said. 

Other TMU students have taken to Reddit to share their experiences where the CSDC referred them to external providers due to long wait times. 

According to the university’s website, all TMU students are covered for external counselling services through a student insurance plan unless they have opted out of the service. 

Undergraduate students receive $1,000 per year and graduate students receive $750 per year for external counselling services.

Julia Perreras, a second-year language and intercultural relations student at TMU, said she had a wait time of one to two weeks due to having issues that impacted her day-to-day life after being referred. 

“My therapist made sure to have a plan and so she asked me ‘do you want to have this every week,’ and so that was how I moved through it,” she said. 

Kristy Brosz, a mental health trauma therapist with a private practice in Calgary, said it is common for clinics to triage situations. However, she noted that universities can provide more options with “being able to do virtual therapy.”

“When [universities] are saying, ‘okay, you’re on our wait list for a month from now,’ they’re not also saying, ‘but here are some virtual options,'” she said. 

However, according to a CSDC brochure, TMU offers virtual options for counselling.

Brosz, who is registered in five provinces, said a common factor she has seen is that virtual therapy heavily reduces wait times.

For urgent situations, TMU suggests 24-hour telephone lines such as Good2Talk and the Gerstein Crisis Centre Support Line.

*This source is anonymous due to privacy concerns. The Eye has verified this source. 

With files from Shaaranki Kulenthirarasa