This is your supportive listening service

• Access our calendly booking page via this link. The PSC is open during fall and winter semesters with modified hours during exam periods.
• View our available times and select one that will work for you. Then select whether you would like a virtual appointment (via Google Meets) or an in-person appointment (in SUB 2-707). Calendly allows appointments to be booked 24 hours in advance.
• After you have made your selection, you will receive an email from us confirming the appointment and a calendar invite.
• If you selected a virtual session, before your scheduled appointment, the calendar invite will be updated to include a Google Meet link. You will get an email from us letting you know the invitation has been updated.
• When it’s time for your appointment click on the link to join the meeting. It's your choice to be on camera or just use audio depending on your comfort level.
• If you selected in-person, come by SUB 2-707 at the time of your appointment and a volunteer will let you in and get you set up for your session.
• If we are unavailable, call the Edmonton Distress Line at 780-482-HELP to talk to someone right away, 24 hours a day.
• Have you had a session with us before? If so, we would appreciate it if you would fill out our confidential Client Feedback Form!

The Peer Support Centre offers support in multiple languages in addition to English, including French, Hindi, Punjabi, Tagalog, Spanish, Korean and Ukrainian. Please note that support in these languages is available by appointment only, and availability depends on our volunteers' capacity. As we are a volunteer-run service, appointment times may vary. Additionally, while we can provide verbal support in the languages listed above, any resources shared during the session will be in English.

To request support in one of these languages, please email psc@uasu.ca, and we will do our best to coordinate a time that works for you. In your email, please include:

• The language that you wish to be supported.
• Your general availability from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
• Your preference for in-person vs. virtual appointments.

Please keep in mind that our sessions normally take approximately one hour. You can expect a response to your inquiry within two business days, and if a volunteer is available, your appointment will be scheduled within a week. If we are unable to accommodate an appointment in an additional language, you are welcome to come to the Peer Support Centre for a drop-in session or schedule an in-person or online session, where support will be provided in English.

When entering the Centre, you can will be greeted by a volunteer, who will direct you to one of our client rooms. There, the volunteer can listen to your concerns and discuss how they have been affecting you. Volunteers can help with any sort of concern, ranging from exam stress, information on abuse or family violence, or suicide concerns. The volunteer will provide various exercises to help you uncover some steps you can use to improve your situation. They can also provide you with additional campus and community resources to give you an idea of where to go after you leave the Centre.

Please note that if the sign on the door indicates we are unavailable, we are likely supporting other clients. Please try to return at a later time or book an appointment.

If we are unavailable, please call the Edmonton Distress Line (780-482-4357) to talk to someone right away, 24 hours a day. You can also check out our list of resources list for additional support.

The PSC operates on a drop in basis and our services are completely free! No intake or appointment is necessary and we offer confidential services, meaning we do not require personal information such as your student ID. The PSC is not staffed by professional psychologists, rather it is student volunteers who support students through supportive listening sessions. The PSC is a short term service, meaning we support students for just one or two sessions. Our volunteers are not equipped to provide long term support or follow up. The PSC does not provide advice. Rather, we empower you to connect to your own resources and strengths to help yourself. We believe that you are the expert in your own situation.

No, our services are completely free to both students and non-students

The PSC is located in SUB (the Students’ Union Building), on the second floor 2-707, across the hall from the health centre. Hours vary through the semester and during exam periods, please check the top of this page of our current hours.

Sometimes both our supportive listening volunteers are in sessions at the same time. If you come to the PSC during our open hours and we are closed, we encourage you to call the admin line (780- 492-4268) or head to our website to make an appointment at a later time! Feel free to check out the resources or call our friends over at the Distress Line (780-482-4357), if you can’t wait for an appointment for support.

The PSC is a short term service. Typically we see students only one time because we do our best to empower you to connect to personal and external resources for this and future stressors. If your situation changes, or you are seeking support for a new issue, we can see you more than once. Also, if you are interested in additional resources, or just don’t feel that your situation has resolved, you can come back to the centre to obtain some more referrals.

Contact the appropriate health services! The PSC is not a health service. Instead, the health centre in SUB, 911, the University Hospital, or the 24/7 Healthlink (call 811) are some options.

Yes, you can! We offer the same confidential supportive listening services virtually. You can book a virtual appointment by selecting to meet virtually in our Calendly booking page.

Please contact the admin line (780) 492-4268 to speak with the Program Lead or one of the Coordinators. You can also email psc@su.ualberta.ca

Volunteers who make it through our intensive recruitment process enter into 80 hours of mandatory training. Training is comprised of the following: suicide & crisis intervention training, supportive listening and communication skills, grief education

Yes, you can! Please check out our most common workshops and fill out a request form for your group.

The PSC is available primarily to support the campus community. This includes undergraduate students, graduate students, academic staff, non-academic staff, international students, students living on and off campus.

Any issue that is causing you concern! We provide supportive listening services for any issue at all; no issue is too big or too small. Some of our common concerns include: exam/course stress, relationship concerns, mental health concerns, suicidal thoughts, unhealthy/abusive relationships, loss, identity concerns.

Supportive Listening sessions can take up to an hour. If you don’t have that time, we can modify a session for you, but encourage you to stop by when you have the full hour available.

Our appointment booking platform requires an email address, which is what we will use to schedule a Google Meet appointment. The form requires you to fill out a name, but since we want to ensure your confidentiality feel free to put “Client” or “Anon” when filling it out. If you choose to use your own name, this information will be kept confidential within our service.