Every year, one in 10 McGill students will visit McGill’s Mental Health Service (MMHS). While this means the majority of students may never set foot in the quiet offices of the Brown Building’s fifth floor, MMHS actually ends up playing a role more crucial than ever for many individuals.
Mental Illness Awareness Week kicked off at McGill on Oct. 4 with the annual Students in Mind conference. During the conference, MMHS presented its new website and online resource for students: McGill Mental Health Hub, also previously known as the McGill Wellness Portal. Emily Yung, McGill’s Mental Health Education coordinator, is one of the brains behind this new tool.
Originally from Markham, Ontario, Yung completed her undergraduate degree in Health Sciences at Western University. She proceeded to pursue a two-year masters in Psychiatry from McGill, graduating in 2014. Yung was inspired to venture into the field of mental health in her first year of undergraduate studies while volunteering with a family doctor who also practiced psychotherapy. Yung would sit in on his psychotherapy sessions and observe how the doctor induced change in patients on a daily basis.
Through this, Yung saw how various sessions would help foster transformations even within a one-hour period. While changes within an hour may be minimal, there was enough positive impact for the individual to carry out their week through learning how to cope with what was going on, until the next session. This inspired her to pursue a career in the mental health field, and led her to her current position at McGill.