WITHOUT
SHAME
Goodwill Talking
When Israel Lobo started universi-
Breaking down the counselling taboo in post-secondary institutions. b y E D UA R D O G EV E N E Z
22 unspoken
MAY 2022
ty, he knew he wasn’t feeling good. There was the stress of being away from friends and family, but worst of all, he had that overwhelming feeling that he was an imposter who didn’t belong there in the first place. And yet when a peer suggested he seek counselling, the 23-year-old Capilano University student wasn’t ready. “There is still a social stigma around counselling, and I didn’t want other students to judge me,” says Lobo, who moved to Vancouver from Mexico City in 2018. “Back in my home country, counselling is often [only] seen as an option for someone unstable or mentally ill.” Despite national campaigns like Bell Let’s Talk, which encourage Canadians PHOTO: HALFPOINT/ADOBE STOCK
