Back in September, Fanshawe College was the first educational facility to launch the mental health online resource, iCopeU, and its first semester saw great results.

"Any feedback has been really positive," said Lois Wey, manager of Counselling and Accessibility Services at Fanshawe. "Students come into the department as a result of the site."

The website offers information on various mental health issues, as well as contact information for support around Fanshawe and the London community.

Average page views for the site have been between 1,900 and 2,000, said Maria Luisa Contursi, program manager and co-founder of the community group, mindyourmind, that developed the site and partnered with Fanshawe. Page views declined by the end of the semester, with students leaving the campus for the holidays.

Counselling and Accessibility Services and mindyourmind are busy promoting the site for the new semester to keep students aware of the important resources the site offers, given the increase in mental health issues among students, said Wey.

The site has also been helpful to students in health-related fields looking to research projects through the linked library catalogue. The most visited topics include stress and anxiety, addiction, eating disorders and fear and panic.

Counsellors are using the site as a tool to help students who come in for counselling sessions. One example was a student who came in and thought he was having a panic attack. The site, which features a section on panic attacks called "Panic Attack Dude," was used to help the student identify what constitutes an attack, and how he could deal with it, said Wey.

Last November, Fanshawe presented the site at the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and University's mental health summit, where it drew a lot of interest from other colleges and universities.

Students needing mental health resources or support can visit iCopeU.com for more information.