Relationships 101 (on campus and beyond)
For most people in relationships, Valentine’s Day is about spending time with a special someone. For Concordia’s Counselling and Psychological Services team, the day of love presents an opportunity to provide students with advice on improving and maintaining those relationships.
On Thursday, February 9, in anticipation of Valentine's Day, Counselling and Psychological Services will hold A Fair of the Heart. An annual event at Concordia for more than a decade, the fair takes place on the mezzanine of the Henry F. Hall Building.
Students can stop by the booth and complete a short Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test, the most popular feature of the fair.
“We used to use this personality assessment for career exploration in the past,” says Dale Robinson, manager of Counselling and Psychological Services.
“But we use it here to give people feedback about how they relate to others, their particular style of communicating and how that could be related to challenges they report in their relationships. The test results we give students help them have more insight into themselves, how they communicate, and how that may or may not be working for them.”
Counsellors will also be on site to share tips on communication and maintaining healthy relationships. While the event is about relationships, those who find themselves single on Valentine’s Day can still take something away from the event.
“We address relationship issues in a very broad sense,” says Robinson. “So a relationship can be with a boyfriend, girlfriend, friend, and even a relationship with one’s self and one’s self-esteem. We don’t want to exclude people who don’t have partners.”
Robinson hopes that the layout of the event — a small booth as opposed to a larger fair — will feel more accessible and will invite more students to stop by.
“It’s about dropping by, having a piece of chocolate, taking a look at some of these colourful handouts and doing a little assessment,” says Robinson.
"Students usually find it fun. It gives us an opportunity to tell them about the services that we offer and to wish them Happy Valentine’s Day. We try to keep it fun.”
A Fair of the Heart takes place on Thursday, February 9, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Mezzanine of the Henry F. Hall Building (1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W).
