Mental health training helps students manage stress

By Lexi White

Features Editor 

Juggling the responsibilities of schoolwork, going to class, activities and maintaining a social life can be difficult for some students. To learn how to manage this stress, students were able to participate in the ‘Mental Health First Aid Training,’ organized by the Wellbeing Center. 

Graduate Intern Ashley Simon started working at the Wellbeing Center in November and said she enjoys helping students maintain their mental health.  

“I like connecting students to resources and doing preventative efforts to help prevent crisis,” Simon said.  

The Wellbeing Center’s mission is to create a happier, healthier environment for students to be successful in through the promotion of holistic well-being, according to their website.  

Workers said they want students to ‘thrive in 5’ or create togetherness, health, resilience, insight, vitality and equity while receiving care from the center.  

Through togetherness, students learn more about their relationships, how they belong in the community and how to improve their communication skills.  

By promoting health, students learn more about self-care, personal wellness and maintaining their well-being.  

Resilience exemplifies problem solving skills, stress management and helping students to create a growth mindset.  

Insight promotes students’ self-awareness, mindfulness and teaches them how to be more intelligent emotionally.  

Vitality teaches students how to apply more gratitude, meaning and purpose in their lives. Equity helps students to understand their personal social justice. 

This acronym’s overview is to help students collaborate and be in-tune with what their body or mind needs.  

“Our training helps to identify signs and symptoms to then create action plans,” Simon said. “Then we connect them to professionals to get professional support.” 

These mental health training courses are open to students, faculty and staff at the university. The duration of these sessions is seven hours and can be split over two days. 

Those who participate in the training will receive help in understanding their impact and approaches to proper care and will learn how to effectively respond in various scenarios. 

“Just being aware of mental health, mental health stigma and crisis warning signs helps people to assist their family, friends, loved ones or even can use these techniques on themselves,” Simon said.  

Simon said the Wellbeing Center’s training courses help students get in contact with the next level of professional help.  

“We are a resource to help students get from one step to the next,” Simon said. “We got trained through the company mental first aid and then we give students the training to identify the signs and how to proceed.”

The Wellbeing Center aims to help students have the best experience at the university. Their mission is to create a safe place for students on campus while helping them navigate stressful situations. 

Through their programs, teachings and activities, stduents can learn how to understand and deal with their emotions.  

Students can sign up for the ‘Mental Health First Aid’ training sessions through the university’s Owl Connect site. Once they RSVP, the Wellbeing Center workers will send them the information for their session. 

The Wellbeing Center is located in Room 100 in Schwartz Hall.