Front Page / Bonner Program Resources / Training and Enrichment / Wellness / Documents to Download

Wellness

Overview  |  Guides  |  Campus Examples  |  Documents to Download

The following publications, presentations, organizations, trainings, and other resources have been gathered from research as relevant supports for Bonner Programs and campuses. 

In addition, contact the Bonner Foundation for a trainer guide for use in Bonner Meetings to prompt student discussion of this issue. Additionally, a guide for hosting a staff discussion about wellness, including case studies and identifying proper protocol, has been developed. Contact a Foundation staff member to get a copy.

Facilitation Guides

• 8 Themes Curriculum: Staying Well and Engaged After Graduation: This workshop engages students in reflecting and discussing their own wellness and self-care. It helps them identify strategies for maintaining supports after graduation. Finally, it guides them to think about how they stay connected to each other and to Bonner after graduation.

Trainer Guide
Pages Version: BonCur2018.Staying Well and Engaged.8.4.pages  
PDF Version: BonCur2018.Staying Well and Engaged.8.4.pdf  

Presentation
Note: Be sure to download accompanying slides. Three formats are available here.
Keynote Version: Staying Well and Engaged Slides.key
PowerPoint Version: Staying Well and Engaged Slides.pptx  
PDF Version: Staying Well and Engaged Slides.pdf  

• Replenish: Understanding Secondary Traumatic Stress and Developing Structures for Prevention and Maintenance: In this workshop, participants will gain an understanding and Secondary Traumatic Stress and its potential impact on themselves and others. This workshop was developed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in combination with major historical events in 2020-2021. Participants will learn tools for empathizing with others through metaphor. Lastly, participants will be able to develop a personal wellness plan.

Trainer Guide
Pages Version: ReplenishTrainerGuide.pages.zip
PDF Version: ReplenishTrainerGuide.pdf

Presentation
Note: Be sure to download accompanying slides. 
PowerPoint Version:  Replenish.pptx

• A Student's Guide to Wellness: This trainer guide is designed to set up a workshop and group discussion focusing on wellness. It introduces wellness as an important aspect of the Bonner Program, with wellness encompassing personal and community well-being, resilience, thriving, and supporting one’s physical and mental health. Throughout the session, participants take a look at what makes up wellness and do a self-assessment for themselves (and their campus contexts). Then, they discuss ways to improve and sustain their overall wellness. As part of this, participants are introduced to statistics and campus resources. They have a chance to think about what supports are available in their own campus and community environments.They also are introduced to best practices and All resources available to the Bonner Students national network (via the Wiki). Thanks to Hunter Malone (Bonner Scholar at Berea College and Bonner Foundation Intern in summer 2017) and Eric Heart (Bonner Foundation Intern from Princeton Theological Seminary) for developing this.
• Facilitation Guide for Student Leaders
• Power-point (presentation that accompanies it)
• Handout 

• A Staff Member's Guide to Wellness: This session, designed to be implemented by Bonner Program staff at a particular college or university, is designed to foster a group discussion about wellness in the Bonner Program. It is part of a larger focus in the Bonner Foundation’s network of campuses to highlight the importance of mental and physical well-being and wellness, critical to development and thriving of the whole person. While wellness is a critical part of holistic student development, it is also important for staff and faculty.  Using this guide, center staff can discuss wellness (well-being, thriving, etc.) and the various ways that individual campuses support it as well as address crises concerning students, staff, and other stakeholders. Thanks to Eric Heart (Bonner Foundation Intern from Princeton Theological Seminary) for developing this.
• Facilitation Guide for Bonner Program Staff
• Power-point (presentation that accompanies it) 

• Continued Wellness: A Discussion of Resources: This session, held at the Bonner Fall Directors Meeting in November 2017, involved staff from across the Bonner Network. The workshop provided an opportunity to focus on and discuss the concepts of wellness and well-being in the Bonner Program. Participants had the opportunity to reflect on what makes up wellness – including the notion of mental health, physical health, thriving, and resilience – and also talk about some of the challenges like stress and depression. Then, they had a chance to identify and discuss campus resources that students and others can access to support their own wellness. Finally, as Bonner Program staff, they also discussed and shared ways that they promote wellness in their programs. Thanks to Ashley Cochrane, Director of CELTS and Bonner Director at Berea College and Caroline Twiggs, Bonner Director at Mars Hill College for planning and facilitating this discussion, which also incorporated resources found here.
• Power-point (presentation from the session)
• Notes from the discussion

Publications

• 5 Key Tips for College Student Wellness (David Anderson, Ph.D.): This is an informative pamphlet about promoting student wellness that can be readily accessed online.  The five (5) tips discussed in the article are: 1) Students have pressing needs; 2) Colleges and universities have a unique role to play; 3) Student success is a shared responsibility; 4) Wellness is holistic; and 5) Understanding wellness is an investment easily applied.

• 101 Wellness Tips for College Students (Stetson University):  The information contained in this link was adapted from material created for Rutgers University and crafted specifically for Stetson University; however, other institutions will find the information of interests and great benefit.  Topics discussed include sleep,stress, mental health, exercise, diet and nutrition, illness and sexual health.    

• Changes in Student Wellness During the First Year of College (Ohio State University): This pamphlet presents findings from an internal study conducted at Ohio State University.  Topics discussed in the following: 1) Social interaction; 2) Sense of purpose; 3) Diet efficacy and behavior; 4) Academic experience; 5) Substance use; 6) Exercise efficacy and behavior; 7) Stress; and 8) Emotional wellness.   

• Student Mental Health and the Law: A Resource for Institutions of Higher Education (The Jed Foundation): Making decisions about students who may be distressed, suicidal, or threatening to others can be difficult on many levels.  These decisions must take into account what is permitted by law and what is considered good practice in the field. The Jed Foundation (TJF) convened a roundtable of legal experts and IHE professionals to explore how the law impacts these challenging decisions and how it should inform overall campus policy.  This publication presents the foundation's recommendations. 

PowerPoint Presentations

• Mental Health Matters: Promoting Wellness for Success in College (Rutgers University) PPT: This presentation discusses barriers to student success on the Rutgers campuses (psychiatric, academic, etc.), the social and academic implications of those barriers, and the ways in which campus culture can promote optimal wellness.

• Personal Wellness Plan (East Carolina University) PPT: ECU developed a plan and suggested that its students utilize it in order to maximize their learning experiences in college.  The plan consists of several components including nutrition, the prevention and care of illness/injury, psychological/mental health, healthful living space(s), recreational activities and spirituality. 

• Promoting Mental Health of Diverse College Students (Iowa State University) PPT: This presentation discusses the importance of distinguishing between positive and negative mental health, the role campus climate plays in influencing mental health, and how campuses can be intentional in fostering cultures that support civic mindedness and wellness.

• Promoting Mental Health of Diverse College Students - Personal and Social Responsibility Inventory (Iowa State University):  Related to the previous link, the Personal and Social Responsibility Inventory (PSRI) was the instrument used to guide Iowa State's study related to mental health and diverse college students.

Organizations

• Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors : The Association of College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) was established in 1950 by a group of mid-western college and university counseling directors.  Throughout the 1990's several initiatives have been undertaken to develop a formal organizational structure to advance the business of AUCCCD as a national professional organization, and to put significant emphasis on advocating on behalf of counseling and psychological issues in higher education. 

• Bringing Theory to Practice: Founded in 2003, the Bringing Theory to Practice (BTtoP) Project encourages and supports colleges and universities in developing sustainable campus cultures that support the greater purposes of higher education: engaged learning and discovery, civic purpose, well-being, and preparation for a meaningful life.

• The Steve Fund: The Steve Fund (TSF) is the nation’s only organization focused on supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of college students of color.TSF works with colleges and universities, outstanding non-profits, researchers, practitioners, and with  groups serving diverse populations to stimulate dialogue and promote effective programs and strategies that build understanding and assistance for the mental and emotional health of  the nation’s students of color as they enter, matriculate in, and transition from higher education.

Studies and Related Articles

• Social Support and Mental Health Among College Students (Hefner and Eisenberg, 2009): This study is the first study, to the knowledge of the authors, to evaluate the relationship between mental health and social support in a large, random sample of college students.

•  Effect of Loneliness on the Psychological Well-Being of College Students (Bhagchandani, 2017): Loneliness is becoming a fast growing problem among the youth nowadays. There are various reasons that are responsible for loneliness, discussed in this paper. The present study investigates the effect of loneliness on the psychological well-being of college going students.

• Mental Health Problems and Help Seeking Behavior Among College Students (Hunt and Eisenberg, 2010): The purpose of this report is to review the research literature on college student mental health, while also drawing comparisons to the parallel literature on the broader adolescent and young adult populations.

•  Factors Associated With the Psychological Well-Being and Distress of University Students (Burris, Brechting, Salsman and Carlson, 2009): Because of the serious nature of psychiatric illness and related problems, the authors attempted to identify demographic, individual, and behavioral factors linked to university students' psychological health.

• Racial Group Differences in Help-Seeking Behaviors (Ayalon and Young, 2005): The authors evaluated variations in help-seeking behaviors among Blacks and Whites and the role of cognitive-affective variables as mediators of these variations.  The authors inferred that to better meet the needs of Black college students, collaboration between mental health services and religious services would likely be beneficial.

•  Identities and Social-Psychological Well-Being among African American College Students (Reitzes and Jaret, 2007): This study investigates African American college students to show the impact of role, social, and personal identities on social-psychological wellbeing, and compares the relationship between identity processes and academic achievement for black and white college students attending a large, urban, predominantly white public university. 

• Family Achievement Guilt and Mental Well-Being of College Students (Covarrubias, Romero, and Trivelli, 2015):  Previous research has demonstrated that first-generation college students (i.e., students whose parents did not attend college) feel guilty about their educational achievements when their family members do not have similar access to higher education.

• Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors Annual Survey for period 2015-16: The Association of College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) was established in 1950 by a group of mid-western college and university counseling directors.  In 2006, AUCCCD first developed and administered the Annual Survey to its membership as a means to increase the objective understanding of factors critical to the functioning of college and university counseling centers.  In December 2016 all members of AUCCCD were invited to participate in the Annual Survey, along with non-members of the organization.  This monograph serves to provide a summary of data trends reported in the AUCCCD Annual Survey. 

• The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2016 - Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA: With its findings from the 2016 Freshman Survey and other national datasets, the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) provided campus leaders, policymakers, Supreme Court justices, and the general public with critical insights about how polarized politics, mental health concerns, and increased institutional efforts to confront and prevent campus sexual assault have affected and are perceived by today’s college students.

•  The Well-Being and Flourishing of Students - Bringing Theory to Practice (2014):  This document is the first step in announcing a major initiative to affect greater understanding and more intentional action regarding the connections between intensive and engaging learning opportunities, civic development, and the Well-being of students as whole persons.

• Should Colleges Measure Well-Being? (Inside Higher Education, 2016): Colleges should track the well-being of students, including how specific groups are faring, according to panelists at the Association of American Colleges and Universities' annual meeting.

•  Well-Being and Higher Education: A Strategy for Change and the Realization of Education's Great Purposes - Bringing Theory to Practice (2017) : The newest release from Bringing Theory to Practice, Well-Being and Higher Education explores the multiple connections of well-being to higher education.

Additional Publications and Presentations (Trauma-Informed Care and Mental Health First-Aid)

• Trauma-Informed Care on a College Campus (Hoch, Stewart, et al) PPT: This presentation discusses trauma and the attributes of schools and campuses that can be described as trauma sensitive. 

• Trauma-Informed Care Perspectives and Resources (JBS International, 2014): What does it mean to be trauma informed? What is trauma-informed care? Why does it matter? This video presents individuals from the field who answer these and other questions.

• Trauma -Informed Care (Focal Point Journal 2015 - Entire Issue): Childhood adversity and traumatic experiences are pervasive among youth and young adults.  The articles in this issue consider trauma and trauma-informed care from a variety of perspectives ranging from neuroscience to federal policy.  Understanding the pervasiveness of trauma and the harm it causes presents new opportunities for those who work with and care for youth and young adults. 

• Trauma-Informed Care: Creating Awareness and Perspective (New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services) PPT: This presentation gives viewers an overview of the many facets and expressions of trauma in human life.  The presentation also discusses trauma -informed care as an approach to engaging people with histories of trauma that acknowledges the role trauma has played in their lives.

• Trauma-Informed Services on College Campuses (Article):  Trauma-informed services and trauma awareness among staff on the college campus (Wisniewski, 2014): The purpose of this study is to examine the relatively unexplored area of trauma informed services in the context of college campus through survey methods at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). In particular, this study focuses on trauma-informed services and employees’ trauma awareness in four service units on the UNI campus: the Department of Residence, Health Center, Counseling Center, and Dean of Students. 

• Mental Health First-Aid (Canadian Journal of School Psychology): Rates of Mental Illness and Associated Academic Impacts in Ontario’s College Students (Holmes and Silvestri, 2015): Staff at campus-based counseling and disability centers in 15 of Ontario’s 24 community colleges completed 3,536 surveys on 1,964 individual students querying the presence of mental illness and academic challenges as reported by students accessing these services. Survey data were analyzed to determine prevalence rates of mental disorders and investigate for the presence of a relationship between specific mental illnesses and any associated academic impacts.

• Mental Health First-Aid (Journal of College Counseling): First-Generation Students' Sense of Belonging, Mental Health, and Use of Counseling Services at Public Research  Universities (Stebleton, Storia, and Huesman, 2015): This study explored 1st-generation students' sense of belonging, mental health status, and use of mental health services in comparison to non-1st-generation students.   

• Mental Health First-Aid (James Madison University) Exploring the Associations Among College Students Self-reported Resilience, Coping Behavior, Goal Orientation and Passion for Academics (McMillan, 2016): The current study expanded research on resilience by examining associations between resilience, coping behaviors, goal orientation and passion for academics of college students. This study connected variables not previously examined in a college student population.

Training Opportunities 

• Trauma-Informed Care Training and Assistance (National Center for Trauma Informed Care): NCTIC provides training for policy makers, administrators, staff, leaders, peers, and individuals who have experienced traumatic events, as well as to others in order to implement trauma-informed approaches in a range of service systems, including mental health, substance abuse, criminal justice, victim assistance, peer support, education, primary care, domestic violence, child welfare, and others. Training may be offered virtually through virtual learning networks; webcasts and webinar; in-person over several hours or days to specific programs, agencies, or systems; or via downloadable technical assistance materials.

• Trauma-Informed Care Online Training (National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth):  “Trauma-Informed Care” (free registration required) introduces users to the realities of traumatic stress, factors that make young people more or less resilient to traumatic experiences, and steps for providing care tailored to individual needs. The course also shows family- and youth-serving professionals how to recognize and minimize the signs of secondary trauma that can occur when hearing about the traumatic experiences of others.

• Trauma-Informed Care Training (National Council for Behavioral Health): The National Council’s trauma-informed care initiatives have helped hundreds of organizations across the country map out and operationalize a plan for delivering trauma-informed care. 

• USA Mental Health-First Aid: Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.  

• Mental Health First-Aid (National Council for Behavioral Health):  Mental Health First Aid allows for early detection and intervention by teaching participants about the signs and symptoms of specific illnesses like anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and addictions. The program offers concrete tools and answers key questions like “What can I do?” and “Where can someone find mental health help?” Participants are introduced to local mental health professionals and resources, national organizations, support groups, and online tools for mental health and addictions treatment and support.

• Youth Mental Health First Aid (USA Mental Health First-Aid): Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis.