My vision is that we all now find a dynamic, warm life on campus, people who care about our individual and collective well-being, and a stimulating learning and working environment that encourages everyone to participate and integrate.
With this in mind, we’ve been working over the last few months on a set of prevention tools to support us in caring for ourselves and others.
These tools include:
- An introductory Success and Wellness Seminar, led by clinical psychologist Darcy Santor. I highly recommend it to incoming students. Dates for the seminar will be available soon.
- A series of Wellness Skill-Building Seminars, also highly recommended, taking place Fridays from 1 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. It starts October 14 and is led by Darcy Santor as well. Attend individual seminars or attend the entire series and reinforce the skills you learn.
- A Caring University Community Guide and the Helping Someone in Distress poster that help you recognize and respond to people in mental health distress and refer them to the appropriate campus and community resources. While these tools largely focus on helping students, they can also help other members of the uOttawa community.
As well, the Student Health and Wellness Centre, which recently opened at the Minto Sports Complex, is available to all students. It’s staffed by a multidisciplinary team of health professionals, including physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, health promotion specialists, psychotherapists, psychologists and psychiatrists working together in a shared care model.
Last but not least, I invite you to regularly visit the Health and Wellness website, which brings together mental health and wellness information and resources on campus and in the community.
Please feel free to reach out and ask for what you need.
I hope that, as part of your wellness journey, you’ll get involved in campus life, connect with your fellow students, explore new interests and passions, and consider this campus a resource to enrich you not only academically, but also personally.
And to our staff and faculty: Thank you for giving the best of yourselves so that each student not only succeeds academically, but also feels seen, valued and connected.
Betsy