Mental Health and Wellness Initiatives

Jed Campus

As a Jed Campus, UConn will agree to adopt a public health approach to promoting emotional well-being, preventing suicide, and understanding the impact of substance use on student health and well-being. JED Campus and UConn have embarked on a multi-year strategic effort in collaboration with UConn Undergraduate Student Government that will assess mental health and well-being efforts currently underway at UConn with the goal of identifying strengths and areas for growth. This will amplify the existing good work through the Wellness Coalition.

Healthy Minds Study

Beginning on Feb. 17, UConn will administer an in-depth assessment of our students’ attitudes, behaviors and awareness of mental health issues, known as the “Healthy Minds Study.” The study will be administered to a random sample of 12,000 UConn students.

The findings from the study will enable UConn and the Jed Foundation to create a strategic plan that will be implemented over the next three years. As a Jed Campus, UConn will agree to adopt a public health approach to promoting emotional well-being, preventing suicide, and understanding the impact of substance use on student health and well-being.

Campus Mental Health Services

Student Health and Wellness (SHaW) Mental Health has added six providers in recent years at UConn Storrs along with case managers at every regional campus, taking care to ensure the providers reflect UConn’s diversity and can offer help in Spanish and Mandarin in addition to English.

SHaW has also increased individual therapy appointments and created a care model to respond to students’ varying needs through services such as daily drop-in consultations, rapid access in crises, 24-hour on-call assistance, mindfulness workshops, group therapy and a range of other programs and services.