JED Campus Southern Connecticut State University Creates Well-Being Workbook to Support Students

By Lauren Patetta 

Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), a JED Campus, recently launched a workbook to help students prioritize their wellness using mental health resources and educational tools. The THRIVE in 5 workbook, designed by SCSU’s Wellbeing Center as part of its JED Campus work, gives students simple, five-minute exercises and reflections focused around six key categories that make up THRIVE: togetherness, health, resilience, insight, vitality, and equity. 

“Our goal was to make this a very practical, simple workbook that students can use either independently or as a targeted way to incorporate these topics into the classroom,” says Dr. Nick Pinkerton, psychologist and Associate Dean of Counseling Services and Wellbeing at SCSU. Taking just five minutes at the start of class to use this resource can help jump-start conversations about wellness and encourage students to use these tools beyond the classroom, Dr. Pinkerton says. 

Dr. Pinkerton sees the workbook as a critical way to reach more students with meaningful support. “Traditionally, we know that counseling centers may serve 15% to 20% of the population,” he says. But the question is, “What’s happening with that other 80% to 85% of the population? How do we get to them?” 

THRIVE in 5 provides one answer: “The focus has really been more and more on the classroom experience,” Dr. Pinkerton says, “thinking about how we can empower faculty members to improve the climate and the culture of care, such that students feel that sense of belonging.”

To learn more: 

• View the THRIVE in 5 workbook.
• Find information about JED’s Higher Education programs.