GVSU prioritizing mental health through multiple campus resources

For the 2022-2023 academic year, Grand Valley has implemented multiple campus resources to provide assistance for students’ mental well-being. 

GVSU Reset Room

The grand opening of the first Reset Room on campus was held on August 30 on the Health Campus. 

The Reset Room provides a space for students to relax, color, destress or do light movements with yoga mats and a small selection of workout equipment like free weights and exercise bands. The space will also host several of Recreation & Wellness’ fitness and wellness services and programs in the space such as UFIT, Wellness Coaching, Wellness Navigators and Group Exercise Classes.

In addition to these resources, students can also attend wellness presentations, play board games, do puzzles and more.

“We hope the space can be used for students to rest and refresh,” said Katie Jourdan, assistant director of Recreation and Wellness. “We are eager to have a space to help provide programs and services to support student wellness needs.”

The creation of this space is the result of a partnership between Recreation & Wellness, the Student Nurses Association and physical therapy students. 

A calendar of classes and events to be held at the Reset Room is available here.

Mental Health Kiosks

The University Counseling Center has enhanced its mental health screening efforts. “This was in light of best practices and available research around global community mental health needs, post-pandemic,” said Melissa Selby-Theut, associate director and director of prevention and community education.

There are two mental health screening kiosks available to students, faculty and staff: one near the 20/20 desk in the Kirkhof Center and one in the marketplace area of the DeVos Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

In addition to the screening kiosks, the Counseling Center has added a virtual component to improve accessibility. Fourteen pieces of artwork have been installed across campus, from which students can use their phones to scan and link directly to a mental health screening. According to the University Counseling Center, these will serve as visual reminders of the university’s commitment to mental health.

In the first two weeks since installation, nearly 200 students have accessed a mental health screening using these resources. “This is over and above the number of students who have accessed it through the University Counseling Center website,” Selby-Theut said. “We’re very excited to see this initiative doing the very thing we hoped it would, namely increasing access to mental health information and resources.”

GVSU is among the first universities in the country to have mental health screening kiosks on campus, according to Selby-Theut. “As far as we are aware, we are the very first to expand access to mental health screening through artwork placed around campus,” she said.

Additional mental health resources are available through the University Counseling Center, such as Let’s Talk, a program that offers students free, easy access to talk individually with professional counselors from the Counseling Center. No appointment is necessary, though students are seen on a first-come, first-served basis.