Update on Health and Wellness
For many, the beginning of the fall semester is a time of reflection. We reflect on where we’ve been, but more importantly, we look ahead to where we’re going.
As Vice-President (Students and Enrolment) at Carleton University, my vision for what’s ahead is always guided by desired student outcomes: Student success. Student engagement. Student well-being.
This last piece—well-being—is often an underappreciated part of the student experience equation. But at Carleton, it is one of our most important considerations.
We know that it can be very difficult for students who are facing mental health challenges to fully engage in their studies. And we know too that mental health and wellness exist on a continuum and are influenced by a variety of factors. That is why we take a holistic and stepped-care approach to mental health and wellness—incorporating complementary strategies, services, resources and education across all areas of the university to break down barriers to success, provide better access to opportunity and help all students thrive.
With this level of support, students are better able to focus their energy on the things that matter most—finding purpose in their day-to-day, pursuing passion projects and acting upon their inspirations.
When we empower students in this way—when we teach them to value, prioritize and advocate for their health and wellness—the impact extends far beyond campus. We help students reach their full potential, build resilience and use their talents for good in their communities and careers. We lessen the load on community resources and an overburdened local healthcare system. We prepare graduates who become passionate ambassadors for the value of good health and well-being.
As we look toward the future, our vision for wellness is focused equally on supporting our students and playing an active role in advancing holistic public health.
To this end, Carleton recently signed the Okanagan Charter—a pledge among universities and colleges to embed health into all aspects of campus culture and to lead health promotion action locally and globally. Signing the Charter is an expression of our intent and a public declaration of our commitment to making a lasting difference in this area.
I’m thrilled to say this work is well underway. Last year, we published the most recent version of the Student Mental Health Framework (SMHF), which outlines actionable recommendations related to four key areas: student engagement, skills and resilience building, coordinated student supports and services, and a campus culture of wellness.
Guided by the SMHF (2022-2026), we’ve advanced a variety of wellness-related activities over the past year—from providing streamlined access to information through Carleton’s new mental health and wellness website, to offering regular wellness training to students, staff and faculty, to exploring partnerships with student-led groups to promote well-being across campus, to developing tools that help students access and navigate on-campus mental health and wellness resources.
Structurally, we created the new Office of the Associate Vice-President (Student Health and Wellness) to coordinate our mental health and wellness services and create a cohesive approach to student support. We have added specialized counsellors to our care team to better support our diverse community, including a Trans/2SLGBTQ+ counsellor, a racialized counsellor and an eating disorder counsellor. With support from the Carleton University Alumni Association (CUAA), we opened a centralized Wellness Desk in the MacOdrum Library. This initiative will be led by a Wellness Coordinator who will help students navigate resources and connect to support, especially in times of distress.
I’m incredibly proud of everything we’ve accomplished together so far. But this caring community is driven by a culture of continuous improvement. We recognize the need for ongoing evaluation of programs and services and the implementation of emerging best practices. We know that there is more work to be done to support the wellness of our students, faculty, staff and broader community.
Suzanne Blanchard
Vice-President (Students and Enrolment)
Looking ahead, we will build upon our existing strengths to deepen our impact. We will develop assessment and evaluation tools to ensure programs and services are meeting students’ needs. We will create a staff and faculty toolkit to share mental health and wellness information. We will solidify partnerships with our community to create a better system for knowledge and resource sharing.
Through Carleton’s Mental Health and Well-being Research and Training Hub (MeWeRTH), we will also continue to leverage research findings to share practical tips that improve the lives of those in our community. And we will strive to further expand our comprehensive stepped-care approach—which incorporates a range of services from proactive, health-promoting and early-intervention solutions to urgent care—to optimize implementation and develop a replicable model to be shared with other universities.
The work that lies ahead won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding. I am so grateful to have you join us on this journey. To learn more and stay up to date on wellness initiatives at Carleton, visit wellness.carleton.ca.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Blanchard
Vice-President (Students and Enrolment)