by Molly Bowdring, University of Pittsburgh
Graduate students are at significant risk for mental health issues. One estimate suggests that compared to the general population, graduate students are more than six times as likely to experience depression and anxiety (Evans et al., 2018). Clinical psychology trainees are, unfortunately, not immune to this problem (El-Ghoroury et al., 2012; Rummell, 2015; Peluso et al., 2011). One way in which trainee wellness can be supported is through program sponsored wellness initiatives (e.g., Drolet & Rogers, 2010; Wolf et al., 2012; Wolf et al., 2014). To assess trainee wellness initiatives across programs, student representatives of each PCSAS program were asked to complete a brief survey. Responses were received from 21 participants, representing slightly less than half of the 43 PCSAS programs. Responses are qualitatively summarized below.
What types of wellness supports are offered within programs?
Nearly half (n=10) of respondents reported that no wellness supports were offered within their program. Among those that endorsed having wellness initiatives, the modal format was social events, such as happy hours, trivia or virtual game nights, catered social hours, talent shows, and picnics. Other types of events included those that centered on exercise (e.g., stretch breaks, yoga), meditation, or meetings about self-care (e.g., professional development talks on work-life balance).
How often are these supports offered and to what extent are they attended?
The majority (n=8) of programs that offer wellness opportunities do so only 1-2x/year, with a minority of programs (n=3) offering such opportunities at least once/month. Rates of attendance at these events seems to vary both across program – with the reported percentage of students who take advantage of these events ranging from <10% to 90% – and within programs depending on the event (for those that offer multiple types of events).
How satisfied are students with their program’s wellness initiatives?
Program representatives were asked to estimate how satisfied they believed students in their program were with the opportunities for student wellness their program provides. While there are limitations in this assessment as it relies on the perception of the student representative, the results strongly suggested that many students seem to be unsatisfied, with over three quarters of respondents (n=16) endorsing either “Unsatisfied” or “Very unsatisfied” (see Figure 1).
Figure 1.
Do the opportunities offered by programs change in response to societal issues?
While the vast majority of respondents (n=15) indicated that no additional efforts had been made in response to COVID-19, a few indicated that faculty had made themselves more available to discuss impacts of the pandemic, two programs were reported to have held a townhall, and one reported additional opportunities to socialize and discuss self-care. Respondents were also asked whether their program provided any additional wellness resources in response to recently increased national attention on racism in the U.S., to which respondents described minimal to no wellness efforts. Indeed, some endorsed having educational opportunities provided, such as webinars, workshops, book clubs focused on multicultural competencies, and newly formed diversity committees. However, opportunities for self-care – particularly for BIPOC students – in response to the significant stress related to racism and highly publicized demonstrations of it were not reported.
Does the broader university provide wellness supports for graduate students?
The majority of universities seem to provide some form of support, such as fitness classes, meditation groups, social events, access to a wellness center, support groups/therapy, meal prepping and financial planning workshops, and religious gatherings. Unfortunately, multiple respondents (n=6) indicated that they did not know of any such resources or stated that such resources were not well advertised. Student satisfaction with these offerings seemed to be mediocre on average or simply unknown (see Figure 2), with the latter perhaps suggesting that students do not discuss amongst themselves whether they are taking advantage of these offerings.
Figure 2.
Suggestions for improvements
While programs certainly differ in the degree to which they are already supporting student wellness, these findings suggest that there is indeed room for improvement in the wellness resources offered by most (if not all) programs. Each program is encouraged to conduct an in-house survey of students to evaluate their satisfaction with and desire for student wellness initiatives. After evaluating student satisfaction with current initiatives, those programs that do determine improvements need be made will benefit from tailoring changes to the unique needs and requests expressed by their students. To offer some initial considerations, see below for suggestions provided by the survey respondents:
- Systemic changes to ensure wellness and mental health are prioritized overall in clinical programs (i.e., changing the culture – creating a program norm of wellness)
- E.g., Encouragement to take time off (e.g., mental health days) and make time for hobbies and relaxation
- Monthly brown bag or coffee hour to discuss wellness issues
- Book club
- Painting activities
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Trivia nights
- Social clubs
Conclusions
The pattern of findings suggests wellness initiatives are not central to or consistent across clinical psychology programs. This is likely not specific to PCSAS programs, but rather, reflective of the graduate school culture more broadly. That being said, it is our hope that membership in PCSAS stands for not only a program’s excellence in clinical and research training, but also in fostering graduate school experiences in which students’ personal wellness thrives in tandem with their academic accomplishments. Undeniably, there are challenges that arise in providing wellness programming, particularly due to the busy schedules of graduate students. However, providing opportunities that students desire will help to foster students’ development of self-care practices that will likely sustain their capacity to succeed both professionally and personally.
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References
Drolet, B. C., & Rodgers, S. (2010). A comprehensive medical student wellness program—design and implementation at Vanderbilt School of Medicine. Academic Medicine, 85(1), 103-110. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181c46963
El-Ghoroury, N. H., Galper, D. I., Sawaqdeh, A., & Bufka, L. F. (2012). Stress, coping, and barriers to wellness among psychology graduate students. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 6(2), 122–134. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028768
Evans, T. M., Bira, L., Gastelum, J. B., Weiss, L. T., & Vanderford, N. L. (2018). Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nature biotechnology, 36(3), 282. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4089
Peluso, D. L., Carleton, R. N., & Asmundson, G. J. (2011). Depression symptoms in Canadian psychology graduate students: Do research productivity, funding, and the academic advisory relationship play a role?. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 43(2), 119. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022624
Rummell, C. M. (2015). An exploratory study of psychology graduate student workload, health, and program satisfaction. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 46(6), 391. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000056
Wolf, C. P., Thompson, I. A., & Smith-Adcock, S. (2012). Wellness in Counselor Preparation: Promoting Individual Well-Being. Journal of Individual Psychology, 68(2).
Wolf, C. P., Thompson, I. A., Thompson, E. S., & Smith-Adcock, S. (2014). Refresh your mind, rejuvenate your body, renew your spirit: A pilot wellness program for counselor education. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 70(1), 57-75. https://doi.org/10.1353/jip.2014.0001
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS).