Wellness Matters
The Office of Graduate Education’s Biosciences Wellness Matters program provides curriculum, programs, and support for events and initiatives that promote self-care, resiliency, and improved wellness, helping to create an environment in which graduate students can thrive academically and personally.
Graduate Student Wellness
The Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs and the Office of Graduate Education staff recognize that Biosciences graduate trainees face unique challenges to their psychological, emotional, physical, and social health and wellness. The Biosciences Wellness Matters program seeks to address these challenges through programs and events featuring various wellness topics, including:
Psychological and Emotional Wellness:
- Stress
- Anxiety and depression
- Time management
- Imposter syndrome
Physical Wellness:
- Physical activity
- Healthy sleep habits
- Nutrition
Community Wellness:
- Combatting social isolation
- Navigating advising and peer relationship issues
- Identifying and referring peers who are in distress
- Creating safe spaces for students of diverse identities
Program Goals
As a result of participating in a Wellness Matters program or event, students will:
- Examine and/or monitor their personal wellness.
- Recognize the connection between personal wellness and success in graduate school.
- Implement personal actions and activities that promote health and wellbeing.
Featured Events and Activities
Wellness Matters activities include:
- Quarterly Wellness Workshops – topics vary; previous workshops include:
- Mindfulness and Stress Management for Graduate Students
- Authentic Courage for Decision-Making and Conflict Management
- How to Stress Less About Stress
- Biosciences Peer Mentoring Program (BioPeers)
- Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Trainings for suicide risk identification and prevention
- Annual Student Wellness Survey
Health and Wellness Resources
The Office of Graduate Education maintains a list of recommended on-campus and off-campus resources online here. If you have suggestions for additional resources that should be included, please contact us.
Looking for a quick list of offices and contact information? Start with the wellness and support resources overview — this document, developed in Summer 2015 by graduate Community Associates, highlights recommended resources and the confidentiality level of each.
For questions about Wellness Matters, contact Monica Devlin at mkdevlin@stanford.edu or 650-725-0537.
