As TWU students enter a busy midterm season this November, we highlight a new and holistic approach to mental health and wellness offered through TWU Recreation, called Well-Being Coaching. Described as “personal training for the whole person," the program aims to help students thrive in six key areas: sleep, nutrition, physical activity, psycho/social, giving/serving, and contemplative/spiritual practices.
When Jared Ginter, Director of Athletic Facilities and Recreation, began leading TWU Recreation three years ago, he noticed that students were becoming less interested in traditional recreational offerings, such as clubs and intramurals.
“We need to do something different, particularly as a Christian university,” he said, expressing a desire to innovate and provide new and better services for TWU.
He spent a year investigating the landscape of recreation at TWU and across North America, and he found that recreation needed to become more accessible and inclusive.
“We all need to move our body, and that looks different for everyone,” he said.
At the same time, he noticed growing needs relating to young adults’ mental health. In the latest survey by the National College Health Assessment in 2019, for example, more than half of students surveyed said that they had experienced debilitating depression in the previous twelve months. Close to 70 percent of those surveyed reported having had feelings of “overwhelming anxiety”.
Fast forward to 2021, almost two years after living within a pandemic environment, many young adults still face heightened anxiety, isolation and uncertainty. Mental health needs remain top-of-mind for many.
Recreation can help alleviate anxiety
The good news is – recreation can help.
“We have the tools,” Jared said. “Research shows that recreation is really helpful in addressing mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression.”
After months of research and consulting with industry experts, Jared has become familiar with data that demonstrates the connections between bodily and mental health. He knows the potential of a robust, well-rounded recreational program to help students at TWU thrive in multiple areas of life.
For these reasons and more, Jared started the hard work of pioneering a new way to deliver recreational programming at TWU.
Consulting across campus departments and industry peers
Many voices and perspectives contributed to the design and launch of TWU’s Well-Being Coaching program. In addition to reading widely to learn the latest trends and research on wellness and recreation, Jared also consulted with likeminded peers from other universities in B.C.
Beyond B.C. and Canada, Jared was also informed by an international movement towards approaching health holistically, and a growing trend among health-care professionals to prescribe lifestyle solutions, such as exercise and nutrition, beyond just medication.
Jared took the best of what others were doing and translated them for TWU’s unique community.
Here at TWU, Jared spoke with professors teaching in TWU’s Foundations core curriculum, which offers a course called Human Flourishing, to learn from what professors were teaching as the basis for human fulfillment.
All these sources of wisdom helped Jared and his team focus their strategy on helping TWU students in several key areas. These areas of focus became the core components of the Well-Being Coaching program.
Next, Jared’s knowledge and philosophical framework for TWU Recreation’s new direction was complemented by Michelle Grierson, who came to TWU with a background in coaching and personal training.
Michelle, who is TWU's Recreation Fitness Coordinator, was able to bring the Well-Being Coaching program to life, by recruiting Well-Being Coaches to work with students. Following a summer of training and preparation, the TWU Recreation team officially launched the Well-Being Coaching program in September and began helping students thrive in multiple areas of life.
Well-Being Coaches provide support for goal-setting and achievement
TWU’s newly launched Well-Being Coaching program is described as “personal training for the whole person” and aims to help students to thrive in six key areas: sleep, nutrition, physical activity, psycho/social, giving/serving, and contemplative/spiritual practices. These six lifestyle elements have been demonstrated by research to make a significant impact on people’s well-being.
Only two months following the program’s launch, Michelle shares that there has been positive interest among the campus community.
“So far we have a number of students who have joined the program,” she said. “Our coaches help students set small goals in each area of focus, and help hold them accountable, in order to enrich their everyday experiences in those areas of focus.”
Katie Roos and Travis Kascak are the program’s first coaches. Michelle explains that their role is to provide students with encouragement, support and accountability for the goals that students themselves choose. Through accountability and encouragement, coaches support students to advance in their chosen lifestyle areas.
Coaches are also there to connect students with further help and resources around campus. A student who plans to improve in the area of physical activity, for example, might get connected to the campus Wednesday Walking Group led by TWU Recreation staff, or be paired with a Workout Buddy. A student who is seeking spiritual growth could be referred to a campus Discipleship Group led by TWU Student Ministries, and a student wanting to upgrade their cooking and dining habits could join a Nutrition Class.
An 8-week journey to grow in wellness, free for students
Best of all – the program is free of charge for any student that wishes to join. Students receive a 30-minute consultation with a coach, before deciding if they would like to pursue the full coaching program for 8 weeks.
Each week during the 8-week program, students meet with their coaches to review their goals, strategies and progress. Coaches ask students guiding questions, such as, “How are you doing? What are your challenges? How would you like to tackle those challenges?”
Coaches help students to reflect and gain more insight about their personal wellness journey, and students are provided a journal to write down their thoughts. Students receive help in finding avenues to achieve their goals, whether on-campus or off-campus.
“So far it’s going extremely well,” said Michelle. “It’s really exciting.”
At the end of eight weeks, Michelle and her team hope to ensure that those who complete the program feel a sense of accomplishment. They plan to create tailor-made gifts to present to students at the end of their journey, “a nice package themed around the focuses they were working on,” she said.
Finally, Michelle knows that this program is needed now more than ever.
“Especially because we just returned to being together on campus this semester, and I know that there’s probably a lot of underlying anxiety…. To go from being online so much to being back in person—for some people—that shift might be a challenge. But if we can support students’ development in all these different areas, then we’re excited to be there and support.”
For more infomation on resources that help students thrive at TWU, please visit:
TWU Recreation
TWU Wellness Centre
TWU Student Life
TWU Learning Commons
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.