Office Of Health Promotion Spotlight

Students may be familiar with the fact that Villanova's campus offers high-quality health services, but a lesser-known fact is that there are three separate offices under the umbrella of Student Health.

"The most rewarding part is that students are now learning about our office in different ways," said Christy McCarthy, associate director of health promotion. "Having the adjustment position was huge for us and it's a big improvement."

Health care offices are often confused with counseling offices. These offices are different because the Office of Health Promotion calls itself a resource and reference center for the six dimensions of health and well-being: social, physical, intellectual, cultural, emotional and spiritual (SPICES).

The Office of Health Promotion differs from the Student Health and Counseling Center in that it offers students a place to create a healthy learning environment and make smart choices to balance their physical and mental health.

This office makes weekly announcements on the Wildcat Newswire and launched the latest weekly pet therapy initiative.

"I wanted to help create a space for health promotion," McCarthy said. "This has always been a passion of mine, and I strive to find unique ways to positively impact student mental health."

Pet Therapy started out as a bi-annual event, but when the Office of Health Promotion noticed that more than 200 students would attend each session, they began to consider increasing the frequency of the event.

"We started pet therapy once a month and it was so popular that we moved it to a weekly initiative," McCarthy said. "Many [of these students] miss their pets, and some just need pet therapy."

McCarthy noted that with the success of pet therapy and the number of students attending the event each week, the office began looking for other ways to help students take care of their mental health.

"It got us thinking, what other ways can students take care of their mental health and learn about who we are and what we do?" McCarthy said.

In recent years, the office has begun to expand its reach across campus, launching organizations and programs such as THRIVE365 and POWER.

"[THRIVE365] will automatically deliver resources to [students]," McCarthy said, explaining the online initiative. "It highlights where they're improving and where they're struggling, and links to all of Villanova's resources."

When creating a personal profile on THRIVE365, students are asked to identify areas they want to work on or focus on for their physical, mental and social well-being. There is a continued emphasis on self-care and self-monitoring, which aims to improve how students take care of their health.

POWER stands for Peers Offer Wellness Education & Resources and is a student organization partnered with the Office of Health Promotion. POWER members are committed to providing members of the Villanova community with health and wellness information, resources, events and programs. On its events page, the Office of Health Promotion announces its monthly Power with Paint event, a step-by-step drawing session that also promotes conversation about campus resources.

"On the events page, you can see all the events that we have going on," McCarthy said. "People don't realize how much we offer and how much we can help students."

An example of a recent event organized by the Office of Health Promotion is the advocacy workshop on Wednesday, September 20, "Navigating Difficult Conversations Around the Virtual Mental Health Dashboard." McCarthy recalled some of the issues raised during the panel.

"How do you know when you need to seek help for your mental health?" McCarthy said. "We discussed how to look after your own mental health and wellbeing at university and how best to support a friend who is going through a difficult time with mental health."

McCarthy and the Office of Health Promotion hope that students will become more aware of the programs and services they offer in hopes of improving and supporting the physical and mental well-being of members of the Villanova community.

"We do a lot and we love to do it," McCarthy said. "We enjoy working with our students and supporting them in a variety of ways."

For more information about the Office of Public Health, its programs and activities, visit

www.villanova.edu/university/student-life/health-services/health-promotion/

Healthy People 2020 Spotlight: Adolescent Health (Part 5 of 13)