Incorporating the 8 Dimensions of Wellness at Prescott College
Although people often think about wellness in terms of physical health, wellness is a multi-dimensional and holistic integration of body, mind, and spirit. Wellness generally encompasses the interconnection of various dimensions which oftentimes includes areas such as: physical, occupational, environmental, financial, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual (The 8 Dimensions of Wellness). Due to the nature of the interconnected dimensions, if problems or a deficiency in one dimension occurs then it may impact the other dimensions, thus encouraging the holistic balance to one’s health.
The multidimensional wellness approaches have been adopted in mental health practice over the last few decades (Copeland, 2002; Copeland & Mead, 2004; Hutchinson, 1996; Moller & Murphy, 1997; Swarbrick, 1997, 2006). Instead of focusing on problems and issues to solve, this wellness approach emphasizes preventative efforts by encouraging positivity and internal motivation to increase your active participation in managing problems. This mindset shifts the focus from illness and dependence to a sense of empowerment and an optimistic belief in your capacity to manage all your health needs. This holistic framework encourages the person to reflect on themselves as a whole to promote wellness lifestyle goals across the dimensions.
With the launch of Prescott College’s (PC) wellness department during the 24-25 academic year and being the first in the role, I knew it was critical to pilot a program with a sustainable framework; one that could easily be recognized as supporting wellness efforts. While I was familiar with the 8 Dimensions of Wellness model, I wanted to ensure it met the needs of the student body. Therefore, to begin the process of implementing more wellness support on campus, one of my initial objectives was to assess the wellness needs of our on-campus and online student populations.
Assessment - Numerous emails and surveys have left our students prone to avoiding requests to answer “just a few questions”. Surveying with clear intentions, as Professor Shân Wareing at the University of Northampton recommends, was a crucial step in preparing to distribute my survey. Much to my surprise, not only did I receive more responses than expected, but students also left valuable feedback in the available comment section. Questions asked students to define wellness, what they would like to see offered by the college, and what their thoughts were on the 8 Dimensions of Wellness. The eight questions allowed students the chance to rank, select all that apply (SATA), and respond to open-ended questions. The survey was sent to all of our students (online and on-campus), and responses indicated the following:
Financial wellness was what students would like to work on improving the most. Physical wellness was second.
Financial wellness was considered the hardest dimension to improve, followed by occupational wellness.
Emotional wellness was considered the most important dimension, followed by social wellness.
In addition to the survey, focus groups were held along with a few impromptu conversations across campus groups. Data collected from these conversation-based focus groups supported many of the survey responses. It was great to hear the excitement that many had regarding this new initiative, and even more joyful to hear specific examples of what students were interested in seeing happen and to learn more about the dimensions. Some of the responses to topics included:
If you could change one habit to improve your wellness, what would it be: “Maintain better sleep, activity, and nutritional habits, support.”
If you could change one habit to improve your wellness, what would it be: “Probably getting outside more.”
If you could change one habit to improve your wellness, what would it be: “For me, it would be to be more present in moments, practicing being in the now and not focused on what is ahead.”
What would you like to see Prescott College offer to support your wellbeing: “Having financial stability would greatly reduce my stress and anxiety.”
What would you like to see Prescott College offer to support your wellbeing: “Student gathering sessions to speak about current wellness”
What would you like to see Prescott College offer to support your wellbeing: “opportunities to connect via video with other students outside of class for fun activities”
With the assessment process nearing completion, I felt it was necessary to identify ways in which the dimensions can be integrated into the Prescott College experience. There were two immediate platforms that I knew would contribute to promoting these wellness initiatives.
Integration - My first thought regarding integration was, “How do we create something that catches the eye of a student?” Oftentimes, when you hear about the 8 Dimensions of Wellness, you may find it represented in a wellness wheel (circular) format. While maintaining that idea, we decided to produce a similar graphic, incorporating our own colors (teal and copper) to maintain brand awareness. The colors of our wheel also reflect a complementary color wheel feel, patched with simple icons that would evoke imagery for the viewer. Located above and available on our website here, we believe the finished product effectively embodies the model and its adaptation to fit PC.
Quickly pivoting from the branding of the model, I began exploring a way to distribute the information. I knew there was one platform used by all students, Canvas, our Learning Management System (LMS). Following approval, I created a Student Wellness course in Canvas, which acts as a database for the 8 Dimensions of Wellness. To ensure that our entire student population benefits from this information, I have created local (Prescott) and global resources for students to explore, including links to websites, videos, and contact information, under each dimension. Currently, students must self-enroll in the course; however, once registered, they can now explore the 8 dimensions in more depth at their own pace.
With the integration into our website and Canvas, I was now equipped to produce real-time content for students to engage with.
Content Delivery - Upon examining options for delivering content to our students, I decided that each month of the academic year (fall and spring terms), wellness would promote one of the dimensions. With the monthly dimensions confirmed, I wanted to ensure there was logical reasoning behind which topic was highlighted each month. Ultimately, I landed on the following with an example flier found here:
September - Social Wellness (beginning of the year, new places and new faces)
October - Intellectual Wellness (halfway through the term, spring registration available)
November - Emotional Wellness (approaching winter and holiday blues season)
December - Spiritual Wellness (year-end recap and morale check)
January - Financial Wellness (start the year off with financial planning and budgeting)
February - Physical Wellness (Valentine’s Day, National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Day)
March - Occupational Wellness (summer/graduation job prep)
April - Environmental Wellness (coincides with Earth Month)
Some of the offered activities have included workshops, guest speakers, physical activities, social chats, and community gatherings. In addition to these activities being included on the Canvas course, each calendar is sent out to students in the monthly student newsletter and shared on our social media platforms.
Wellness at PC has come a long way since its launch a year ago. Much like the 8 Dimensions of Wellness framework, continual work is required to maintain growth and balance. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to enhance our current offerings and expand our impact throughout the academic year. If you are interested in learning more about this type of work or would like to share some of the work you do at your institution, please do not hesitate to contact me at jason.stclair@prescott.edu. After all, our health is a lifelong process influenced by those we surround ourselves with as we learn and evolve over time.
In health,
References
Copeland, M. E. (2002). Wellness recovery action plan. West Dummerston, VT: Peach Press.
Copeland, M. E., & Mead, S. (2004). Wellness recovery action plan & peer support: Personal, group and program development. West Dummerston, VT: Peach Press.
Hutchinson, D. S. (1996) Promoting wellness in rehabilitation and recovery: A call to action. Community Support Network News, 11(2).
Moller, M. D., and Murphy, M. F. (1997) The three r’s: Psychiatric rehabilitation wellness program. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 20(3), 42–48.
Roddick, M. (2016, May 27). The 8 dimensions of wellness: Where do you fit in? Retrieved from https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/8-dimensions-of-wellness-where-do-you-fit-in-0527164
Swarbrick, M. (2006). A wellness approach. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 29(4), 311–314. https://doi.org/10.2975/29.2006.311.314
Swarbrick, M. (1997). A wellness model for clients. Mental Health Special Interest Section Quarterly, 20, 1–4.