Exploring Well-Being in Graduate Education: A Rackham Symposium

Attendees will explore and examine the intersection of mental health challenges and disability accommodations within academic environments and their impact on student success.

Financial pressures are a leading source of stress among graduate students, significantly impacting their mental health, academic performance, and overall well-being. This interactive presentation will explore the financial literacy gap among graduate students, particularly among underrepresented populations, including international students. Informal data from the Office of Financial Aid’s Financial Education Program reveals that while many graduate students express interest in financial education, few have participated in existing resources, highlighting a critical need for more accessible and equitable financial education opportunities. Participants will learn how financial education can improve student well-being and foster academic success, as well as practical strategies for implementing financial education within graduate programs and referring students for additional learning through the U-M Financial Education Program. The session invites attendees to share departmental needs and collaborate on enhancing financial literacy resources across campus. Join us to help shape a more financially informed and resilient graduate student community.

Mental health problems in college students have increased in prevalence over the past 10 years, including graduate students (Lipson et al., 2019). According to the Healthy Minds Network, of students surveyed pursuing a master's degree, 27.8 percent met criteria for an anxiety disorder and 31.1 percent met criteria for a depressive disorder (2024). However, students do not only seek support from formal help-seeking resources like counseling services. The Healthy Minds Network found that 67.9 percent of students surveyed pursuing a master's degree sought informal mental health support over the past year (2024). Campus Mind Works (CMW) serves as an informal help-seeking resource for college and graduate students.

CMW was launched in 2009 in response to the increasing number of U-M students who had psychiatric disorders. First, the CMW website was created to make it easier for students to access and utilize existing U-M and community resources and manage their symptoms. Based on North Campus mental health needs, CMW developed the free drop-in support groups where students could receive ongoing education, support to manage their symptoms, and navigate campus resources. These groups were successful and brought to central campus.

In 2019, staff at Munger Graduate Residences reached out to CMW about developing free drop-in wellness groups that were specifically designed for graduate students. Based on anecdotal data, Munger staff reported that graduate students desired a space that provided privacy from undergraduate students who they might teach or supervise and specifically target the unique mental health stressors of graduate students including academic pressures, academic relationships, work-life balance challenges, and financial pressures. An anonymous survey was implemented to determine the mental well-being topics unique to graduate students, feedback on what type of group they would attend, and schedule preferences.

This data informed the creation of the CMW graduate student wellness groups. The topics students identified included: stress, anxiety, maintaining mental wellness, depression, navigating relationships with faculty, and managing expectations in graduate school. Recent research by Griffin, et al. (2023) also found that the following four topics largely impact graduate student well-being: perceived work/life balance, managing progress on research, program completion and job search, and overall faculty relationships. Graduate student wellness groups originally were planned to be in-person, but the pandemic required a shift to virtual. Today, groups are offered both virtually and in-person to meet student needs. Based on student feedback, these wellness groups are also offered asynchronously on the CMW website.

We will introduce participants to the CMW mission to reduce stigma surrounding mental health by making it easier for students to access and utilize existing U-M and community resources, manage their symptoms, and succeed in college. This is done through the CMW website and the free drop-in wellness groups that are designed for graduate students. We will discuss how historical collaboration with graduate students and colleges/units allowed for responsive wellness group topics tailored to graduate students’ needs. We will explore opportunities for future collaboration with graduate students and colleges/units to provide tailored mental health education and support.

The goal of this session is to help advisors and students more deeply understand the concept of psychological safety, how it forms in advising relationships, and how it impacts graduate student experiences. Psychological safety refers to people feeling safe to be themselves and express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas without fear of negative consequences, rejection, or humiliation (Edmondson, 1999). The presence of psychological safety is positively correlated with creativity, innovation, and an ability to cope with stress, which can reduce burnout (Edmondson & Bransby, 2022; Edwards et al., 2021). Research shows that leaders play a crucial role in building psychologically safe environments through a mediating role (Edmondson & Bransby, 2022). In graduate programs, doctoral students often rely on advisors as they navigate discipline-specific coursework, milestones, and assistantships, placing advisors at a crucial nexus to foster psychologically safe environments for their students. By teaching advisors how to use a lens of psychological safety, we hope that faculty advisors will be better equipped to support students of diverse backgrounds, foster mental health, and ultimately lead to more successful graduate student outcomes.

In this session, participants will be asked to reflect on their own advising experiences using narratives generated from real experiences to understand more deeply how psychological safety forms in advising relationships and what steps both students and advisors can take to foster psychological safety. We have conducted a series of surveys and interviews with doctoral engineering students asking them about their experiences with their doctoral advisors, their feelings of psychological safety, and their personal and professional outcomes. Using one of the sets of interviews, we have developed composite narratives that tell the story of a Ph.D. student navigating their program and their relationship with their advisor. These narratives provide a personal, tangible example of how doctoral students’ are impacted by their feelings of psychological safety with their advisors, and serve as an important teaching tool for faculty, staff, administrators, and students alike.

To start the session, we will provide an overview of psychological safety and its importance in advising relationships. This will be followed by analyzing one composite narrative as a group before splitting into smaller groups for a think-pair-share activity with the remaining composite narratives. This activity will give space for participants to engage with findings on a personal level and compare them to their own experiences. Finally, the session will end with a debrief where we discuss highlights of the conversation, and additional considerations and limitations for further research. At the end of the session, faculty, staff, and administrator attendees will have a better understanding of psychological safety and how to foster it in their own advising relationships. Student attendees will have a framework to better advocate for themselves. Attendees will also understand the critical role of psychological safety in advising relationships and how psychological safety impacts student outcomes. Furthermore, advisors will be cautioned of harmful behaviors often mentioned by participants.

Graduate students face rising mental health challenges, including isolation, chronic uncertainty, and career-related stress, all of which have intensified in the wake of shifting immigration policies and academic pressures. While individual wellness interventions are valuable, strategies that integrate career support and community-building are essential to addressing the root causes of anxiety, burnout, and disconnection.

This interactive 60-minute workshop explores how two teams within the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at the Medical School, Career and Professional Development (CPD) and Access, Success, and Engagement (ASE), support student well-being by offering programming that fosters professional development, connection, reduces isolation, and eases career-related stress. Together, they offer holistic support models that cultivate a sense of belonging, foster community engagement, and directly address the systemic stressors affecting graduate students.

Drawing on CPD's experience with career advising and cohort-based career readiness programs, the workshop will highlight how these offerings proactively support well-being by providing structure, peer validation, and a sense of agency amid career ambiguity. In parallel, ASE's work to build inclusive, culturally responsive communities through ongoing events, awareness campaigns, affinity spaces, and cross-cultural engagement provides a protective layer of social connectedness that is especially vital for international students.

Through case examples, data-informed best practices, and small group activities, participants will learn how CPD and ASE develop offerings in response to student feedback, recognizing that experiences of belonging and resiliency strengthen students as they navigate career challenges and the broader demands of graduate life. The facilitators will also share lessons learned from assessing student experiences, and discuss how to apply these strategies across different campus contexts.

This workshop aligns with the symposium's goals by promoting best practices that blend professional development and well-being through intentional, multifaceted engagement with students. It highlights inclusive strategies that build community via intercultural programming, mentorship, and affinity-based events, thus fostering belonging and reducing isolation. The workshop also explores persistent challenges, such as how immigration stress and cultural isolation uniquely affect international students, and how tailored support models can respond. Finally, the workshop will show how advising and programming address hidden gaps in the graduate experience, fostering resilience, empowerment, and help-seeking behaviors in ways that reduce stigma and promote well-being.

This session explores the social ecological model (SEM) as a framework for creating inclusive, culturally responsive experiences for underrepresented students in higher education. With a focus on dismantling systemic barriers and promoting holistic well-being, participants will gain practical strategies to enhance inclusion at individual, interpersonal, community, and institutional levels. At the University of Michigan, these strategies have led to a 75 percent increase in engagement, cross-department collaboration, and event attendance among underrepresented student groups in just one academic year.

The session will introduce the radical love framework, inspired by healing-centered engagement (Ginwright, 2016) and critical pedagogy, offering evidence-based strategies for affirming marginalized voices. This framework integrates intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) and cultural humility to build identity, community, and resilience among underrepresented students. Participants will learn to apply SEM to address systemic inequities across multiple levels, from personal biases to institutional policies, with examples from University of Michigan initiatives.

The session will also offer strategies for fostering collaboration across departments, student organizations, and administrative bodies to create equitable environments.

Participants will acquire tools for designing culturally responsive programs, focused on well-being and tailored to underrepresented students, that can also be used in any context. These tools will promote intentionality, belonging, and growth in both professional and personal settings. By the end, participants will have actionable insights on developing inclusive mental health programming, adjusting curricula to reflect diverse perspectives, and fostering cross-departmental collaboration. Through case studies and interactive activities, participants will deepen their understanding of systemic barriers as well as student well-being and leave with a clear action plan to foster greater inclusion for underrepresented students on their campuses.

This session is ideal for educators, administrators, student affairs professionals, and student organization leaders committed to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in higher education. It is designed for those ready to reflect on their practices and foster meaningful change. Join us to design inclusive experiences that promote belonging, well-being, and success for yourself and your students.

Exploring the pilot "ArtsRX" initiative that explores arts participation as a positive factor in mental health and well-being. 

Professor Clague is a full professor of musicology with tenure at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance and serves as Executive Director of the University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative. He also enjoys affiliate appointments at the University of Michigan in American Culture, African and Afro-American Studies, Non-Profit Management, and Entrepreneurship. He is co-advisor to the student organization Music Matters.

Graduate education is often hailed as a transformative and empowering experience, fostering intellectual growth and professional development. However, it is also a period rife with significant challenges that can weigh heavily on students’ mental health and well-being, especially those from culturally diverse backgrounds. This presentation will explore the multifaceted issues that culturally diverse graduate students face, focusing on the tension between self-reliance and the need for guidance, as well as the persistent challenges of microaggressions, racism, and systemic inequities within academic spaces.

The phrase “Do it yourself,” often championed as a mantra of autonomy and self-determination, can carry unintended consequences when applied to culturally diverse students. While the encouragement to “Be the change you want to see” may seem empowering, it can also foster isolation, leaving students without the vital support and guidance to navigate complex academic and personal challenges. This pressure to be self-sufficient can exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and stress, as students feel responsible for creating their own solutions to systemic issues without adequate resources or mentorship. The paradox of these ideals lies in their potential to both empower and hinder, as students may be left to confront challenges without the institutional frameworks of support that are essential for mental health.

Additionally, the persistence of microaggressions and racism within graduate education remains a critical issue. Despite efforts such as unconscious bias training, many students continue to experience subtle and overt forms of discrimination that affect their academic performance and psychological well-being. Additionally, faculty and staff witnessing these events fosters collective feelings of hopelessness and helplessness within academic communities. These issues can lead to feelings of alienation, decreased sense of belonging, and increased anxiety, especially when students observe a lack of disciplinary action or institutional response to these behaviors. A lack of accountability can further contribute to unsafe and unwelcoming environments, heightening the stress that students experience in already demanding academic settings, and leading to burnout and emotional exhaustion, undermining well-being and mental health.

Well-being, however, is not a one-size-fits-all concept. The definition of well-being can vary significantly across different cultural and demographic groups, highlighting the importance of context when addressing mental health in graduate education. Diverse students may have different experiences and perceptions of what constitutes well-being, making it crucial to adopt inclusive approaches to mental health support. Furthermore, equitable access to resources and accommodations is critical to fostering an environment where all students can thrive. When resources are unevenly distributed or inaccessible, students from marginalized groups are disproportionately affected, compounding their challenges and hindering their ability to maintain their academic performance and mental health.

This presentation will analyze these issues, examining how institutional policies, cultural expectations, and the academic environment intersect to shape the mental health experiences of culturally diverse graduate students. The presentation will offer strategies for creating more supportive, inclusive, and equitable academic spaces that prioritize the well-being of all students, acknowledging the diverse needs and challenges they face. Finally, it will provide practical applications for mental health professionals working with graduate students.

Graduate students self-report symptoms of depression, anxiety, and burnout at a rate up to six times higher than average (Charles et al., 2022; SenthilKumar et al., 2023). In particular, students from marginalized backgrounds, including first-generation, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ students, are more likely to report poor mental health (Lipson et al., 2018; Przedworski et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2022). These mental health outcomes are inversely associated with academic retention and correlated with suicide risk (Riera-Serra et al., 2023; SenthilKumar et al., 2023). Research among graduate students highlights the effects of the academic environment on mental health, with poor faculty mentorship, institutional discrimination, and a non-supportive departmental climate representing key risk factors (Charles et al., 2023). On the other hand, robust social support and community cohesion are protective for student well-being. These risk and protective factors are malleable in a higher education context. By applying lessons from public health that advance multi-sector mobilization of community, organizational, and interpersonal resources for prevention, faculty, staff, and students can cultivate a positive environment that proactively reduces risk and builds capacity for wellness (Pirkis et al., 2024).

Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide (PC CARES) is a research-informed, community-led intervention that takes a public health approach. Co-created with Alaska Native wellness advocates, PC CARES builds on the protective capacities of community to promote well-being and mitigate suicide risk through everyday strategies and local policies. The approach involves a series of five workshops aimed at developing shared knowledge and collaborative relationships that enable participants to solve problems in difficult situations, innovate based on their social roles, and proactively support mental wellness (Trout et al., 2018). By attending these interactive workshops over time, participants co-create “communities of practice” (CoP) which foster multi-sector community-driven prevention efforts (Wexler et al., 2016). Evaluation research on PC CARES has demonstrated pre-to-post test increases in suicide prevention knowledge, self-efficacy, and preventative actions taken among participants (N=541) when compared to others unexposed to the intervention (Wexler et al., 2018; Wexler et al., 2019; Wexler et al., 2025; White et al., 2022). Outcomes of PC CARES also include social diffusion of learning—a mechanism of CoP—meaning participants shared what they learned with those close to them, amplifying impact. In 2024, PC CARES was recognized as a Suicide Prevention Best Practice by the federally funded Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

From August 2024 to January 2025, PC CARES was implemented at the University of Michigan with a cohort of staff, researchers, and graduate students to assess the program’s salience within a university context, and it was well-received—offering new collaborative opportunities for prevention. The proposed research-to-practice session will extend this approach through an interactive workshop that shares strategies for active and supportive listening for wellness among students, staff, and faculty—laying the groundwork for a multi-sector Rackham CoP. Based on principles of adult learning and community organizing, PC CARES workshops share best practices and ask participants to discuss and brainstorm ways to apply their takeaways. Participants will leave the session understanding complementary perspectives on suicide prevention, local survey data on student connectedness, and how to practice reflective listening.

Graduate school presents a unique student experience in comparison to undergraduate education. This is a life changing transition that involves adapting to increased academic expectations, managing time effectively, grappling with imposter syndrome, and striving to maintain a balanced life outside of graduate school. These challenges can have a significant impact on the mental health and well-being of graduate students. College counseling centers are a great resource for students but the frequency of usage is low. A survey conducted by Healthy Minds Network (2022) showed that 54 percent of college students agreed or strongly agreed that they currently need psychological and/or emotional support for mental health difficulties. Furthermore, only 37 percent of students reported that they had sought counseling or therapy in the past year. Another survey conducted in 2019 showed that out of 6,320 doctoral students only 36 percent reported seeking help for mental health issues associated with their studies (Woolston, 2019). At the University of Michigan-Flint, among students who produced positive screens for anxiety and depression, 59 percent reported that they were not utilizing therapy services (Healthy Minds Network, 2023). Even though it is unknown from this percentage how many of these students were graduate students, the message is clear that a significant number of college students, regardless of their academic level, are not seeking the help they need.

In efforts to reach a larger number of graduate students, the Counseling and Psychological Services office at UM-Flint has found power in partnership. Through intentional collaboration with other campus partners such as the Center of Global Engagement, graduate programs, and student organizations, mental health information has been able to reach a higher number of graduate students both in person and online. These partnerships have fostered a dynamic exchange of valuable information, leading to the development of tailored resources that incorporate specific support strategies to enhance graduate student mental health and overall well-being.

In this interactive practice-focused workshop, students, faculty, staff, administrators, licensed mental health professionals, and non-clinical professionals will explore the powerful impact of campus partnerships through thoughtful discussions. Attendees will be encouraged to reflect on how a collaborative campus environment can contribute to fostering and enhancing the academic and personal success of graduate students.

Explore the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching's (CRLT) self-paced, asynchronous online course, developed by campus experts to equip U-M instructors with role-appropriate ways to support students.

Time spent in natural environments can support students' mental, physical, environmental, spiritual, and social well-being. Adventure/experiential therapy (AT, the prescriptive use of adventure experiences provided by mental health professionals, often conducted in natural settings that kinesthetically engage participants on cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels) is an excellent modality for mental health promotion and skill building. As a modality that works extremely well with groups, it is a cost-effective option for engaging large numbers of students efficiently and effectively.

We propose a workshop in which we provide a brief overview of the research demonstrating the efficacy of nature-based and AT interventions and facilitate conference participants through nature-based activities to assist in coping with the stresses of academic life, strengthening social connections, providing behavioral activation, and creating opportunities for self-reflection. Participants will experience first-hand the efficacy of AT, leaving with skills to engage with nature to support their well-being.

Opt outside with Nature Rx and Adventure Leadership (weather permitting!) as we explore how outdoor activities can be used to support mental and emotional well-being and help combat stress, loneliness, depression, and burnout in graduate students. We will also share resources for participants to connect with nature at the U-M Ann Arbor campus, such as Nature Rx and the Planet Blue Ambassador program. Participants will leave empowered to incorporate nature experiences into their self-care and community-care practices.

To create real systemic change, we need to change the way things are. This only happens when we change the thoughts and assumptions that led to our current state. We can do this by asking different questions. This interactive workshop will use a real world case-study to explore the process of using the catalytic thinking framework to change the questions we typically ask ourselves when designing a graduate student course and the corresponding impacts on graduate student well-being.

So often, our planning processes are guided by questions rooted in reactivity, suspicion, exclusion, and scarcity:

• What’s the problem?
• Where will the money come from?
• Can we trust them?

While these kinds of questions can be important, they reveal just a small part of what’s going on, causing us to become stuck in a loop of mitigating negative outcomes without actually creating positive ones.

Catalytic thinking is a visionary systems-change framework rooted in brain science and focused on cause-and-effect conditions. The framework guides us through a series of questions around people, purpose, and resources:

• What is the future we want to create? For whom?
• What could we accomplish together that we couldn’t do on our own?
• What can we share with others?

Questions like these help us focus on possibility, connection, inclusion, and enoughness in order to create a humane, healthy future that’s different from our past.

This is the framework Madeline DeMarco turned to when she was approached by the Athletic Training program at Adrian College to teach a mental health course to students in their professional master’s degree program, AT505 BH. Much of higher education today is based and structured around habit, ways of doing things that reward competition and independence over community and care, no longer meeting the needs of today’s students. And with mental health and well-being needs rising around college campuses nation-wide, it was important to design and implement a course, especially one focused on mental health, that rethought that status quo in order to meet the program’s accreditation requirements and promote the holistic well-being of AT505 BH’s students and instructors.

The catalytic thinking framework was the perfect tool for this. It enabled DeMarco to change the questions (and assumptions behind them) we typically ask when we start designing a course: “What readings will we assign?” “What’s the grading breakdown?” “When will the exams be?” in favor of starting with our strengths, values, and other conditions needed to create a future graduate student course different from one of the past. As a result, she was able to create a course based on trust, the learning process, and work-life balance that students feel is valuable and worth their time to participate in.

During the workshop, DeMarco will use the catalytic thinking framework to explain the design process and outcomes of AT505 BH. Workshop participants will get the opportunity to follow along with the framework and use it to practice designing a course, program, or initiative of their own that promotes graduate student well-being.

Fostering Sustainable Graduate Student Well-Being: Lessons and Approaches from the Well-Being Advocate Program: 

The prevalence of mental health challenges among graduate students can be influenced by the distinct academic and professional environments in which they study and grow. These environments are further shaped by the unique cultural norms and values of individual graduate programs, creating complex and varied well-being climates. Declines in well-being can impact critical aspects of the student experience, including formation of a disciplinary identity, sense of belonging, and decisions about continuing in academia.  

The University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School’s Well-Being Advocate Program is a cornerstone initiative advancing the principles of the Okanagan Charter within graduate education by creating sustainable well-being environments through systemic change. This innovative program integrates well-being into graduate program systems and policies by partnering with and empowering graduate programs and program leadership to help identify and implement tailored interventions that foster well-being cultures.

Exploring Graduate Student Well-Being: Insights from the Well-Being Advocate Program Survey Data:

Graduate student mental health and well-being have emerged as critical concerns within higher education, with research indicating increased rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout across disciplines. While numerous studies have examined well-being in specific graduate programs, there is a limited methodological use of synthesizing data collected through different survey instruments across varied academic contexts. Additionally, the application of advanced methodologies to analyze data is little to none.

Our project plans to analyze de-identified survey data from five to six graduate programs at the University of Michigan that were collected over the past year by the Well-Being Advocate Program. By utilizing advanced technology, we plan to process qualitative and quantitative responses from non-identical surveys that share the common goal of assessing student well-being. This methodological approach enables us to identify patterns and relationships between student experiences and various dimensions of well-being that transcend individual program boundaries.

Specifically, we utilize large language models (LLMs) to categorize and analyze free-text responses, supplemented by word embedding techniques that reveal semantic relationships within student narratives. This approach allows us to process data at scale while preserving the nuanced perspectives of individual students across diverse graduate environments. Additionally, the utilization of local LLM’s can ensure secure analysis of any potential confidential data.

We expect our analysis to reveal connections between academic structures and student well-being outcomes that may remain invisible when examining programs in isolation or examination of text in a traditional method. We argue that this technology-enhanced methodology not only provides actionable insights for improving graduate education at Michigan but also demonstrates a transferable approach for institutions facing similar challenges in understanding their graduate student populations holistically.

By showcasing how advanced AI technologies can advance well-being research, this work contributes to both the understanding of graduate student experiences and the methodological advancement of well-being assessment in higher education contexts.

Description is forthcoming.

We are surrounded by unprecedented personal and societal grief. From genocides to climate crises, school shootings to political upheavals, our world is filled with sorrow. We are experiencing grief everywhere: privately within our families because of life transitions, illness, decline in our health or well-being, or the loss of a loved one; communally in our schools and places of worship, whether that’s from institutional policy changes or revelations of misconduct on the part of our leaders; and generally in our neighborhoods and countries. This means that “grief is…social in nature” (Martin et al, 2020). Yet, we are told that grief has to be checked at the door and has no place within our workplaces, even though workplaces can compound grief through structural issues such as lack of social supports (e.g., staff affinity groups, employee hardship funds), poorly developed human resources policies, or the isolation of remote workplaces/spaces.

This is why the notion that addressing grief should remain a private or individual matter is false. As Martin, Carey, and Cozza (2020) observed: “It is the responsibility of leaders at every level to step forward and assist community members in making sense of [grief].” In fact, losses in the workplace (such as changes to teams during reconstruction, workplace bullying, scapegoating, or loss of employment) can activate grief as much as any personal circumstances (Gilbert, 2007).

Leading in times of grief means to “bolster the well-being of bereaved communities” (Martin, Carey, and Cozza, 2020). But how do we do that?

One way is to increase our capacity for “resid[ing] in a situation with an open mind and to experience the sensations, feelings, and emotions even when they are uncomfortable”--in other words, negative capability (Mahalingam, 2019). By increasing our tolerance for residing in the uncomfortable, we can avoid reacting to emotions in unskillful and harmful ways. By doing the work, we can stop ourselves from becoming work for other people (Owens, 2020).

In this immersive workshop, participants will engage in meditation, contemplative art, and small group discussions to collectively externalize grief and strengthen our capacity to reside in discomfort. Many studies have demonstrated that contemplative practices facilitate the expansion of healthy engagement with greater complexity in one’s individual life and the lives of others and promote well-being, which is why these practices are ideal for complex topics such as navigating grief. Finally, participants will leave the session with a variety of strategies they can apply personally and to their workplaces or communities.

Facilitated by leadership educator and fiber artist Fatema Haque, this workshop will help participants develop resilience, foster community, and find strength in shared sorrow.