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.
