It’s no secret that being a student can be beyond stressful. Juggling homework and studying for hours on end, mixed with the anxiety of landing internships all while working a part-time job can lead to an overwhelming amount of mixed emotions. It can be hard to find time to destress in a hectic schedule.
Well thanks to a Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council Grant issued to Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), a Canvas module is being built for the IUPUI community to access easy stress management and coping tools 24/7. It will include videos and informational items on a wide range of mental health topics.
While there are several apps on the market that help relieve stress and anxiety, this Canvas page will be free to all students and target specific populations within the community. Whether it be first-year students transitioning from high school who might be homesick or graduate students who are presented with unique circumstances, there will be assistance provided to any IUPUI student in need.
"Folks (who are not currently in therapy), who may not need to see someone in CAPS immediately, can access these modules on their own," Yves Ambroise, assistant director of outreach and community services said. "Meanwhile folks who are seeing someone at CAPS, and they really want to have additional tools, can access them in addition to seeing their provider."
CAPS received this grant through the Women’s Philanthropy Grant Program within the IU Foundation. While CAPS has begun to meet with online services and designers to kickstart the module building, the finished product will be ideally finished in the summer of 2022.
For now, this is something that will be location specific to IUPUI and resources will be customized to the IUPUI campus environment to enhance a sense of belonging. CAPS hopes to branch out to the rest of the IU regional schools to make similar resources available.
"We want to develop content that is specific to IUPUI students," Ambroise said. "Our student population is a little different than other campuses."
To learn more about CAPS and their services, along with future updates on the Grant, visit their website.