Division Meeting - Oct. 2, 2020 UofSC Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support "Mental Health and Well-Being in a Prolonged Crisis," presented by Rebecca Caldwell and April Scott, Student Health Services

1. Division Meeting
October 2, 2020
1
DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT

2. PD TEAM – UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES
• 10/8 @ 9:00 a.m. – What’s Dennis Reading
• 10/13 @ noon – Supporting LGBTQ+ Students at UofSC
• 10/16 @ 3:00 p.m. – Staff Appreciation Event
• 11/12 @ noon – What’s Dennis Reading
• 11/17 @ 9:00 a.m. – Division Meeting – Campus Climate
• 11/19 @ 4:00 p.m. – Mindfulness and Meditation

3. 3
REGISTER FOR PD EVENTS TODAY!

4. NOMINATE A GEM TODAY
Gamecocks who Excel at Magnificent Service
Nominate a colleague in your department or across the Division

5. GEMS
• The GEMS recognition program makes it easy to celebrate
employee achievements and say thank you to staff.
• Eligibility
• All employees in the Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support are
eligible for recognition — full time, part-time, temporary, research grant /time-
limited and graduate assistants.
• Participation
• Ask your department's business manager or HR contact for a GEMS
notecard. Fill it out and send it to the employee you want to recognize,
because a handwritten note is always nice.
• Nominate online using the GEMS Gift Card Nomination and Registration
Form

6. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GEMS WINNERS
• Kim McMahon
• Kristen Cook
• Makayla Rippy
• Briahnna Ismail
• Shanna Robinson
• Holly Bruner
• Julia Rogers
• Katie Morton
• Leena Holt6

7. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GEMS NOMINATORS
• Morgan Reubusch
7

8. Dr. Rebecca Caldwell
Dr. April Scott
8
MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-
BEING IN A PROLONGED CRISIS

9. OUTLINE
• Redefining Mental & Emotional Well-Being
• What is changing in our mental health landscape?
• How do we support and mentor others?
• What does well-being look like for you?

10. CHECKING IN: TAKE OUR WEEKLY MENTAL &
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING SURVEY
• https://baseline.campuslabs.com/usc/scovid2
Please take this survey now and weekly.
Tracking:
• Confidence in university response
• Self-reported mental well-being
• Ability to deal with stress
• COVID-related outcomes for our community

11. RECOVERY & RESILIENCY IN CAMPUS WELL-
BEING
Well-being is defined by UofSC as a holistic journey marked by
balance, respect, resilience and belonging. The Healthy Carolina
Community empowers us to make well-being a priority in order to
support academic success, professional and personal growth.
We contribute to a safe, equitable and inclusive campus
environment that supports and uplifts individual and community
well-being.

12. COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO WELL-BEING
RECOVERY:
Tier 1: Principles of Well-Being: “Taking Care of Ourselves”
• Enhance and promote basics of holistic wellness as tools for COVID-19 prevention and recovery (sleep, nutrition,
exercise, mindfulness, stress management, financial literacy).
Tier 2: Peer-to-Peer Support: “Taking Care of Each Other”
• Enhance peer triage and support initiatives among students, faculty and staff, such as the Mental Health Ambassadors
programs
Tier 3: Deepening Resources
• • Raise awareness of community in-person and virtual resources for students, faculty and staff, including self-help, peer
support groups, community mental health resources, faith-based initiatives.
Tier 4: Enhancing Mental Health Services
• Revisit recent pre-pandemic mental health self-studies, like the Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan, Postvention Plan and
the mental health strategic plan to deploy resources to meet identified needs, which will likely present with more
urgency upon students’ return.
Tier 5: Signaling our Commitment
• Develop a high-profile set of resources to allow individuals to pursue their own well-being development and signals
UofSC’s commitment to a culture of care and compassion.

13. WORK GROUP CHARGE
• The MNEWB Committee (FPG 5.1) will:
• Discover existing services [aimed at mental health and emotional wellness];
• Design new approaches to customize existing services and programs to be
more relevant to current circumstance;
• Determine best methods to communicate services, programs, and activities to
all student’s faculty and staff.
• The end product will include:
• A listing of links to these same services, programs and activities;
• An advanced and active communication plan over the course of the semester
to share said links with students, faculty, and staff;
• Recommendations for new services, programs, and services to ensure the
mental health and emotional well-being of our students, faculty, and staff.

14. COMMITTEE ACTION:
• Developed a list of existing faculty, staff, and
student resources both on- and off-campus
• Arranged them along Dimensions of
Wellness
• Conceptualized as well-being hub
website; added the recognized site
sc.edu/mentalhealth.
• Developed a faculty, staff, and student survey
to measure COVID-specific mental health and
well-being concerns.

15. EARLY FINDINGS
Baseline Surveys for Faculty & Staff (n=1852) and Students (n=1875)
First weeks of Weekly COVID Survey (n=1632, 9/3-10/1)

16. QUESTIONS?
16

17. STUDENTS:
HOW HAS YOUR
MENTAL HEALTH
BEEN AFFECTED
SINCE MARCH
2020?
Key Finding:
• 72% Worsened somewhat or
significantly

18. RATE YOUR CURRENT MENTAL WELL-BEING
Faculty/Staff Baseline
10.27%
24.72%
37.11%
23.49%
4.41%
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
Excellent Very Good Average Below
Average
Poor
Student Baseline
5.82%
18.91%
39.67%
26.76%
8.84%
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
45.00%
Excellent Very Good Average Below
Average
Poor

19. IN THE LAST WEEK, HAS YOUR MENTAL WELL-
BEING:
Division Members Today
1%
16%
65%
18%
0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Improved
Significantly
Improved Unchanged Worsened Worsened
Significantly
2-Oct
Mean by Week
2.64
2.78
2.97 2.88
2.99
2.29 2.39
2.57 2.56
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
9/4-9/10 9/11-9/17 9/18-9/23 9/24-10/1 2-Oct
Faculty/Staff Student
N = 159

20. ABILITY TO COPE WELL WITH CURRENT STRESS
LOAD
Faculty/Staff Baseline
14.68%
45.93%
18.42% 17.13%
3.85%
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
45.00%
50.00%
Strongly
Agre
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Student Baseline
8.09%
38.91%
23.26% 24.07%
5.67%
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
45.00%
Strongly
Agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
Disagree

21. FACULTY & STAFF ABILITY TO COPE
I am able to cope well with my
current stress load.
7%
58%
14%
19%
2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Strongly
Agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Division Members Today
2-Oct
Mean by Week
3.14 3.25
2.63
3.37
3.5
2.54
2.66 2.76 2.86
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
9/4-9/10 9/11-9/17 9/18-9/23 9/24-10/1 2-Oct
Faculty/Staff Student

22. QUALITATIVE CONCERNS FROM STUDENTS
• Uncertainty about the future
• Fear of getting COVID-19
• Distrust of leadership/university messaging
• Significant proportion of respondents feel disconnected
• Having trouble finding joy while coping with the pandemic
• Trouble focusing on school/work
• Juggling concerns about social unrest/racial injustice along with COVID-19
• Feeling overwhelmed by news/social media
• Struggling to maintain routines
• Not getting enough sleep, physical activity, eating well

23. WAYS COVID HAS IMPACTED YOUR LIFE
Faculty & Staff (n=1852)
• 71% Stress or anxiety
• 48% Disappointment or
sadness
• 45% Felt lonely or isolated
• 36% Stress in relationships
• 26% Difficulty balancing
caregiving and work.
Students (n=2115)
• 90% Stress or anxiety
• 80% Disappointment or
sadness
• 78% Felt lonely or isolated
• 47% Setback in my finances
• 41% I have had to move or
relocate.

24. WHERE ARE THE DISPARITIES FOR
FACULTY/STAFF AT BASELINE?
• African American/Black employees have had to deal with the
death of a loved one at higher rates.
• Women are having to balance work and life (65.20%) more than
men (28.12%)
• Hybrid employees are struggling more with balancing work and
life (39.79%) than in-person employees.

25. AGE-SPECIFIC CONCERNS
26-35 year olds
• Highest loneliness (29.78%)
• Highest rate of relocating
(33.33%)
• 2nd highest rate of stress
(29.27%)
36-45 year olds
• Highest stress in balancing
work and home (41.66%)
• Most impacted by stress
(29.73%)

26. FACULTY/STAFF DISPARITIES: WEEK 3 WEEKLY
SURVEYS
• 49% of female respondents are struggling to balance work and
home; 43% are experiencing stress in relationships
• 56% of male respondents are struggling to balance work and
home; 69% are experiencing anxiety
• Both are worried about finances at the same rate: 17% of
respondents

27. COVID’S IMPACT ON LIFE – STUDENT DISPARITIES
• Seniors are reporting difficulties at
higher rates than other groups
• Seniors are feeling the financial
impact at higher rates
• Graduate students are struggling
to manage news/media intake
• Graduate
students have experienced
racial trauma at higher rates

28. KNOWLEDGE OF RESOURCES: WHAT AND HOW?
• Key points from student survey
• 61% would know where to go if experiencing psychological distress
• Freshmen had the least knowledge about resources
• Fac/staff qualitative comments & FPG sub-committee
discussion
• Deficit is in awareness of services
• Belief it would be difficult to access the services, including
misperceptions about how they work

29. CAN WELL-BEING & PROLONGED
CRISIS CO-EXIST?

30. WHAT IS HAPPENING?
• The crisis and our losses and grief are ambiguous
• Bias to normalize abnormal experiences
• Struggling with ambiguity

31. COVID-19 & RESILIENCY IN THE WORKFORCE

32. SYMPTOMS OF OVERLOAD & OVERWHELM
• Forgetfulness
• Loss of motivation or focus
• Cycling of energy
• Sleep disturbances
• Fatigue
• Increased mistakes
• Trouble finding joy in work

33. TEAM & WORKPLACE SUPPORTS

34. WE ARE ALL STRUGGLING PROFESSIONALS
• Assisting those uncomfortable with ambiguity
• Using language: stabilization, for now, etc.
• Help to re-align expectations of themselves
• Processing with those who want to
• Break points happen

35. NEW WORKPLACES TO MANAGE
• Mix of co-workers from in-person to remote
• Managing expectations and bias that in-person is best
• Success criteria may be changing
• Strategies to engage audiences are all experimental
• Delivery strategies are being challenged in real time
• High probability that your new idea will not be successful

36. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FIND JOY IN PROLONGED
CRISIS?
• Don't suffer in comparison
• Satisfaction with now
• Expect less
• Holding what’s working and
not at the same time
• Understanding how universal
and human your experience
is
• Find your pockets of air
• Act where we can
• Maximize our protective
factors
• Trying new strategies & new
activities
• Redefining boundaries/ the
"new no"

37. CALL TO ACTION
• Amplify and support well-being resources
• Promote the well-being of others & yourself
• Revisit what self-care is to you. What help do you need to give
to yourself?

38. 38

39. ASSESSMENT – TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!
• Please submit your feedback
from the meeting!
• We will leave the anonymous
form open through Monday.
• THANK YOU!