Student Mental Health and Spirituality

Recognizing the enormous mental health needs of college students — even before the current pandemic — this eBook reports on a pilot project that tested whether mental health professionals and spiritual care professionals can offer students more as partners than either group alone. This approach is based on research the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab has conducted in recent years as well as an awareness that the one-on-one support offered both by therapists and chaplains on university campuses cannot be scaled to meet current demand.

The counselor-chaplain model of discussion groups facilitated conversations on how spirituality and mental health impact each other, how spiritual practices and beliefs are important to one’s own wellbeing, and how to incorporate these practices and beliefs as part of one’s self-care routine

This eBook helps introduce chaplains, counselors, and others working in student mental health to the model by exploring topics such as:

• When do students seek counseling, and when do they seek spiritual support?
• How do students connect mental health and spirituality?
• What does spirituality mean for today’s college students?
• How can I implement this model at my own institution?

This eBook will help you get a better idea of the state of the field, how to get involved, and where to go for more information.

We thank the Ruderman Family Foundation for its support of this project.

Click the image above to get the eBook.