Mental health has become a focus at LSU in recent years, as it becomes increasingly apparent that students’ mental well-being is strongly linked to their academic performance and personal success. One way LSU tries to aid the mental health of its students is through the Wellness Hub.
Located on the second floor of the LSU Library, the Wellness Hub allows students to learn how to improve their livelihood. The Hub relies on a “Wellness Wheel” with 10 different “dimensions of wellness.” Each dimension is linked to an aspect of a student’s well-being.
The hub counsels students on the basics of each dimension and refers them to resources to further help with their problems.
For example, if students need help financially, they could be referred to LSU’s Financial Aid and Scholarship Office to improve their “financial wellness.” The ten dimensions of wellness are physical, cultural, social, financial, environmental, intellectual, emotional, sexual, occupational and spiritual.
“We wanted to ensure that students across the campus were aware of our intention to help facilitate their well-being,” Assistant Vice President for Student Health and Wellbeing Daniel Bureau said. “Part of it is encouraging students to think about all that they are doing as part of their well-being. So, my plan is to work with anyone that wants to work with me in order to build out a communications plan, do programs, create services that really support students in that pursuit of holistic well-being.”
A feature of the Hub is its utilization of student advisers, such as kinesiology sophomore Alexis Granier. She describes her job as being available to anyone who has questions about school resources, personal life problems or general questions.
“This semester I’ve had three people come and talk to me,” Granier said. This allows for peer mentoring, which is seen as less intimidating than seeking help from a faculty member.
Wellness Hub employees must complete online training and mock interviews discussing potential problems someone could have.
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of course, the Hub isn’t without its share of challenges.
For instance, deep-rooted issues in a student’s mental health such as past trauma might be better addressed in a more clinical setting like the LSU Health Center.
The Hub’s location in the library has also hampered its operation, for its quiet and open setting can discourage communication. The second floor is meant to be a collaborative space with signs encouraging people to talk, but students still use the space as a quiet study area. This is a problem for the Hub because it is hard to facilitate counseling without projecting a person’s problems to the entire room.
The lack of clarity on what exactly the Hub is has also confused some students, who occasionally mistake it for a place where students can lounge.
Some other students, including frequent library visitors like civil engineering major Andrew Broussard, haven’t heard of the Hub. But that hasn’t got the Hub’s leaders backing down.
“To be honest with you, I think just the presence here is a success,” Bureau said.
As long as students are engaging in the space itself and taking pamphlets, the Hub will be seen as achieving its goal of promoting resources to students.
The Wellness Hub is staffed from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Any other time the location is a place to sit down in a bean bag or pick up a pamphlet about wellness.
