Iowa State Student Wellness introduced a new program this semester to help students guide their own wellness journey.

The program, called Thrive@ISU, is a confidential program for students to reflect on their wellbeing and create an action plan to enhance their success.  

The program can help students manage stress, improve their sleep, increase motivation, develop social connections and many other common wellness challenges that students face. 

After enrolling in the program, students will complete a wellness survey and a reflection activity to assess challenges and strengths that they want to focus on during the program. Then, they meet one-on-one with a Thrive@ISU graduate student employee to develop a plan to address their concerns or goals. 

“A lot of students are nervous about going to counseling or accessing other resources, so this program is a lower risk way to get connected as it’s not counseling or treatment,” said Brian Vanderheyden, director of Student Wellness.

Vanderheyden said Thrive@ISU is a good stepping stone for students who are looking for help, but do not know where to turn. The program can help connect students with other campus resources and ease the process of getting help.

“The student really creates their own student-driven action plan based on their stage of readiness,” Vanderheyden said. 

Students complete a 30-day action plan during their first meeting with the Thrive@ISU staff. At the end of the 30 days, they have the option to meet with the graduate student again to determine next steps in their plan.

“The purpose of the program is to help really establish them on a path for sustainable change,” Vanderheyden said. “After the 30 days, the hope is that students would be able to continue to make progress and grow in their goal areas.” 

Students can also re-enroll in the program at any point to work on a new goal or continue with a previous goal. 

“It is meant to be a brief program. It’s not an ongoing relationship…it’s not counseling,” Vanderheyden said. 

Students can enroll in the program online at the Student Wellness website.