Sarah Arend, master's degree student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program
Sarah Arend, master's degree student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program, noticed that graduate students in health sciences programs spend so much time focusing on their studies and caring for others that they often neglect their own personal wellness needs. Some further investigation and research backed up this observation, showing that the pressure of completing a graduate degree can result in a variety of adverse outcomes, including burnout. Arend saw the Pitt Year of Emotional Well-Being funding opportunity, with its focus on restoring and enhancing our emotional well-being, as a way to address this problem.
What was their solution? Arend proposed Inward: Wellness Retreat, a one-day event for 10 graduate students in the health sciences focused on reducing burnout and increasing psychological well-being. “After the year we've all had, the chance to meet as a community is very special,” Arend noted. After being notified in February that the proposal was funded, they got to work planning the event to be held on Saturday, March 25. Initial response to the retreat was significant; all 10 spots were filled within 10 minutes of the registration opening!
Example of a Stress Free Zone (SFZ)
The retreat was held on the Pittsburgh campus at the Stress Free Zone (SFZ) in the William Pitt Union. Arend provided everything participants would need, from yoga mats to snacks and lunch. They also set some retreat ground rules. The first one was no news. Participants were encouraged to experience a day away for themselves, without distraction, by leaving their cell phones in their cars or turning them off. The second rule was no shoes. “There is something freeing about walking without shoes that helps us to feel more grounded,” says Arend.
Participants began filtering in around 9:45 a.m. on that Saturday morning, settling into a spot on the floor with a yoga mat and journal. After brief introductions and an overview of the day, the morning started with a gentle yoga class and morning meditation, both led by an experienced yoga and meditation instructor. This centered the students for the day ahead and provided an opportunity for students to tune into their bodies and release tension while promoting physical and mental wellbeing.
After the morning practices, students had lunch. They then participated in a self-care workshop focusing on the importance of preventing burnout while completing their degrees. This workshop equipped students with practical tools to mitigate and reverse burnout. It also gave them an opportunity to reflect on their personal wellness and feelings of professional efficacy.
Following this, space was given for quiet reflection as students were invited to contemplate their experience in graduate school, how their views of self-care and wellness have changed, and their goals moving forward (e.g., how they would like to take care of themselves better in the future). Then, coming together to share their reflections, students participated in a guided discussion that facilitated a sense of community. Participants had an opportunity to write a letter to their future selves, reflecting on the experience of the workshop and noting the things they want to carry forward after the retreat.
A sound bath meditation concluded the retreat. As students bathed in waves of pure tones from crystal quarts bowls, they had one final time to integrate the insights gleaned from the day and prepare to return to their everyday routine. Students also received a self-care package with an assortment of items—roll-on essential oil, an eye pillow, an intention candle and personally selected intention cards—designed to help them carry forward what was discussed at the retreat into their everyday life.
Feedback from the participants was overwhelmingly positive; all students reported decreased feelings of stress and burnout with increased feelings of relaxation, personal efficacy and optimism after participating in the retreat. Several attendees asked if the retreat would be offered again. The success of the project suggests the significant impact of this type of retreat on improving emotional wellness in students at the university and shows the impact of holistic practices on reducing burnout, increasing personal efficacy and increasing one’s overall wellbeing.
Arend will be graduating with their Counseling degree this May, but hopes to work with Pitt Counseling faculty and staff on identifying ways to continue to offer the retreat to health science graduate students on an annual basis. “This one-day wellness retreat could be designed to fit into any graduate student’s plan of studies,” Arend notes. “Once implemented, the well-being activities and experiences will foster meaningful connection and engagement amongst the students as they promote a collective value of personal wellness in the health sciences.”
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Published April, 17 2023
Updated April 20, 2023