Counselling and Wellness

The College provided a range of counselling and wellness initiatives and services to support the emotional and physical needs of the student population.

With a student body consisting of young adults, many living away from home for the first time, and some in a foreign country, it was vital to create a supportive and caring environment. Issues such as interpersonal relationships, emotional health, homesickness, physical fitness, healthy eating and even getting enough sleep were addressed to ensure that Yale-NUS was a healthy place for living and learning.

Health and Wellness Week

The annual Health and Wellness Week was organised by the Dean of Students (DOS) Office (and later the Student Affairs Office (SAO)) in collaboration with a number of student organisations. The weeklong series of events and activities focused on health, fitness, mental wellness and therapy.

Initially known as Wellness Week, the early years included a chance to relax at a meditation session, expend some energy on a bouncy castle and discuss emotional health issues with a pair of psychologists. Games and food were also provided to help students chill out and get to know each other better.

From the earliest days of the College, there were efforts to address issues of emotional health. In January 2015, the workshop ‘Emotions in Progress: Creating Community through Emotional Intelligence’ demonstrated how to recognise, use and control emotions in constructive ways to reduce stress, improve communication and create a harmonious community.

To encourage students to take a break from revision, a cat therapy event was held in November 2015 during reading week (the week before final exams). Students could relax by playing with and stroking the therapy cats.

For 2019’s World Mental Health Day, the Dean of Students Office hosted an event dedicated to global mental health education, awareness, and advocacy for all on campus. Participants could decorate postcards to send a message of hope to a friend, attend a dialogue on mental health and suicide prevention and upcycle clothing by adding positive logo designs.

Organised by the Admissions & Financial Aid Office in November 2019, students were able to interact with chickens in Elm Courtyard to help them unwind and take a break from busy school life.

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The Wellness Centre was available to all students who wished to talk to a trained counsellor about any issues they were having difficulty with.

[Yale-NUS] really focuses on making sure that our students are well and are feeling good.

Chandler Beyer (Class of 2020) describes the support systems available to students at the College.

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In 2017, the Wellness Centre split into the Wellness Initiatives and the Counselling Centre.

The Wellness Initiatives were a series of programmes that addressed topics such as lack of sleep, stress, cultivating positivity, homesickness, anxiety and depression.

One initiative was the Wellness Pod, a podcast that tackled a range of health and well-being issues. Student hosts Maleeka Hassan and Mpiwa Gwindi (both Class of 2024) discussed topics of emotional and physical health with relevant members of the College community.

Academic Year 2022–23 saw the annual Mental Health Awareness Week focusing on physical fitness with a Poundfit class and laughter yoga, and on energy healing with tarot, crystal and stone readings.

New for 2022–23 was Wellness Coaching which encouraged students to reach their fullest potential by setting personal goals and improving routines through one-on-one discussions with a certified Life Coach.

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The Counselling Centre’s professional therapists provided clinical services to promote the emotional health and well-being of the student body. They offered confidential and non-judgmental advice on a range of concerns including personal, relationship, academic and other mental health issues.

This could be provided through individual counselling, couples therapy or group counselling. The Counselling Centre also provided a home and training for the student organisation P.S. We Care.

In Academic Year 2022–23, the Counselling Centre provided training to students, staff and faculty on mental health issues and survivor support.

Sexual Health

The College provided sexual health education and information on available resources.

A culture of consent was fostered on campus.

There were suport structures in place for survivors of sexual misconduct, including a comprehensive Sexual Misconduct Policy.

Trained Survivor Support Advisors (SSAs) were available to serve as initial points of contact for survivors of sexual assault or sexual misconduct.

The SSAs were also involved in education on issues of sexual misconduct.

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Kingfishers for Consent was a student group that promoted consent culture and sexual wellness through a variety of outreach and educational events. At the 2023 Kingfisher Awards, they received the Commitment to Community and Social Change award.

They organised the annual Sexual Wellness Week, which included opportunities for the community to discuss issues of sexual assault and consent. They also hosted the ‘Are You a Kingfisher for Consent?’ workshop for all first-year students during Orientation.

Physical Health

Physical health was just as important as mental health, and the College offered many opportunities for students to develop their bodies as well as their minds.

There were a variety of venues in the College where students could exercise or play sports, and the sports facilities at NUS’ University Town were also only a short walk away.

Managed by the Athletics & Recreation department, the Fitness Centre provided a variety of equipment—such as exercise bikes and treadmills for cardio, and free weights and weight machines for strength—to help keep the community fit and active.

Athletics & Recreation also produced a booklet to help students get the most out of the Fitness Centre, with instructions on how to operate the equipment, safety advice and suggestions for workouts for everyone from beginners to experienced athletes.

The College’s main indoor sports venue, the Multi Purpose Hall, was equipped for many different sports including basketball, netball, volleyball, badminton, tchoukball and floorball.

The Cendana Field was a popular location for rugby and Frisbee.

The Residential College courtyards were suitable for more informal sporting activities.

Sports competitions like the Inter-Faculty Games, Inter-College Games and Inter-Residential College Games gave everyone a chance to take part in sports regardless of their experience or skill level.

The annual Beach Plz day out on Sentosa also featured sports such as volleyball, Frisbee, rugby and tug-of-war.

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COVID-19 Pandemic

The most serious public health crisis that occurred during the College’s lifetime was the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused massive disruption to the lives and education of the students, faculty and staff.

Many safety measures and restrictions were required, including moving lectures and classes online, and some students were stranded abroad due to travel restrictions.

Campus Lockdown

In April 2020, the College was closed for the ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown and students were encouraged to go home if possible. Marcus Chua (Class of 2021) helped organise transport for students to move off campus.

Virtual Graduation Ceremony

The 2020 and 2021 graduation ceremonies had to be held online.

In 2021, regular mid-semester performances were introduced to showcase new and experimental games in a more informal setting.

Artprov was a jam session/mid-semester show hosted in collaboration with the Yale-NUS Visual Arts Society (VAS). The troupe adapted popular games to incorporate art, getting audience members to make sketches and drawings that served as scene prompts.Improv Midterms was the first of the new series of mid-semester shows.

February 2022’s mid-semester show was Dogprov/Catprov, where the troupe experimented with new games. During publicity for the show, the troupe got the college to reflect on the important question: dogs or cats?

Artprov: Renaissance was the second jam session/mid-semester show hosted in collaboration with VAS.

Simprov was a Valentine’s Day-themed mid-semester show where the troupe experimented with yet more new games.