Massey wellbeing staff adapt to additional online only services
Essential wellbeing services at Massey have been increased and adapted to online only, with wellbeing staff saying they’re ready to meet the challenge.
Wellbeing Advisors Hannah Rankin and Em Hansen based at Manawatū are one such example, running online wellbeing workshops through September and October available to everyone.
“The counselling team offered a workshop programme prior to the lockdown. Our plan was to present them on the Manawatū campus in person, with an option of people to attend online as well, however due to lockdown, we had to adapt,” Hannah and Em said.
This is the first time these specific workshops have been run, but Hannah and Em said the series has adapted well to being an online offering and has had awesome attendance so far. Topics have included looking after yourself, managing stress and building resilience, eating well on a student budget, time management, and looking after others.
“We have based the topics for this series around the general issues students have been presenting to us since starting our roles. Moving forward, we are open to feedback on which topics were useful and which weren’t and other topics that students may like to learn more about,” they said.
For Hannah and Em, they have each had to adapt to the lockdown in their own ways, which has brought its own challenges.
Hannah has learnt to work from home around her two preschool-age children. “It was a reasonably smooth transition with the support of peers and management, and we are grateful to have access to the technology we do. I feel we have still managed to work effectively with supporting students despite the changing levels. My biggest regret however is not bringing my plants home the night we went into lockdown!”
Em focuses on remembering what she can and can’t control to overcome the uncertainty of lockdown. “I like to remember the circles of influence and control – what can we control (not much in this situation) but we can influence more, including things we can do for our wellbeing like daily walks, eating a healthy and nutrient dense diet, [and] drinking lots of water. These little things do add up!”
When asked what made them become wellbeing advisors for students, Hannah said she thought the job was a great way to work on the ground and make a real difference in people’s lives.
“I also really liked the idea of mental health promotion that comes with the role and the way it has allowed me to begin raising awareness of not only mental illness but mental wellbeing. It’s an exciting space to be working in and I can’t wait to see what the future will bring for our student care team.”
Em said she has always been passionate about health and wellbeing, and she understood how challenging it could be to be a student from her own experience as one. “I am able to put myself in the shoes of my former self and ask, ‘What did I need to support my wellbeing and get me through my study?’”
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Students and Global Engagement Tere McGonagle-Daly said online counselling, tele-health services and additional wellbeing workshops have all gone online for lockdown.
“Health services are required to restrict the number of patients who come into the clinic even though they are an essential service and operating at Alert Level 3 and 4. This means students are triaged by telephone before attending in person or the entire consultation is online/virtual. This is common practice and a service we offer in normal times also.”
Despite lockdown and the restrictions, McGonagle-Daly said that Massey currently has a good availability of appointments with wellbeing staff, with additional wellbeing workshops and resources made available over lockdown and welfare checks by support staff as part of supporting students who say they are experiencing financial hardship.