Wellness & Prevention Services

Suicide Prevention

Online Suicide Prevention Training (30 min.)

This online training simulation will assist you to better identify, support, and refer students experiencing mental health distress. Training is available 24/7 and is as effective as in-person training.

In-Person Suicide Prevention Discussions (30 min. to 2 hrs.)

Customizable 30 minute to 2 hour in-person suicide prevention discussions are available for groups of 10+ people by request. Build your own discussion. Your group can engage in 1 hour suicide prevention training (learn warning signs for suicide and how to respond to them), participate in a Question and Answer session, practice suicide prevention skills using roleplay scenarios or have a discussion about what they learned in the online suicide prevention training. This discussion is facilitated by the Coordinator for Student Mental Wellness and other professional staff within the Department of Wellness and Prevention Services.

This request form MUST be completed at least two weeks prior to the desired event date, and MUST have at least ten participants.

For more information about suicide prevention efforts at Appalachian State University be sure and visit the Prevent Suicide (opens in a new tab) website.

Koru Mindfulness

Koru Mindfulness is a 4-week course where participants learn mindfulness and meditation skills. Through this curriculum taught by certified Koru Mindfulness instructors, you may experience less stress, better sleep, increased focus and less self-judgement. Attendance at all four sessions is required.

Twitch Streams

Wellness and Prevention Services hosts live Twitch streams (opens in a new tab) where we discuss mental wellbeing with students and campus experts. Join our discord (opens in a new tab) so that you never miss a stream.

Annual Events

Wellness and Prevention Services hosts several mental-wellbeing events throughout the semester:

• y(OUR) Story Mental Health Show
• Suicide Remembrance Night
• Semicolon Week
• De-Stress Fest (opens in a new tab)

If you're interested in hosting a mental health event and collaborating with Wellness and Prevention Services, or if you have questions about any of the programs listed above, please contact Elisabeth Cavallaro, Coordinator for Student Mental Wellness.

Peer Educator Presentations

Our peer educators are available to provide presentations that cover mental wellbeing, stress management techniques and preventing suicide contagion on social media:

• Mindful Mountaineers: Learn about the importance of mental well-being. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a number of activities that will help them to identify reasons why stress occurs and stress management techniques including, but not limited to, sleeping habits and self-care. Participants will also learn about mental health on-campus resources that are available to them. 
• Repost:Rethink: Learn information and skills about assessing the impact of social media posts on suicide prevention and mental health. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a number of activities that will help them understand suicide contagion and apply safe messaging techniques in regards to social media posts.
• Take Ten: Learn meditation techniques, mindfulness skills, and about Koru Mindfulness classes. Participants will have the opportunity to practice meditation and engage in group discussion, in order to help them understand how meditation can be used as a stress management tool.

Contact Kyra Patel, Coordinator for Student Social Wellness, for questions about peer educator presentations.

Happy Light 

Wellness and Prevention Services has a happy light for all students to use during our office hours. It is located in the lobby of our office. According to House and Walton (2017), light therapy has shown improvements in overall depression scores, sleeping behaviors, concentration issues, and appetite problems.