Wellness Services

WellTrack Boost

WellTrack Boost is available to students at any time of day, from any location. WellTrack Boost features a wellness assessment that students can take one time, or on an as-needed basis, as well as regularly scheduled mood checks. These tools help students understand the activities associated with changes in mood and motivation, as well as to identify patterns in their daily activities and how they are associated with changes in emotional states.

WellTrack Boost also includes programs, called "Courses" or "Series" that can be completed at a student's own pace with content focused on Resilience, Anxiety & Stress, Rediscovering Joy from Depression, Finding Purpose & Meaning,  Healthy Sleep, Inner Calm/Mindfulness, and Resilience. The Public Speaking program also includes a 3D simulation to replicate the opportunity to practice public speaking in a large classroom setting.

Coping tools on the site use aspects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help students cope with distress. These include guided mindful meditation exercises in the Zen Room, thought diary, gratitude and affirmation journaling, activity scheduling, cognitive distortion psychoeducation, and more.

Students can download the companion WellTrack Boost app for iOS and Android and access it via the desktop site. Free to Penn State students.

Online Mental Health Screenings

General Online Mental Health Screenings are anonymous screenings on several areas of mental health, including depression, anxiety, academic distress, eating concerns, frustration level, family stress, and alcohol use.

CAPS Chat

CAPS Chat provides informal consultation for students with counselors from Penn State Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Meetings are free and no call to CAPS is necessary: same day scheduling is available online for both virtual and in-person meetings! Timeslots are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Meetings are no longer than 30 minutes.

Life Hacks with CAPS 

Life Hacks with CAPS are free, lively drop-in gatherings focused on learning how to develop and enhance your connections with yourself & others. Open to all enrolled Penn State students. Topics include: 

Belonging & Building Connections: Create and move toward interpersonal goals to feel a sense of purpose and belonging, while also developing meaningful and authentic connections.

Being Your Best Selfie: Find your fulfillment, live by your values, and personalize what self-care means to you.

Develop Your Narrative: Learn about applying narrative therapy techniques to guide ongoing self-exploration and growth. 

Life Hack Kits

In addition to Life Hacks with CAPS, Life Hack Kits are step-by-step wellness packages designed to help you navigate and demystify some of the more perplexing parts of being human. CAPS has learned that instructors and student leaders are increasingly interested in weaving mental health information and prevention into the classroom experience. Instructors and student organization leaders are encouraged to embed these in their course or offer for extra credit. Research points to multiple positive student outcomes as a result of a positive student-teacher relationship, including self-esteem, emotional wellbeing, and resilience. Each kit includes instructions suggesting how to make this a part of the group's co-curricular wellness experience. Feel free to directly copy and paste the Life Hack Kit you wish to use into your syllabus or Canvas course, or adapt the instructions as they would best fit your course material.

CAPS Virtual Library

This library includes informative videos and podcast episodes about various mental health topics. Created uniquely for Penn State students by Penn State CAPS clinicians.

Nurture in Nature Trails

Nurture in Nature (NiN) Trails, established at various Penn State-associated-locations, are free to use and invite trail-goers to be mindful while doing so. At various points on each trail, there are invitations for trail-goers to participate in self-guided activities that aim to enhance the benefits of already being in a natural place. Multiple trails will soon be available around the Penn State community and will be advertised on our website!