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Wellness Services

Being a graduate student brings many personal and professional opportunities, but also challenges, from balancing course work with research or other scholarly pursuits, to building confidence in your ideas and capabilities, to the unexpected trials that happen in life. As a Penn State graduate student, you have access to many free wellness services.

Personalized Student Support

The Fox Graduate School offers a variety of wellness services to students for free and by request. Contact Colleen Lanzoni to schedule an appointment or learn more.

Graduate school can be overwhelming! Distress may include academic pressure, advisor or lab conflict, isolation, burnout, personal challenges, uncertainty, or other stressors that interfere with well-being or success.
One-on-one support is available for all graduate students, both in person or via Zoom.
This free resource is designed to address graduate-specific needs and challenges, providing space to talk through circumstances affecting the graduate student experience.
Students may refer themselves or by faculty, staff, and other peers.

Consists of guidance and coordination for concerns involving graduate students.
Support includes consultation with advisors, program coordinators, and University College Graduate leadership when issues arise.
This work also includes participation in the University Care Team and collaboration with campus partners such as CAPS, Student Disability Resources, ISA, Housing, and UHS.
Through this coordinated approach, students are connected with resources and support that address their individual needs.

Wellness Services are not a substitute for crisis care.

If you are in immediate crisis, call 911 / The Penn State Crisis Line (877) 229-6400 / Or Text “LIONS” to 741741.

The Red Folder initiative is a guide to help faculty, staff, and others who interact with students to recognize, respond effectively to, and refer distressed students at Penn State.

Group Wellness Workshops

Sessions are offered by request to student groups:

Discussions on Wellness
Flourishing and Contemplative Practices
Executive Functioning
Balance and Stress
Conflict Management
Belongingness and Connection
Team Building
Imposter Syndrome

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Wellness Strategies

Learn simple strategies to improve each dimension of wellness.

Circular wheel with the nittany lion image in the center holding arms up in a strength pose. Wheel has eight sections that include Emotional, Environmental, Financial, Intellectual, Occupational, Physical, Social, and Spiritual Wellness sections.

Learn strategies to balance moods
Check in with yourself (mindfulness, journaling, mood tracking)
Set realistic expectations for productivity
Practice self-compassion when receiving feedback
Minimize cognitive depletion
Find balance: "Know thyself. Nothing in excess."

Maintain clean, uncluttered living environments
Design a study space that supports focus (lighting, decluttered desk)
Set boundaries between work and home space if possible
Spend time outdoors weekly to reset stress levels
Limit digital clutter (organized files, email boundaries)

Develop financial literacy
Create a realistic graduate school budget
Understand loan terms and repayment options early
Apply for assistantships, grants, or conference funding
Avoid lifestyle inflation if your finances increase
Access free resources such as the food pantry and clothing closets

Strengthen planning and prioritization skills
Support organization and working memory to reduce cognitive overload
Enhance initiation and sustained attention
Practice self-monitoring and cognitive flexibility
Build in recovery time to prevent mental fatigue
Allow curiosity beyond grades and evaluations

Clarify career goals early and revisit them often
Seek mentorship (formal or informal)
Track accomplishments to counter imposter syndrome
Learn to say no to roles that do not align with your professional direction
Willingness to adjust degree completion plans
Understand responsibilities in assistantships, teaching requirements, and research expectations

Protect sleep
Build movement into your day
Develop mindfulness to nutrition
Schedule preventive healthcare appointments
Attend to personal hygiene
Adopt a holistic mindset to health and listen to your body

Build non-academic relationships
Form study groups that include social connection, not just productivity
Set boundaries around cohort drama or comparison culture
Stay connected with family/friends outside your program
Go to campus events
Join a club or interest group

Engage in practices that ground you (meditation, prayer, time in nature)
Reflect on your “why” for being in graduate school
Align your academic work with personal values when possible
Participate in communities that support meaning and purpose

Wellness Resources

Find support resources and offices at Penn State that can support your wellness.

: Emotional wellness is being aware of and accepting of your feelings and being able to manage your emotions in a constructive and supportive way, and having the tools and resources needed to navigate life’s challenges.

Call or Text 988 if You Need Help Now

If you are considering suicide, or if you or someone you know is in an emotional crisis, please call or text 988 to reach a national network of local crisis centers that provide free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crises or emotional distress.

Basic Needs and Support

Support resources for food, housing, basic needs, mental health, and more.

CAPS Chat

Provides informal, drop-in consultation for students with counselors from Penn State Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Sessions are free and no appointment is necessary.

CAPS Life Hack Kits

Step-by-step wellness packages designed to help you navigate and demystify some of the more perplexing parts of being human. Instructors and student organization leaders are encouraged to use these for extra credit/points.

CAPS Virtual Library

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

CAPS’ Community Provider Database

A help guide for the ins and outs of therapy, all the way from choosing a provider to paying for it.

Commonwealth Campuses Counseling Services

Links to campus-specific counseling resources.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

Provides a full range of short-term clinical services, consultation, community education, and training of mental health practitioners, and conducts research on students’ mental health.

Crisis Services

24/7 confidential service with licensed mental health counselors. Phone: 1-877-229-6400.

General Online Mental Health Screenings

Anonymous screenings on several areas of mental health, including depression, anxiety, academic distress, eating concerns, frustration level, family stress, and alcohol use.

Penn State Crisis Line

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or need immediate support, call the 24/7 Penn State Crisis Line at 1-877-229-6400, or text the 24/7 Crisis Text Line: Text “LIONS” to 741741.

Wellness Services

Find support and resources for wellness at the University.

WellTrack Boost

Self-help platform featuring wellness assessment tools and self-pace programs for resilience, anxiety and stress, depression, and public speaking. App available for iOS and Android.

: Financial wellness is managing your resources, making informed financial decisions, and preparing yourself financially for the short- and long-term.

Basic Needs and Support

Support resources for food, housing, basic needs, mental health, and more.

Career Services

Learn about programs and resources provided to assist students and alumni with specific career goals, expanding knowledge of career alternatives, understanding effective decision-making, and acquiring appropriate strategies and skills to carry out the process.

Career Services by Identity

Career Services has a Career Resource Center and Career Resource Specialist to provide and assist you with career resources. Stop by the Bank of America Career Services Center or connect with us to ask questions about our resources.

Guide to Public Assistance Programs

If you are struggling financially or experiencing food or housing insecurity, there may be state and federal assistance programs that can help. This office can help you determine your eligibility for these programs and navigate the application processes.

Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center

Provides students with the knowledge and skills to make positive choices regarding money management while at Penn State and throughout their lives.

Student Parent Child Care Subsidy Program

Program that helps qualifying, low-income student parents sustain their educational efforts by paying a portion of their child care costs and encouraging them to select high-quality child care.

Tax Information for International Students

Support and guidance from Penn State Global on how international graduate students can complete taxes.

The Lion's Pantry

The Lion’s Pantry was created to address the issue of student hunger at Penn State University Park campus.

Veteran Student Career Resources

Explore a combination of general resources and those specific for veterans to give you leverage when searching for your next career opportunity.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

Service by business and law students that provides free federal and state taxes preparation.

Intellectual wellness is to explore ideas and experiences that stimulate learning and knowledge application. Some ways we can improve our intellectual wellness: