Wellness workshops

Wellness workshops are available daily at the UBC Wellness Centre. You can also request a workshop for a specific group.

How to participate

Drop in

The Wellness Centre hosts weekly workshops sharing strategies and on-campus resources to manage distress. Drop in to a “I’m worried about my mental health, what can I do?” workshop Tuesday or Friday at 3 pm.

Graduate students can also find workshops for graduate students, provided by Graduate Pathways to Success. For specific wellness-themed graduate workshops, please email levonne.abshire@ubc.ca.

Request a workshop

You can request a workshop for a group of students, staff, and/or faculty members. Choose from the workshop topics on this page.

Request a booth

You may request us to set up and host a Wellness Centre booth at an event or in your building. 

Request a workshop or booth

UBC wellness resources

UBC has many resources to help support the health and wellness of students. Find out more about what is available and how to connect with these resources.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Name and understand the UBC resources that support student wellbeing
  • Identify how to connect with a resource to help yourself or a peer

Time: 10-30 minutes

Intended audience: All students

Presented by: Health Promotion Specialists

Live well to learn well

Stress can positively or negatively impact your ability to feel good and achieve success, depending on how you manage it. This workshop is a valuable starting point or refresher as you work toward balancing your academic commitments with your physical and mental wellness. You will learn strategies you can implement to manage your wellbeing as a student.

This workshop will be hosted in a small group session of up to 10 people. You will be invited to reflect on your personal experiences and your unique wellness needs.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Apply proactive strategies to improve your sleep, nutrition, exercise, social connections, and helping others
  • Identify the key on and off-campus resources that can support you in developing skills and reaching your academic and life goals

Time: 1 hour

Presented by: Wellness Peer Educators and/or Health Promotion Specialists

Time management

How you decide to spend time and prioritize responsibilities can contribute to how you feel. This workshop can help you identify how you currently spend your time and how you would like to better manage your time. You will learn effective time management strategies that you can personalize to fit your values, priorities, and lifestyle in order to reduce stress and achieve success.

This workshop will be hosted in a small group session of up to 10 people. You will be invited to reflect on your personal experiences and your unique wellness needs.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Assess your current use of time
  • Develop effective time management strategies
  • Examine your energy cycle
  • Set priorities and goals

Time: 1 hour

Intended audience: All students

Presented by: Wellness Peer Educators and/or Health Promotion Specialists

First Aid Kit 101

Do you want to be better prepared for an injury? A first aid kit contains more than just band-aids! 

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Identify the many different components of a first aid kit
  • Use the different components of a first aid kit
  • Find simple last-resort replacements for your first aid kit

Time: 1 hour

Intended audience: All students

Presented by: First Aid Student Team member

Live well to lead well

Student leaders are often important role-models for their fellow students, and prioritizing your personal wellbeing is fundamental to assisting and supporting others. This workshop guides students in leadership positions to reflect on their own wellness to empower them as role-models for student wellbeing.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Recognize your own personal wellness needs
  • Relate the concept of wellness to more effective leadership
  • Role-model wellness as a student leader
  • Identify and apply strategies to support the wellness of yourself and others

Time: 1.5 hours

Intended audience: Student leaders

Presented by: Wellness Peer Educators and/or Health Promotion Specialists

How to help a peer

This session will teach you how to help a peer by providing a framework for navigating conversations with peers in need of support. You will learn how to start the conversation, actively listen, and connect to support and resources. In this workshop, we will also discuss the importance of setting personal boundaries, practicing self-care when supporting others, and where student leaders can debrief and access support for themselves.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Recognize signs and sources of needing support
  • Lead a supportive conversation with a fellow student or peer
  • Access resources and tools available on campus

Time: 1 hour

Intended audience: Student leaders

Presented by: Health Promotion Specialists

Substance use and overdose first aid

BC and Canada are in the midst of an opioid overdose crisis. In this workshop, you will reflect on the subject of substance use and its impacts, examine stigma and biases you may hold that would prevent helping, and gain practical strategies you can use to minimize the risk of substance use for yourself and others. These skills will increase participants' confidence to recognize and help an overdose situation and make UBC a safer place.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Minimize harm in situations with substance use
  • Identify ways to prevent overdose
  • Recognize and help someone who is overdosing

Time: 1 to 1.5 hours

Intended audience: All students

Presented by: First Aid Student Team member and/ or Health Promotion Specialists

I'm worried about my mental health, what can I do?

Join a Wellness Advisor to learn about mental health and how to cope when you're not feeling your best.

By the end of this workshop, individuals will be able to:

  • Understand what mental health means and when to get help
  • Get info and ask questions about different mental health resources on and off campus
  • Learn about and practice strategies you can use to manage distress at any time

*Because this session is open to the UBC community, we will not be able to discuss individual concerns or cirumstances

Time: 1 hour

Intended audience: All students

Presented by: Wellness Advisors

Communication and relationships

Learn about communicating with impact and effectiveness. This session aims to help improve your relationships and conversation outcomes.

By the end of this workshop, individuals will be able to:

  • Understand different communication styles
  • Practice assertive communication
  • Communicate healthy boundaries
  • Understand what active listening looks like

*Strategies for public speaking are not included in this session

Time: 45 minutes

Intended audience: All students

Presented by: Wellness Advisors

Help, I'm stressed! How to get grounded

Learn about techniques to manage stress during the academic year.

By the end of this workshop, individuals will have strategies to:

  • Feel calmer
  • Get grounded
  • Feel more relaxed and unwind

Time: 45 minutes

Intended audience: All students

Presented by: Wellness Advisors

Thinking differently: How to get out of an emotional rut

Better understand your mood by learning about the relationship between your thoughts, feelings, and actions.

By the end of this workshop, individuals will more more empowered by:

  • Learning about the subconscious thoughts you expereience in reponse to every events, how they impact you and how to spot them
  • Recognizing limited thinking patterns

Time: 45 minutes

Intended audience: All students

Presented by: Wellness Advisors

Accepting what' s hard to accept

Learn strategies to deal with circumstances beyond your control. Feel more empowered when things don't go your way by practicing acceptance techniques.

Time: 45 minutes

Intended audience: All students

Presented by: Wellness Advisors

Surviving a relationship break

This workshop helps you understand why break-ups feel so hard

By the end of this workshop, individuals will have learned to:

  • Grieve the end of a relationship
  • Heal and move forward
  • Identify what a healthy relationship looks like

Time: 45 minutes

Intended audience: All students

Presented by: Wellness Advisors

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