Mental Health & Wellbeing

Mission statement: The health and mental wellbeing of our students is a top priority of the BBS program. We recognize that stresses unique to the responsibilities of performing PhD-level research contribute to creating mental health challenges that are new or overwhelming. In the BBS community, we seek to dismantle the stigma associated with these commonly-encountered experiences. Our goal is to provide resources to encourage students to reach out and access a variety of available mental health support systems, without fear that it will be negatively viewed or impede their progress. The PhD journey is a marathon, and we believe that actively caring for students’ mental wellbeing is vital to ensure that they flourish as scientists.

CVM Mental Wellbeing Resource website

Cornell Mental Health resources: BBS graduate students have access to a variety of professional mental health resources through Cornell Health. These include group counseling, individual counseling appointments, drop-in consultations, and skills-based workshops. The links below provide more details on each of these options:

Let’s Talk

Drop-in consultations with a CAPS counselor
https://health.cornell.edu/services/mental-health-care/lets-talk

CAPS Community Liaisons

CAPS has enhanced its staffing with the addition of community liaisons to better support students. The liaisons include:

Wahieñhawi "Hawi" Hall, community liaison for Indigenous students
Kimberly VanNorman, community liaison for LGBTQ+ students
Jacque Tara Washington, community liaison for Black students
Qiana Watson, community liaison for first generation/low income students

Individual Counseling

individualized mental health support
https://health.cornell.edu/services/mental-health-care/individual-counseling

Group Counseling

Addressing issues common among students
https://health.cornell.edu/services/mental-health-care/group-counseling

Spring 2022 Groups

International Student Process Group
"Coming Full Circle" (specific to Indigenous/Native American Students)
"BEING": A Processing & Motivational Group for Students of Color
LGBT+ Support/Process Group for Graduate Students
Graduate Women's Process Group
Positive Action Through Interaction: A Graduate Student Group for All Genders
Anxiety & You: Managing Anxiety in Times of Uncertainty
Perfectionism: From Paralysis to Progress
Men of Color Support Group
Moving Forward: A Support Group for Survivors of Sexual Violence
ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) for Anxiety & Depression
Cornell Healthy Eating Program (CHEP) Recovery Group
Roll Advantage: An Intentional Gaming Group
Grief Support Group
Life Altering Illness Support Group
Substance Use Strategies and Support: Find What Works For You

How to join (or learn more about) a group: Most groups require potential members to have a brief group orientation with the group leader(s) to see if the group is the right one for you. (Group descriptions below indicate whether an orientation is required.)

If the group you’re interested in requires an orientation: You may schedule your orientation appointment online at myCornellHealth, or by calling Cornell Health during business hours at 607-255-5155.

Talk/Text someone confidentially now!

BBS student Testimonials:

"Every person goes through various challenges throughout graduate school, whether they are related to research, lab members, coursework, teaching, family, friends, and other personal aspects of life. These all impact our mental wellness and how we can operate from day to day. While I do reach out to my network of people I trust to help me navigate these difficult situations, I have found my counselor and mental health services to provide another space, perspective, and opportunity to process and tackle those challenges. Mental health services have been integral in changing my approach in life as well as my balance when juggling responsibilities both inside and outside of research. I can definitely say that without that support, I would not be where I am today."

"I started seeing a caps counseling during my first year and they have been great at helping me manage several aspects of my life related to issues of being in grad school, dealing with imposter syndrome, and also coming to terms with personal issues relating to family and relationships."

"When I started graduate school I was unprepared for how much failure I would encounter. I thought if I just kept working harder things would fall into place. Lab became my whole life, something that is sadly not uncommon for most graduate students. My tipping point came when I suddenly lost two members of my family. In addition to burn out I now found myself swallowed by grief. It was at this rock bottom that I started speaking to a therapist and it changed my life, both personally and professionally. Grad school can be extremely rewarding and I have really enjoyed many aspects of it, but if I had a do-over I would have started seeing a therapist from my first year. We don’t talk enough about safeguarding our mental health in graduate school, which I think should be integral to the graduate school experience."

"As a first generation American-Mexican, I have had many adolescent insults that have impacted me and continue to influence me as an adult. These realizations however, only became apparent to me after initiating and continuously attending psychotherapy or talk therapy for almost a year. Machismo permeates many Latino cultures and teaches men (consciously or unconsciously) not to show emotion,to ignore and "push on." Typically crying and being sad is frowned upon and is met with parental attempts at denying this emotion to manifest and to be processed. Coupled with the fact that my family worked multiple jobs, their time with me was limited. This unfortunate upbringing resulted in an incapacitated ability to be vulnerable and handle my emotions in a healthy manner. I learned so much and gained so much inner peace by revisiting this and many other traumatic experiences of mine. As scientist we pride ourselves in having a very analytical way of thinking. Accepting that emotions are not linear or rationale at times, humbles you at the fact that evidence based research shows that talk therapy greatly increases the quality of one's life. Be proactive with your mental health. I highly encourage all students to establish a connection with a counselor here in Ithaca area or with Cornell. Be honest with yourself and be honest with your therapist and you will see that only good can come from talking about life through introspective thoughts. Be human, be sad, be happy and ultimately be kind to yourself."

"I grew up in California so moving to Ithaca was a huge career and environmental change. Seasonal depression and first year graduate student anxiety hit me very hard and I had difficulty focusing, staying motivated and felt stressed constantly. As a first year graduate student, I found myself feeling stressed, confused and sad quite often (more often than I ever felt in CA) so I began seeing a therapist at CAPS during my first fall semester. It was a relief to speak to someone freely about my concerns and obtain suggestions on how to best manage my anxiety and communicate my thoughts to my PI. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and I found myself trying to find a 4th rotation, my anxiety kept me from eating and sleeping regularly so talking to family, friends and my therapist were the only things keeping me grounded. I I would highly recommend using CAPS and seeing a therapist early on so you have a safe space to go when you're not sure what to do or how to handle a situation."

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