Mental Health Narratives Project
At Binghamton University, we believe we can transform the culture to advance mental health, but we need you to help. You can change the mental health narrative on campus by requesting a workshop for your team. These workshops were designed by students studying mental health for students who want to improve mental health for themselves, their friends, and their club or residence hall.
Reframing Mental Health: From understanding to action
What does “mental health” really mean to you and the Binghamton community? Join this interactive workshop to explore how mental health works, what shapes it, and how to balance reducing stress with boosting positive wellbeing. Together, we will reframe mental health and you will identify next steps for your personal mental health journey.
At the end of the workshop, you will complete a wellness profile with your mental health goals to highlight your greatest strengths and areas for growth. Your wellness profile will help you see mental health as multidimensional. You can experience stress or other challenges while also having strengths in areas such as social connection, purpose, physical wellbeing, or supportive environments.
Caring Communication: How to support each other’s mental health
How can we communicate in ways that honor our needs while supporting a friend’s mental health and becoming better friends? This interactive workshop introduces the fundamentals of nonviolent communication (NVC): observing without judgment, expressing feelings, identifying needs, and making clear requests. Bring a friend to gain even more from the session as we practice shifting conversations away from criticism and defensiveness toward mutual understanding. At Binghamton, 4 out of 10 students surveyed reported concern for friends as a significant source of stress. NVC offers a healthier path forward to benefit friendships, family relationships and classmates.
After the workshop, you will receive an NVC profile organized around the three core NVC dimensions:
- Self-Connection: Awareness of and connection with your own feelings and needs. Self-
connection involves noticing your internal experience and responding with self-empathy before reacting or communicating with others. - Authentic Self-Expression: Communicating your feelings and needs honestly and openly while taking responsibility for your own experience. It includes expressing yourself clearly and making requests without demanding a particular response from the other person.
- Empathic Listening: Listening with openness and empathy to understand another person’s feelings, needs, and perspective. It involves remaining present and flexible during communication rather than focusing only on judgment, disagreement, or your own response.
Student-Led Strategies: How to change the mental health culture
Do you want to change the mental health culture in your student club, residential community or across the Binghamton campus? Join this interactive workshop to discover your mental health mindset as a promoter, preventer, or protector. Working in a small group, you will reimagine wellness on campus by joining one of four impact tracks:
- Club Policy or Culture: Review and update your organization’s internal processes to better sustain long-term member wellbeing.
- Club Event or Initiative: Design a club project and apply for a Mental Wellbeing grant (if selected, you will have up to $200 to use for your event or initiative).
- Campus Event or Initiative: Design a campuswide project and apply for a Mental Wellbeing grant (if selected, you will have up to $200 to use for your event or initiative).
- Campus Advocacy: Collaborate with peers to develop constructive recommendations for campus administrators, which will be shared with Binghamton leadership and celebrated at our end-of-year culture event.
Workshop Presentation Requests
Our team will respond to you within 7 days about your request to coordinate a workshop
presentation. Thanks for your interest in improving mental health on campus!
Request a workshop presentation for your class, club, or residence hall
Contact Information
Kaitlyn Zerrenner, Mental Health Narratives Student Program Developer: kzerrenner@binghamton.edu
Brianna Burton, Mental Health Narratives Student Evaluator: bburton3@binghamton.edu