Student Health and Wellbeing
Health Promotion and Prevention Services
Please note: The Health Promotion and Medical Leave Office will be closed for Winter Break from Tuesday, December 24th - Wednesday, January 1st.
At Oberlin, we believe that wellness is a holistic journey. Guided by the SAMHSA Eight Dimensions of Wellness, our mission is to support students in achieving balance across their emotional, physical, social, occupational, intellectual, financial, environmental, and spiritual well-being.
Our services include programs for stress management, building community, and specialized support for students navigating medical leave and reintegration, helping you thrive in all areas of life.
Let us empower you to create a healthier, more fulfilling college experience.
Services Offered:
The Office of Student Health Promotion and Prevention offers training and consultations. We can speak to student groups, staff, or faculty regarding various topics, including:
- health education and promotion
- mental/emotional well-being
- physical and sexual safety
- preventative services and campaigns
- environmental wellness initiatives
- harm reduction
- student leadership development
- wellness ambassador program (certified peer educators)
Contact Dr. Tara T. Woods, Director of Student Health Promotion and Prevention Services, at twoods1@oberlin.edu for more information and consultation.
Creating a Culture of Care Through the 8 Dimensions of Wellness
Physical wellness consists of recognizing the need for physical activity, healthy foods, and sleep, preventing illness and injury, or managing chronic health conditions.
Goals for your Physical Wellness
- Understand how and why your body works
- Feel comfortable with your physical appearance
- Make informed choices about your body and sexuality
- Feel competent in physical activities
- Develop well-balanced and healthy eating habits
- Become a responsible drinker or a non-drinker
- Become aware of how a lack of sleep, stress, and non-activity affect your body
- Become aware of how food, beverages, drugs, chemicals, additives, and caffeine affect your body
- Engage in regular movement to improve flexibility, strength, aerobic, and cardiovascular health.
- Develop and cultivate leisure activities
- Seek medical care for illness, injury, and preventative care when needed.
Resources:
Emotional wellness is coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships.
Goals for your Emotional Wellness
- Become more aware of your feelings and accept them as valid indicators of what you are experiencing
- Develop the ability to experience and appropriately express a wide range of emotions, such as humor, joy, fear, anger, frustration, appreciation, sadness, etc.
- Develop assertiveness and confrontation skills
- Develop positive feelings about yourself by instituting healthy self-esteem and self-concept
- Develop the skills to handle stress, irritations, crises, etc.
- Explore and clarify your own sexual identity
- Develop, establish, and maintain intimate and loving relationships
Resources:
Social wellness is developing a sense of connection, belonging, and a well-developed support system.
- Develop the ability to create and maintain close friendships
- Feel comfortable interacting with diverse individuals and groups
- Become aware of your responsibilities for the welfare of different communities
- Understand and accept those with a different sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, life experience, etc.
- Understand the concepts of sex and gender role stereotyping and explore appropriate sex and gender role behavior for yourself
- Develop a "global consciousness" by recognizing the interrelatedness of cultural, global, and national issues and needs
- Work toward becoming a responsible world citizen
Resources:
Intellectual wellness is recognizing one's creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills.
Goals for your Intellectual Wellness
- Strive to be open to new experiences and ideas in all areas of your life
- Expand your ability to create, develop, analyze, critique, concentrate, understand, evaluate, problem solve, predict, comprehend, etc.
- Feel competent in intellectual and academic activities by improving your academic skills, studying, time management, stress management, note-taking, listening, and public speaking.
- Develop a love for learning and philosophy for “life-long learning”
Resources:
Environmental wellness is occupying pleasant, stimulating environments that support well-being.
Goals for your Environmental Wellness
- Become aware of how your external environment affects you
- Redesign your environments to support and reinforce your needs more effectively
- Be concerned about the future of the local, national, and world ecology and climate
- Minimize your contribution to the destruction of the outdoor environment
Resources:
Spiritual wellness is expanding a sense of purpose and meaning in life, including one's morals and ethics. It may or may not involve religious activities.
Goals for your Spiritual Wellness
- Explore your personal values
- Question and clarify your values
- Become aware of how values develop and change from life experiences
- Become aware of the differences in others’ values
- Search for meaning in your own life
- Develop integrity by acting in ways that are consistent with your values
- Explore the issues related to mortality and your own life and death
Resources:
Occupational wellness is defined as gaining personal satisfaction and enrichment from one’s work, whether that be academic work while in college or a job after graduation.
Goals for your Vocational Wellness
- Increase your awareness of the wide variety of major/career opportunities available to you
- Challenge societal sex roles and other barriers that limit major/career choices
- Explore your interests, skills, values, and needs and how they relate to your major/career choice
- Choose a major/career direction that reflects your values, preferences, interests, and skills
- Understand the relationship between your major/career choice and other parts of your life, such as with your family, spouse/partner, leisure activities, and friends.
- Develop effective job-related skills in assertiveness, confrontation, feedback, time management, active listening, motivation, etc.
- Understand how many people change their major in college and their career directions many times throughout their lives
Resources:
Financial wellness is defined as satisfaction with current and future financial situations.
Goals for Financial Wellness
- Learning how to gain control of your finances so they work for you.
- Understanding how to manage a budget, credit cards, checking and savings accounts, investments, retirement funds, etc.
- Handling finances without too much stress.
- Setting and making progress toward your short- and long-term goals.
- Not spending too much time and effort handling your finances.
- Know the resources available on campus to help if you are experiencing a financial issue such as food insecurity, homelessness, economic crisis, or financial management.
Resources:
Personal Vending Machines
Students can access condoms, lubricants, dental dams, emergency contraception pills, pads, and tampons — all for free! Locate one of our "Personal Vending Machines."
Contact Student Health and Wellbeing for questions, comments, or concerns 440-775-5638.
Locations:
- Science Center Vending area (119 Woodland St. Oberlin, OH) (fentanyl test strips/medication disposal pouches)
- South Hall basement (121 Elm St. Oberlin, OH 44074)
- Fairchild Hall (93 Elm St. Oberlin, OH 44074) – Inside the lobby on the inner right wall
- South Hall (121 Elm St. Oberlin, OH 44074) – Adjacent to the dance studios
- Lord Saunders (126 Forest St. Oberlin, OH 44074) – Main entrance closet
- Burton Hall (194 N. Professor St. Oberlin, OH 44074) - Inside the main entrance by room 123
- Firelands (36 S. Pleasant St. Oberlin, OH 44074)
Photo credit: Abe Frato