Emotional Well-being Badge

Faculty and Staff Badge

Participating in the Emotional Well-being Badge allows for faculty and staff to understand their role more fully in promoting mental health and well-being on our campus. It is no secret that the mental health of college students is an escalating crisis. In Fall 2023, 22.8% of WVU students reported experiencing serious psychological distress on the National College Health Assessment (NCHA). 

But this problem does not just challenge our students. Faculty and staff are straining under increasing demands and further resource restriction. According to the National Faculty/Staff Health Assessment, conducted at WVU in Fall 2021, 37% of faculty and staff reported either depression or anxiety. And 20.5% of faculty and staff reported experiencing ALL of the following within the last 12 months:

• Difficulty coping with stressful events or situations
• Felt so depressed that it was difficult to function
• Felt overwhelming anxiety
• Felt overwhelmed by all they had to do

By enrolling in this badge program, faculty and staff members will help build the skills they needs to help manage emotional well-being concerns with their students, but also gives them the opportunity to reflect on their own mental health and how they are taking care of themselves.

To learn more about the specific requirements of the badge, please visit the Badgr site.

Badge Learning Outcomes

• Participants will be able to describe signs of distress in students.

• Participants will be able to confidently refer both students and peers to the appropriate campus resources when showing signs of distress.

• Participants will be able to articulate the importance of faculty in the promotion and support of mental health on campus.

Program Elements for Faculty/Staff

For more information regarding SafeTALK, please email Wes Thomas at wthomas2@mail.wvu.edu.

The Mental Health Statement to include on syllabi and embed on eCampus:

• "Mental health concerns or stressful events can adversely affect your academic performance and social relationships. WVU offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns that you may be experiencing. You can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus at the Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CCCPS) website: https://carruth.wvu.edu/.

  If you are in need of crisis services, call the CCCPS main number 24/7: (304) 293-4431.

  Crisis services are also available through text: Text WVU to 741741 for support 24/7 from a trained Crisis Counselor."

  A longer version of this optional statement is available for reference.

To request presentations:

• From WELLWVU, visit our Program Request page.

• From Carruth, visit their Outreach/Interview Requests page.

For information on the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program, visit their webpage.

For information on campus events relating to emotional well-being, follow WELLWVU and Carruth on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!

Element Submission for Faculty/Staff

To submit program elements for hours, please use this Qualtrics link.

Badge Completion

After completing the required 15 (minimum) hours, participants will be emailed a link to a final badge evaluation. Participants must score at least 80% on the assessment to be issued the badge.