Coming soon: the UVic Student Wellness Centre

An integrated, holistic, centre dedicated to student well-being—that’s the vision for UVic’s Student Wellness Centre (SWC), scheduled to open in Summer 2020. UVic students will access Counselling and Health in one convenient location: the Health and Wellness Building (formerly the Technology Enterprise Facility). 

Over the past year, the building has been undergoing a major renovation to bring it up to the highest standards for privacy protection and infection control, and to create an attractive environment that supports student wellness. 

“I am very excited to launch our integrated services in a brand new space, built to the highest technical standards,” says Director of Health Rob Crisp. “However, it’s just as important that we create a beautiful, comfortable and calm space that feels welcoming to students. We have kept that in the foreground in designing the centre.” 

The Multifaith team will remain in the current location in the Multifaith Centre. Recognizing that student wellness is about community, connection and spiritual health, as well as mental and physical wellness, the centre’s programming will be integrated across both SWC locations—including  meditation sessions and time for students to meet with Multifaith representatives of diverse faiths and traditions at the Health and Wellness Building. 

Director of Counselling and Multifaith Dr. Rita Knodel and Director of Health Rob Crisp are co-leading the integration project and recognize the vital importance of offering wellness resources that recognize the whole person. 

“We are moving away from a model of well-being that puts everything in separate columns: emotional, physical, spiritual,” says Knodel. “We know that all these kinds of wellness are highly interconnected and we want to recognize that in the Student Wellness Centre.”

This type of integrated model is at the leading edge of internationally recognized best practices. The World Health Organization endorses collaborative, interprofessional care as a solution to strengthen health care systems and improve outcomes.

The centre will also aid UVic staff and faculty who are looking for resources and wayfinding to help support students. Ultimately, the focus of the work at the SWC is to support students’ achievement in their academic pursuits and give them wellness tools to carry with them throughout their lives. 

For more information, email SHWCcomm@uvic.ca. 

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This article was updated on April 7 to reflect a revised target date for the centre to open.