Monday, December 28, 2020

Mental health resources: Winter break programming for students

Whether students are leaving campus or staying in Iowa City for winter break, University Counseling Service is offering programs that students can attend via Zoom to connect with others and learn skills to promote mental wellness during break. These winter break programs include:

  • Create and Connect (Thursdays, 10 to 11 a.m. CST, Jan. 7, 14, and 21): This winter break, bring your art projects, crafts, coffee, and tea to connect with our UI student makers around mental health. To join, visit https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/91955700067.
  • Anxiety Toolbox (Tuesdays, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. CST, Jan. 5, 12, and 19): “Anxiety Toolbox” is a three-week, skills-based workshop designed to help students learn to better manage their anxiety by utilizing a variety of cognitive behavioral tools and strategies. This is a curriculum-driven series with structure and specific learning objectives and topics for each week that build students’ knowledge over the course of the workshop. To register, contact dawn-bates@uiowa.edu.
  • Getting Unstuck (Tuesdays, 5 to 6 p.m. CST, Jan. 5, 12, and 19): “Getting Unstuck” is a three-week, skills-based clinical workshop designed to provide support and skills aimed at addressing students who would like to learn ways be better manage their depression symptoms. This is a curriculum-driven series with structure and specific learning objectives and topics for each week that build students’ knowledge over the course of the workshop. To register, contact dawn-bates@uiowa.edu.
  • Mindfulness Matters (Thursdays, 1:30 to 2 p.m. CST, Jan. 7, 14, and 21): Mindfulness is purposefully paying attention, non-judgmentally, to the present moment. The practice of mindfulness can lead to an increased sense of balance, stress management, and overall well-being in your life. Join over Zoom for a mental exercise using your five senses to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine. To join, visit https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/129398591.
  • Soothe Your Anxiety (Wednesdays 5 to 5:30 p.m. CST Jan. 6, 13, 20): Join this workshop to better understand your anxiety and develop some quick strategies to cope with your symptoms. To join, visit https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/95959208919. Weekly topics include:
    • Jan. 6: What am I feeling—stress or anxiety?
    • Jan. 13: Fight, flight, freeze—breathe!
    • Jan. 20: Making sense of anxiety.

For more information about mental health resources, see mentalhealth.uiowa.edu.

For counseling and support, the Employee Assistance Program offers confidential counseling at no cost for UI employees and their families; or University Counseling Service offers confidential counseling and support for students.

Campus operations

The university continues to monitor self-reported COVID-19 testing data on campus, while also tracking state, region, and national COVID-19 infection rates. The university will continue to follow the latest guidance from the CDC in coordination with Johnson County Public Health, the Iowa Department of Public Health, and the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.

Seven-day rolling average chart for self-reported UI data

University of Iowa self-reported COVID-19 testing

These data reflect new cases since Dec. 23, 2020.

The University of Iowa has published an updated snapshot of self-reported positive COVID-19 tests from faculty, staff, and students.

Number of self-reported cases of COVID-19

Students

  • New cases: 1
  • Semester-to-date: 2,816

Employees

  • New cases: 7
  • Semester-to-date: 346

These numbers reflect only self-reported positive or presumed positive COVID-19 tests from UI faculty, staff, and students on the academic campus since Aug. 18, 2020. These data will not match data reported by UI Hospitals & Clinics or by the Iowa Department of Public Health for several reasons, including different testing time intervals and geographic scope. Students who also are employees of the university are only reported in the student number to avoid double counting. The UI has more than 30,000 students and nearly 30,000 employees. Many employees continue to work remotely but have self-reported to authorize sick leave.

Number of residence hall students in quarantine: 0*

Number of residence hall students in self-isolation: 0**

*Quarantine: Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others.

**Self-isolation: Isolation is used to separate people infected with the virus (those who are symptomatic and those with no symptoms) from people who are not infected.