• Departments & Offices
• Health & Wellness
• Health Promotion
• CMAX
• SOS

SOS

Self-Care Over Soothing

In taking an integrative approach to wellness, William & Mary has several offerings for students who are seeking to be healthier and not just temporarily feel better. SOS is for those who are looking for a healthy way to manage stress, cope with the vicissitude of life, or decrease/eliminate substance use. For context, soothing is any behavior motivated by the desire to temporarily feel better. Self-care is any behavior in which the intention is to be healthier.

SOS uses the stages of change from the Transtheoretical Model as part of the underpinning of the framework. The assessment allows counselors to gauge which area of change the participant may currently be in, which guides what options the student will choose from to make change. SOS also assesses the student's overall wellness using the eight dimensions of wellness. Finally, we gather information about the participants current coping mechanisms through a variety of inquiries.

SOS is not a replacement for a Care Report. The program is not designed to support students who need urgent assistance or are in extreme distress. These students should be referred to Care Services. Self-care Over Soothing is for those who are finding it challenging to manage stress in a healthy manner. If you would just like to explore new stress management options, please download and visit the W&M Wellness App where you will find many options.

Note: The following list is not available to all participants. After the initial conversation with a SOS counselors, participant's options will be discussed.

Consciousness Raising

A single-column table used to present a collapsible list of options.

Values Clarification This two-session individualized program explores the values that guide your behavior, motivation, and decision-making. Using an assessment developed at W&M, the discussion explores how to use your values for flourishing and wellbeing.

MI-3 Motivational Interviewing (MI) focuses on enhancing one's client’s intrinsic motivation to change. MI is a client-centered method used to help people explore their ambivalence, clarifying values, and reasons for change.

SCORE SCORE is an acronym for strengths, challenges, opportunities, risks, and envisage—and is a structured reflection method that allows one to evaluate themselves in those five areas. SCORE involves specifying and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving personal goals and objectives.

Self-Directed Behavior Development

Single column table used to present a collapsible list of options.

MI-6 Motivational Interviewing (MI) focuses on enhancing one's client’s intrinsic motivation to change. MI is a client-centered method used to help people explore their ambivalence, clarifying values, and reasons for change. This deeper dive into behavior change.

Coping/Flourishing The Center for Mindfulness & Authentic Excellence (CMAX) promotes the research and application of the principles of values-centered flourishing, mindfulness, and integrative wellness.  Recent health assessments reveal that students have high content knowledge of what is healthy but do not consistently engage in healthy choices despite such knowledge. CMAX strives to move individuals beyond content learning to engagement and internalization of the factors that predict greater productivity, fulfillment, and resilience.  Programs include advanced coping and resilience training that includes the Authentic Excellence Initiative; beginner and advanced mindfulness training; and expressive therapies.

Health Coaching A health coach motivates and supports health behavior change through a structured partnership between the client and coach. The coach helps the client develop and realize their optimal health vision through inquiry, personal discovery, and accountability.

Experiential Therapy W&M offers several types of experiential therapies including, Creative Art Therapy, Yoga Therapy, Eco Therapy, and Expressive Movement Therapy

Group Workshops The W&M Counseling Center and Office of Health Promotion offer a series of educational workshops in a group format that focuses on improving resilience, advanced coping, and wellbeing.

Mindfulness Programs are offered through CMAX to teach the fundamentals of mindfulness in order to develop more awareness, think more clearly, as well as become calmer, less reactive, and more resilient.  Using a variety of evidence-based tools, participants in either group programming or individual meetings have the opportunity to tap into a deeper connection with themselves and others through mindfulness practices that may also include gratitude, compassion, and nature. All programs and individual sessions are tailored to meet the level of experience and practice from beginning to advanced.

Psychological Wellness*

A single-column table used to present a collapsible list of options.

Counseling Professional Counseling with William & Mary Counseling Center or New Leaf counseling department…this individual counseling involves one-to-one meetings with a counselor to address personal concerns

Group Therapy Group counseling usually involves 5-8 students meeting with one or two counselors to address issues of shared concern within the group. For most, group therapy is the most effective and appropriate treatment option.

Campus Ministry Campus Ministry involves meeting with a campus minister one-on-one to explore the spiritual dimension of wellness that nurtures soul and spirit.

The SOS assessment is currently open.
Take the SOS Assessment To Begin

Questions?

For more information, sos@wm.edu