Human Resources offers ongoing free mental health webinars throughout 2024

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As part of Penn State’s ongoing efforts to promote mental health among its employees, the University is offering additional free seminars and access to an online mental health “fitness studio.”  

“Mental health is so vitally important to our overall well-being and impacts our lives in both big and small ways. We as Penn State want to provide our valued employees the tools and opportunities for them to maintain and improve their mental health,” said Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for Human Resources and chief human resources officer.  

Following up on the success of May’s Mental Health Month webinar, Penn State Human Resources and the University’s Employee Assistance partner, SupportLinc, are offering additional seminars through the remainder of the year via the Learning Resource Network focused on various topics: 

• The Benefits of Mindfulness 
  • Tuesday, July 9 | 11 a.m. to noon 
• Building Better Mental Health 
  • Wednesday, Aug. 7 | 11 a.m. to noon 
• Stress Management 
  • Wednesday, Sept. 4 | 11 a.m. to noon 
• Preventing Burnout 
  • Wednesday, Oct. 2 | 11 a.m. to noon 

In addition to the mental health webinar series, SupportLinc is offering a new feature called Mindstream, which is a fitness studio for your mind that strengthens your emotional health and builds life skills. Just like daily workouts that benefit physical health, exercising your mind is essential for overall well-being. The platform offers a wide range of sessions to prepare users for challenges life may present. Through SupportLinc, Mindstream is free to use for full-time benefits-eligible employees. Sessions range from three to 20 minutes to fit into your daily life with a focus on mental health, personal development, work-life balance and leadership skills. Mindstream addresses a multitude of topics designed to strengthen emotional well-being, including relationships; career development; diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging; sleep; mindfulness; parenting; grief and loss — with new sessions added on a regular basis. Employees can add live sessions to their calendars, view live session replays at their convenience, or schedule a mindfulness or meditation break under Quick Access to instantly add a daily calendar reminder.   

The new fitness app for your mind, Mindstream, and SupportLinc provide information and assistance, free of charge for Penn State full-time, benefits-eligible employees, post-doctoral appointees, their spouse and dependents, as well as members of their household. Access Mindstream and SupportLinc whenever needed, wherever it is most convenient. Visit www.supportlinc.com using the group code "pennstate," or download the mobile app.