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Life Hacks with CAPS: Lively Virtual Workshops
Life Hacks with CAPS: Lively Virtual Workshops are now available to supplement your Life Hack Kit experience! Check out details and schedule of events below.

Life Hack Kits

Life Hack Kits are step-by-step wellness packages designed to help you navigate and demystify some of the more perplexing parts of being human. 

Students 

Peruse the possibilities within each different package below!

Interested in having this available for extra credit? Suggest Life Hack Kits to your instructor! Communicate with your instructor for guidelines about receiving credit. CAPS does not provide proof of attendance. Do not send your results to CAPS. 

Students planning to write a class paper or article are encouraged to attend a Life Hack and/or review Life Hack Kits. If additional information is required, please review guidelines about requesting CAPS interviews.

 

Course Instructors and Student Organization Leaders

CAPS has learned that instructors and student leaders are increasingly interested in weaving mental health information and prevention into the classroom experience. If this sounds like you, then you are in the right place! You are encouraged to use Life Hack Kits for extra credit/points. Each kit below includes supplemental instructions suggesting how to make this a part of your class/group's wellness experience. Feel free to directly copy and paste the Life Hack Kit you wish to use into your syllabus or Canvas course, or adapt the instructions as they would best fit your course material.

Instructors: your role is critical! Students may find instructors more caring and trusting when wellness is taken into consideration in the classroom. And research points to multiple positive student outcomes as a result of a positive student-teacher relationship, including self-esteem, emotional wellbeing, and resilience. 
 

Instructors are responsible for identifying methods to collect and confirm completion of activities. CAPS does not provide proof of completion or attendance. 

CAPS clinical services may not be utilized for extra credit. While we understand the desire to confirm student attendance or engagement in our clinical services, CAPS is dedicated to maintaining confidentiality and does not provide this information for the purpose of receiving class credit. For the same reason, students may not take screen shots, photos, or otherwise record in any way when they are participating in our clinical services.

The Variety Pack: Personalize Your Wellness Journey

 

  1. Register for and log in to WellTrack Boost
    • Complete a Mood Check
    • Select "Assessment" and complete a Wellness Assessment
    • Open the "Courses" and take a tour of some videos
    • Open "Tools" and take a few minutes to test out each option
      • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, write a summary describing 3 takeaways from your tour of WellTrack Boost and identify how you will apply what you have learned to your wellness lifestyle
  2. Check out the CAPS Virtual Library
    • Review videos based on topic areas of interest
      • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, write a summary describing a new skill or fact you learned, and how you plan to apply it in your regular wellness routine
  3. Visit Ginger Roots
    • Review some of the featured Mental Health Tips at the top of the page
    • Scroll to "Explore by topic" and select topics of interest to review
    • Scroll further to select a recommended playlist to stream or download
      • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, record a brief video or audio clip of yourself educating or demonstrating how to apply a new skill you have learned
  4. Visit Ginger Blog 
    • Filter by topic or scroll to find a blog post in a topic area of interest
    • Looking for something specific? Use CTRL+F or the "Find in Page" tool in your browser to search for a specific keyword
      • Extra Credit Suggestion: Record a brief podcast-style audio clip designed to engage others in a new topic or skill you encountered
The No-More-Nail-Biter: An Anxiety Management Kit
  1. Register for and log in to WellTrack Boost
    • Select "Courses" & complete the course titled "Anxiety and Stress"
    • Select "Tools" 
      • Complete the Cognitive Distortions Quiz
      • Make a Thought Diary Entry
      • Enter the Zen Room, then personalize and complete a meditation
        • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, write a summary describing 3 strategies you learned for coping with anxiety
  2. Attend a free wellness session with Health Promotion & Wellness.
    • Schedule at your convenience!
      • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, write a summary describing 3 wellness-enhancing or anxiety-reduction strategies you learned
  3. Attend a free Health Promotion & Wellness Program.
  4. Watch the videos about Self-Care Basics at the CAPS Virtual Library.
    • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, write a summary describing 3 strategies you learned
Let's Do This!: A Motivation Kit
  1. Want help setting goals, taking steps, caring for yourself, identifying your priorities, and sustaining motivation as you go? In this video CAPS clinicians take you on a journey to practice strategies that can guide you toward actualizing the outcomes you would like to have in your life.  
    • Extra Credit Suggestion: Quizzes are embedded throughout the 40-minute video. Have students complete the full video with quizzes and upload a screenshot of the final "Submitted" screen with their quiz score to Canvas. It is recommended to have students send a full screenshot that includes the date, time, and image of the "Submitted" screen.
  2. Watch the videos about Attention, Focus, and Motivation at the CAPS Virtual Library.
    • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, write a summary describing 3 strategies you learned
  3. Register for and log in to WellTrack Boost
    • Select "Tools" 
      • Schedule weekly activities with the Activity Scheduler
      • Rate your reactions to the activities with Fun Achievement
        • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, write a summary describing  your goal setting and follow-through process
Belonging: A Campus Connection Kit
  1. Coming to a large campus can be overwhelming. It can be helpful to identify and work toward goals in order to make meaningful connections and feel more at home. In this 10-minute video, CAPS clinician Jason Yoder offers ideas for increasing your belonging and creating authentic connections.
    • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, write out 3 next steps you can take based on the connections video
  2. WOOP goals can help make your efforts to connect more intentional and effective. Watch the 3-minute video on the WOOP website for more information. Then go practice thinking through a goal using WOOP principles using this guide.
    • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, write a summary describing your own WOOP goal (this could be around connection or something else that you would like to grow toward
  3. Visit the Student Orgs page to explore the many options available at your campus
    • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, share 3-5 clubs/orgs that you’re interested in learning more about, and how they intersect with your plan for connection
  4. Visit the Penn State Student Engagement Network
    • Learn about growth areas to enhance your engagement experience
    • Log into the Student Engagement app
    • Reach out for Engagement Coaching support to help you navigate the path toward connection, meaning, and purpose
      • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, record a brief  video tutorial about how other students can use these resources to get engaged and connected
Do They Know I’m a Fraud?: An Impostor Phenomenon Kit
  1. Commonly known as “impostor syndrome,” impostor phenomenon (or feeling like you are a fraud and that others are more capable or deserving) is not a clinical syndrome or diagnosis. In this 4-minute video, learn more about impostor phenomenon, how it is universally experienced, and how it often show up for college students.
    • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, draw a Venn diagram of your genuine/actual self and your projected self (i.e. how you present to others when you feel like an impostor). List at least 5 characteristics of each “self” in the respective circles, as well as features shared by both in the center/overlap.
  2. This form of self-doubt is a common experience!
    • Review articles where musicians, television stars, social media stars, and other celebrities who perform for a living get real about their lived experiences with impostor phenomenon.
    • Listen to the 30-minute podcast, Speaking of Psychology: How to Overcome Feeling Like an Impostor.
      • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, select an article and list at least three takeaways about coping with impostor phenomenon.
  3. People from minority or underrepresented identities have particularly high risk for experiencing impostor phenomenon. Because of the documented bias and exclusion faced by people in this community, feeling like an outsider is a common reality in their daily lives.
    • Watch Dena Simmons speak about how students of color confront impostor phenomenon.
    • Search the Penn State Library for the term “Safe Spaces and Brave Spaces.” Review articles or book chapters that define and describe these terms. You are encouraged to review the options and find the literature that speaks to you.
      • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, answer the following: “How can an environment foster learning and growth by being emotionally and physically safe? What is a safe space vs. a brave space? How are these related to impostor phenomenon? How will you use this information in the future?”
  4. One way of combatting impostor phenomenon is to connect with others in genuine and meaningful ways. You may be surprised to learn that others may share the feeling of being an impostor.
    • Visit the Penn State Student Engagement Network
      • Learn about growth areas to enhance your engagement experience
      • Log into the Student Engagement app, then discover and follow organizations that are aligned with your values.
        • Attend an upcoming meeting or event
      • Reach out for Engagement Coaching support to help you navigate the path toward connection, meaning, and purpose
        • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, write a diary entry of your experience connecting with others in an organization whose values align with your own. Also reflect on your plans for nurturing sincere connections with others (even if you do not imagine continuing connections with this org).
  5. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Do you find yourself returning to unhelpful thoughts about being a fraud? Challenge your unhelpful thoughts with this guided strategy:
    •  Register for and log in to WellTrack Boost
      • Select "Tools" 
        • Complete the Cognitive Distortions Quiz
        • Make a Thought Diary Entry
        • Enter the Zen Room, then personalize and complete a meditation
          • Extra Credit Suggestion: Via Canvas upload or email to instructor, write a summary describing 3 strategies you learned for coping with unhelpful thoughts of being an impostor.

 

CAPS Services: A Campus Mental Health Kit

CAPS often receives inquiries about our services. In this toolkit we hope to elucidate this process for you!

  1. Watch the annual webinar about CAPS Services where a panel of CAPS staff reviews CAPS services, addresses common myths and misconceptions about CAPS, and responds to common questions.
  2. Peruse the CAPS Website
    • Get to know CAPS, our mission, and our staff
    • Check out all of the Wellness Services that are available to students with no call to CAPS required.
    • Learn about Getting Started with formal clinical treatment services at CAPS.
    • Keep a list of Crisis Resources on hand for when you or someone you know experiences a mental health emergency.
    • CAPS offers information and Resources For students with a variety of needs and concerns. See what resources we can offer you!
  3. Are you a campus leader who works with other students often? Check out The Red Folder Initiative, a guide to help you help others safely and effectively. Supplementing the website with the annual webinar  is recommended.
    • A self-paced Red Folder course will soon be available on the Learning Resource Network (LRN) and via a public access portfolio link for Fall 2023. Stay tuned here for updates!

Have a suggestion for a Life Hack? Contact CAPS. This page will be updated regularly, so keep checking back in! 

Life Hacks with CAPS: Lively Virtual Workshops

To supplement your experience with Life Hack Kits, CAPS also offers Life Hacks with CAPS each semester! These are lively gatherings offered via Zoom to students across all Commonwealth Campuses and are focused on learning how to develop and enhance your connections with others. All sessions are facilitated by CAPS Clinical Services Provider, Jason Yoder, LCSW.

Topics

Wednesdays

4-5:00 p.m.

Belonging & Building Connections: Create and move toward interpersonal goals to feel a sense of purpose and belonging, while also developing meaningful and authentic connections.

January 31 from 4-5:00 p.m.

Zoom

Being Your Best Selfie: Find your fulfillment, live by your values, and personalize what self-care means to you.

February 28 from 4-5:00 p.m.

Zoom

Develop Your Narrative: Learn about applying narrative therapy techniques to guide ongoing self-exploration and growth. 

March 27 from 4-5:00 p.m.

Zoom

 

Note: As a reminder, instructors are responsible for identifying methods to collect and confirm completion of activities. CAPS does not provide proof of completion or attendance. For example, if attendance at one of these sessions is an option for extra credit, students might complete a summary of 3 strategies learned and submit these directly to the instructor.

 

Explore in this Section
Life Hack Kits
Penn State Student Affairs
Counseling & Psychological Services
Main Location

501 Student Health Center
University Park, PA 16802

Additional Locations

3rd Floor Bank of America Career Services Building
University Park, PA 16802

Allenway Building (Downtown)
315 S Allen Street
State College, PA 16801

 

Our events and programs are open to all students regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, or any other protected class. Student Affairs is committed to building a community of belonging for all.