Insights
Marcia Liu Ph.D
Posted 3 months ago

Bracing, Braving, and Breathing: Mental Health for BIPOC College Freshmen this Fall
Especially for BIPOC students, including those who are working class, immigrants or children of immigrants, queer, and/or students who are the first in their families to attend college, the transition to college can be a thrilling & stressful time. Approach wellness & mental health with a preventative lens & develop a routine that offers holistic, protective care.
Diversity Equity and Inclusion
Jessica Isom

Meditating on Creativity for Hope and Healing
Your creativity can be your guide for finding hope, strength, and healing. Historically, creative artistry has shown us that we don’t have to accept the world as it is. We can each use our creative gifts to express our feelings about the present reality and to imagine a healthier, more just world.  ...
Jessica Isom

Setting Emotional Creativity Goals
Before engaging in a creative activity to support emotional resilience and regulation, it’s helpful to explore your needs and identify your ideal outcome. Consider your emotional goal, choose a creative tactic, decide on the emotional approach that works best for you, and then determine how this activity will help you. Here are four steps to help set you on the path toward managing your emotions and mental health productively.
Jessica Isom

Embrace Hope and Healing through Creativity
Creating art is a powerful way to regulate your emotions and support your resilience. Here are eight creative ideas to support your emotional well-being and explore the science of hope. Use paper or any medium you like, including the Shuffles app from Pinterest, which can help you create, publish, and share your art. Let’s get started.
Jessica Isom

Creativity Is a Tool for Raising and Maintaining Hope
Creativity and the arts can support our emotional regulation and resilience. Your creativity can help you express yourself and manage emotional responses that might otherwise turn you away from our identified goals, pathways to achieve them, and a sense of personal agency. But how do you get started? Let’s talk about it!
Jessica Isom

Meditating on Hope and Motivation
What sources of motivation do you draw on to care for your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health? Soul care for each of us can sometimes begin with reflecting on our experiences or the stories of others. Pausing to consider goals from our past, present, and for the future, can allow new ideas, goals, or action steps to come into focus. Try this mindfulness coloring exercise to get started.
Jessica Isom

Your Story Matters, and Sharing It Does Too!
Throughout our diverse histories, stories have always held power in communities of color. The sequence of creating a story about your personal journey can help you to clarify your thoughts, process your emotions and experiences, and create connections. Here are seven thought starters and writing prompts to help you get started — whether you share your story in person, through a video, social post, or in writing.
Jessica Isom

How Your Story Can Help You Find Hope and Healing
Like many of you, as a young person of color I often wondered where my life journey and the stories it holds fit into the larger history of my community. While I recognized that storytellers have long held the power to inspire hope and resilience, I questioned whether my own narrative might do the same. ...
Jessica Isom

A Coloring Meditation on Building Healthy Relationships
Focusing on your relationship with yourself is a powerful way to strengthen your ability to build relationships with others. Here’s a way to take a breath and meditate on caring for yourself and others as you build healthy relationships. As you prioritize emotional well-being and mental health, you become better able to care for people you value, and cultivate hope, resilience, and a commitment to thriving at school, work, and beyond.
Jessica Isom

Build Your Hope Network
Ready to identify and cultivate a support network that fosters hope, healing, and resilience in your life? Recognizing individuals who know and understand you can create a network of trusted allies who uplift and empower you during challenging times. Why? Because they value your strengths, contribute to a hopeful, healthy mindset, and are available to support you. Grab a notebook and let’s get started!
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