The Mental Health Advisory Board was created in January, 2022 as students returned to the AUW after the COVID-19 pandemic. The team of seven professionals – including psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers – meets regularly to encourage the development of mental health services at the AUW.
The board began by creating a series of mental health lectures and workshops aimed at addressing sources of distress for students, teaching essential self-care skills, and reducing the stigma associated with seeking help. The board then put in place a Writing for Friendship (WFF) program that uses structured writing exercises with small groups of students and volunteer therapists (on Zoom) to promote connection and self-expression while building community to support mental health. The groups further seek to reduce isolation, depression and anxiety among students who have lived in difficult situations before coming to AUW.
The board oversaw the hiring of, and now participates in ongoing consultation with, Dr. Fatema Syed Alam, AUW’s Director of Mental Wellness. With Dr. Alam’s outstanding leadership, the board has supported the establishment of the Good Life Center at the AUW, a welcoming place for students to gather, practice yoga, engage in creative activities, and relax together.
The board has applauded Dr Alam as she created and realized a unique program of training student “Wellness Ambassadors” to offer peer support, and as she instituted a “Friendship Month” with a curriculum that supports mutual curiosity and appreciation among the school’s diverse populations. So too, the board has supported staff psychologist Nabila Afroz in her innovative work, which includes art therapy sessions, Thursday meditations, and Happy Tuesday podcast discussions, alongside her regular clinical work.
Additionally, the board has gathered data on mental wellness at the AUW and has helped to develop new programming in response. This includes a trauma training in early 2025 for General Studies and PreUG faculty, staff, and fellows to help them understand the impact of trauma on learning.
The Mental Health Advisory Board is honored to continue working with Dr Alam and her team to support the AUW in its ongoing efforts to become a trauma-informed community developing their own unique responses to mental health needs that celebrate and honor diversity among the students, faculty, and staff.