Designing a graduate-level peer-wellness mentoring course

Background: A growing body of research has indicated the importance of implementing community mental health initiatives in universities to promote student mental health and well-being. Designing and implementing community-based initiatives on campus can facilitate improved student well-being in a cost-effective way. Purpose: This paper provides a description of the implementation of a graduate-level university course grounded in a community mental health framework, which gave students the opportunity to become peer-mentors for other students within the university in exchange for course credit. Approach: The course took place over two semesters. In the first half of semester one, students engaged with theoretical and practical content that teaches them how to be a peer-mentor and support students’ needs. In the second half of the first semester, and over the course of the second semester, students used what they have learned to engage in experiential learning, where they acted as peer-mentors to their fellow university students. Conclusion: This university course provided mental health and well-being benefits to university students in a cost-effective manner while providing hands-on experience to students enrolled on the course to be peer-mentors. Implications: Experiential learning opportunities can be used to support student well-being while reducing the need for more specialist forms of mental health service provision.