The Wholeness Center was opened last fall with the goal of being a resource for students to utilize in any way they need to help their well-being. “Everything we do for the wholeness program is to help students see themselves as whole and complete,” Sandy Pellerano, the Director of the Wholeness Program said.
The Wholeness Center is located in the School of Government on the second floor. The room is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day when the building is unlocked. The center has a massage chair, comfortable couches, reference books, weighted blankets, and other resources to allow students to meet their needs or to just relax. The purpose of the space is to be a “spa-like lounge space” that’s available for students to utilize whenever they need it.
Pellerano also offers Life Coaching, and Erin Selover joined Principia this year as a Counselor. “It’s important for all students to know that these services are free, and available as much as we can make them be. And our hope is that they feel safe and comfortable coming in and taking advantage of the services,” Selover said.
“Both of our services are strength based and solution oriented,” Pellerano said. Counseling is focused more on your past experiences and how that’s affecting you and hopefully finding emotional healing. Life coaching is more focused on the present – it is focused on goals and redirecting thoughts and behaviors to help you achieve those goals. Both are meant to help students, and are as confidential as legally possible.
Principia College has been working on getting a counselor for many years at the request of students, and Selover said she is very excited to fill that role. She is here in person Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9 AM – 5 PM, and has a Calendly set up. Pellerano is here in person every weekday also from 9 AM – 5 PM, and also has a Calendly set up. Students can find their QR codes right outside of their offices in The Wholeness Center.
In order for all students to have access to the help they need, Principia now has free access to some well-being services. TimelyCare is a virtual mental health service where students can talk to a professional in less than five minutes with an unlimited number of sessions. Students can also schedule medical on demand appointments where students can speak to a health care professional in less than 10 minutes. Both are ways for students to have broader access to professionals without having to leave campus.
The Wholeness Program is going to have some events this semester, such as putting on uplifting films in Perry Lounge during dinner, talks about wholeness, and workshops. Selover said, “And if students have ideas … they’d like to see or topics they would like covered, please email us, or just stop by and talk to us.” Their focus is on providing topics that are of interest to the student body and to make it as beneficial as possible.
Overall Pellerano and Selover emphasized that their goal is to help students in any way they can, and they hope you utilize the resources that the program offers.
