10 spheres of wellness to support student and staff health and wellbeing in a modern post 1992 university.
Dr Michelle Morgan
University of East London
Wellness spheres (also known as dimensions) are an established concept and used in business, industry, health and education. They are designed to improve the wellbeing of the individual and society. The number of spheres can range from anything from five to ten. The common spheres incorporated into most models include emotional, environmental, financial and physical. They can also include spiritual and intellectual.
At the University of East London, I developed 10 spheres of wellness reflecting the recurring dimensions throughout the study journey. Using my Student Experience Transitions model (Morgan 2011: 2013) that I developed 18 years ago, I mapped the wellness spheres across university life.
The spheres reflect and are respectful of equality, inclusion and diversity in a multicultural environment. All the spheres are applicable to all community members- students and staff.
This model was part of our University Mental Health Charter submission, awarded in late 2022 by Students Minds. I have mapped the spheres to the UMHC Themes as well as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need (Maslow, 1943).
This model is incorporated into core university events for new, returning and final year student activities to remind them of what they need to consider in the upcoming year in order to stay well, fit and healthy.
This paper will provide a rationale for the 10 spheres adopted; how they map to the study life cycle and the University Mental Health Charter; and the practical and interactive ‘one stop shop’ versions for students and for staff that has been created with colleagues to help them access information, advice and support that is in one place.
References
Maslow, A. H. (1943) A Theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Review, 50, 370-396.
Morgan, M. (2011) Improving the Student Experience- a practical guide , Abingdon: Routledge
Morgan, M. (2013) Supporting Student Diversity in Higher Education- a practical guide Abingdon: Routledge