Suicide prevention

All of LiveWell’s education and work aims to prevent suicide. Whether it’s education about sleep or substance use, teaching skills to form fulfilling relationships and health intimacy, or empowering students to both contribute and receive from their communities and peers, we are fostering connection, meaning, and purpose.

We know that most students will tell a friend first if they are contemplating suicide, which is why peer knowledge and skill on how to respond, display compassion, and appropriately refer our friends to the resources that can help them are vital. If you think someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, ask them directly. If you want support building the foundational communication skills for asking these questions or having difficult conversations, you can always make a free 1-1 appointment with a Peer Wellness Coach. If you know of a peer struggling with suicidal ideation, send a referral to the Suicide Intervention Program so that professional staff with this expertise can do an outreach!

LiveWell educates and engages our UW community on suicide prevention through the services, events, and resources below:

Services

LiveWell Suicide Intervention Program (SIP)

The Suicide Intervention Program (SIP) is an evidence-based prevention program that connects students to campus resources when incidents of concern related to suicidal thoughts and actions are shared with the University. Contact lwsip@uw.edu to make an appointment or referral.

SIP is not designed to intervene in an emergency. If you or someone you know is in an urgent situation and needs an immediate response, call 911 or the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Peer Wellness Coaching

Schedule a 1-1 appointment with a Peer Wellness Coach to further develop communication skills to navigate tough conversations, or build your emotional regulation or distress tolerance skills. Peer Wellness Coaches can support you through identifying your values and strengths, and using those to build social connections and find community.

Workshops

LiveWell supports the Husky community through workshops on protective practices for our mental-emotional health.

• Body Image
• Coping with the Clouds
• Mental Health
• Difficult Conversations
• Sleep Education
• Social Connections & Preventing Isolation

All our substance use education workshops, as well as our healthy relationships and sexual-gender-based-violence prevention workshops, are suicide prevention. We know from decades of research that substance abuse and experiencing sex/gender based violence are correlated with increased risks of suicidal ideation and risk.

Events

LiveWell periodically offers events throughout the year, including events in recognition with Mental Health Awareness Month each May. Stay connected via our event calendar, email list, and LiveWell Instagram.

Resources

We share digital and print educational materials throughout the year, for example, in recognition of Suicide Prevention Month each September and Mental Health Awareness Month each May. Stay connected via our materials page and LiveWell Instagram.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: dial 988

Suicide Prevention Resource Center

RAINN: Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network: 24hr hotline

The Trevor Project: Preventing Suicide Among LGBTQ+ Young People

Military Service Members and Veterans Support

UW Counseling Center resources:

Our UW Counseling Center supports students who are looking for clinical counseling from licensed mental health professionals to support and improve their mental-emotional health. Check out their website for a full list of individual counseling, group counseling, and crisis intervention services!

Sleep health

Services

Sleep Health workshop

Attend a Sleep Health workshop led by a Peer Health Educator. Learn the science behind sleep, how to develop an effective sleep hygiene routine, and the correlations between sleep, mental & physical health, and academic performance. Explore common myths and misconceptions about sleep and learn what can help improve your sleep to be a rested Husky.

Sleep strategies with Peer Wellness Coaching

Meet 1-1 with a Peer Wellness Coach to learn strategies to improve your sleep.

Events

LiveWell periodically offers events throughout the year to bring the UW community together. Stay connected via our event calendar, email list, and LiveWell Instagram.

Resources

Financial literacy

Learn to save, manage, and utilize your money, resources, and time in ways that support your larger goals, relational commitments, and personal values and health.

LiveWell educates and engages our UW community on financial literacy through the services, events, and resources below:

Services

Financial Literacy workshop

Request a Financial Literacy workshop, facilitated by Peer Health Educators.

Peer Wellness Coaching

For financial literacy skill building and conversation in a 1-1 setting, consider making a free Peer Wellness Coaching appointment.

Events

LiveWell periodically offers events throughout the year — connecting with others is a protective factor to the negative impacts of stress! Stay connected via our event calendar, email list, and LiveWell Instagram.

Resources

Body image

Our relationship with our body has significant impacts on our mental, social, emotional, and physical health. We know from data that the majority of adults struggle with body dissatisfaction and body ideals placed upon us by culture and society. The good news is that there are skills we can learn to improve the ways in which we think about, assess, live-in, and experience our bodies. Creating body satisfaction stems from the time, effort, and growth we put into the relationship we have with our body — just like relationships we have with other people in our lives.

LiveWell educates and engages our UW community on body image and cultivating a better body culture through the services, events, and resources below:

Services

Body Image workshop

The Body Image workshop encourages students to cultivate a better body culture in their own communities and relationships. Participants will reflect on the costs and origins of the thin ideal and learn strategies to improve their relationship with their body. The second part of the workshop focuses on skills and role plays to promote a kinder community, including how to spot concerning behaviors and support friends. This workshop focuses on body dissatisfaction from the experiences of women; although everyone is welcome to attend and request this workshop.

The Body Project peer group

The Body Project is a 4-week evidence-based program designed to increase body acceptance and decrease body dissatisfaction. It is run as a group where we confront, discuss, and fight against appearance ideals pressed upon us by society and social media.

The Body Project is FREE and offered in collaboration from UW LiveWell and the UW Counseling Center. This group is facilitated by trained Peer Health Educators from UW LiveWell. This is NOT a therapy group; it is a prevention based educational group.

All groups are open to all eligible students, regardless of race, sex, or other identity.

Peer Wellness Coaching

For more reflection and conversation in a 1-1 setting, consider making a free Peer Wellness Coaching appointment.

Events

LiveWell periodically offers events throughout the year to bring the UW community together. Stay connected via our event calendar, email list, and LiveWell Instagram.

Resources

We share digital and print educational materials throughout the year. Stay connected via our materials page and LiveWell Instagram.

Mental health

Mental health is something we all have, and a part of our health that refers to our cognitions, emotions, psychology, and relationships. It can refer to how we think, feel, behave, relate and communicate, handle stress, make choices, and grow. Mental health is connected, influenced, and impacts other parts of our health like physical health. Similarly to physical health, our mental health changes and shifts in response to internal and external circumstances and context; it is not static. Sometimes we get sick or experience periods of grief, and sometimes we experience more chronic struggles like a physical or mental health condition. Good mental health does not mean the absence of psychological suffering, nor does it mean we feel happiness all of the time. It is more reliably measured by us navigating the cognitive-emotional-social aspects of our lives with skills and practices of:

• emotional regulation
• fostering fulfilling social relationships
• strengthening our capacity to communicate effectively
• coping with challenges and adversities in life-affirming ways
• managing risk, impulse, and avoidance
• asking for help from others
• actively nurturing positive emotions and experiences

There are many ways we can strengthen our skills, knowledge, and habits to support our mental-emotional health. Putting intentional time, effort, and energy into strengthening our mental-emotional health is an investment in ourselves and our ability to create a meaningful life in the midst of life’s inherent challenges.

LiveWell educates and engages our UW community on mental health through the services, events, and resources below:

Services

Peer Wellness Coaching

Meet with a Peer Wellness Coach if you are looking to strengthen and enhance your personal well-being and connect 1-1 with a peer about your mental health.

Workshops

• Mental Health workshop
• Sleep Education
• Coping with the Clouds
• Difficult Conversations
• Social Connections & Preventing Isolation workshop
• Media Literacy

All our substance use education workshops, as well as our healthy relationships and sexual-gender-based-violence prevention workshops help promote positive mental health. We know from decades of research that chronic substance use and experiencing sex/gender based violence are correlated with negative mental health outcomes. We also know that forming healthy, meaningful relationships with other people is correlated with more positive mental health outcomes and an increased ability to cope with adversities and challenges in life.

Events

LiveWell periodically offers events throughout the year — connection builds community, and community keeps us going! We host events in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month each May. Stay connected via our event calendar, email list, and LiveWell Instagram.

Resources

UW Counseling Center resources:

Our UW Counseling Center supports students who are looking for clinical counseling from licensed mental health professionals to support and improve their mental-emotional health. Check out their website for a full list of individual counseling, group counseling, and crisis intervention services!

Additional resources

LiveWell health education programming focuses on the following health and well-being topics that correlate highly with mental health:

Body image

Creating body satisfaction stems from the time, effort, and growth we put into the relationship we have with our body, including our body image.

Financial literacy

Learn to save, manage, and utilize your money, resources, and time in ways that support your larger goals, relational commitments, personal values, and financial literacy.

Sleep health

Learn strategies to help you improve your sleep health and about the correlations between sleep, mental, emotional, and physical health, and academic performance.

Suicide prevention

We all have a role to play in suicide prevention. Learn more about the LiveWell Suicide Intervention Program and support resources.

Communication skills

Communication is at the heart of all healthy and meaningful connection and relationships. Luckily communication is a skill that we can build, practice, and strengthen. LiveWell has a myriad of ways that Huskies can learn these skills and build reliable habits around communicating with others and resolving misunderstandings or conflicts.

LiveWell teaches skills that help us manage ourselves as individuals, which is the starting point of communication. First, do we know what we want, can we manage what we are feeling, how do we manage rejection, how clearly do we ask for things, how explicitly do we set boundaries, how willing are we to compromise or be flexible, etc. Second, we then move on to teaching skills for relational interactions such as perspective taking, humility for what we don’t know, curiosity for what we don’t understand, and critical thinking when faced with complexity. Third, how can be build the skills that can help us navigate the complexity of communication and conflict such as asking for clarification, not falling into stonewalling or defensiveness, identifying cognitive distortions that can lead to inaccurate narratives, etc. Our Peer Health Educators and Peer Wellness Coaches teach all these skills and more in the diverse programming and education we offer UW Huskies!

LiveWell educates and engages our UW community on strengthening communication skills through the services, events, and resources below:

Services

Peer Health Education Workshops

We have educational workshops that teach vital communication skills and are facilitated by Peer Health Educators. Workshops with specific content to communication strategies are:

• Difficult Conversations
• Healthy Relationships & Dating
• Media Literacy
• Social Connections & Preventing Isolation

Peer Wellness Coaching

Peer Wellness Coaches are always here to support students in a free 1-1 setting with any social-emotional skills students want to develop such as managing conflict, communicating in tough conversations, asserting your needs or boundaries, or practicing radical honesty within our relationships.

Events

LiveWell periodically offers events throughout the year to bring the UW community together. Stay connected via our event calendar, email list, and LiveWell Instagram.

Resources

Huskies Don’t Cancel posters

Huskies Don’t Cancel educational posters, available in print and digital format, help us to build skills to participate in democracy and engage effectively in difficult conversations.

This page is under construction, check back soon!

LiveWell alcohol & drug education and prevention

LiveWell educates and engages our UW community on alcohol & drug education and prevention through the services, events, and resources below:

Services

Alcohol and/or Other Drug (AOD) consultations

Individual alcohol and/or other drug consultations are for UW Seattle students who wants to learn more and reflect on their individual use of alcohol and/or other substances. Students can learn how college drinking norms or other substance use relates to their own individual behavior. Meetings incorporate information about use patterns, individual drinking cues, harm reduction skills, impacts on academics and athletic performance, strategies for relaxation and stress management, as well as resources for those interested in abstinence. 

To learn more about AOD consultations, click below:

AOD Consultations

Peer Health Education workshops

The following workshops are facilitated by trained students (Peer Health Educators) and can be requested on the Peer Health Education workshops page:

• Alcohol Education
• Cannabis & Nicotine Education
• Naloxone & Fentanyl Test Strip (FTS) Education

Peer Wellness Coaching

If you are looking for educational information about how cannabis or alcohol work in the body, and skills to minimize risk if choosing to use one of these substances, consider making a 1-1 Peer Wellness Coaching appointment. PWC appointments are also a useful space for learning how to support a peer who is using a substance, how to learn other effective coping skills for stress rather than utilizing a substance, and/or skills for navigating peer pressures you may be facing related to alcohol or drug use.

Events

LiveWell periodically offers events throughout the year in support of alcohol & drug education and prevention. Stay connected via our event calendar, email list, and LiveWell Instagram.

Resources

Overdose prevention education

• Alcohol overdose
• Opioid overdose (includes naloxone and fentanyl test strip education and list of locations where Narcan & fentanyl test strips are available on campus)
• One Pill Can Kill

Self-assessment tools

Confidential, online self-assessment tools offering personalized feedback for UW students on their individual alcohol and cannabis use:

• Understand your individual use patterns
• Learn about your individual level of tolerance
• Explore your unique family history and how this might impact your use
• Develop personalized strategies to help reduce harm
• Learn about other helpful resources on campus

Recovery support

Washington Recovery Helpline

• An anonymous and confidential helpline that provides crisis intervention and referral services
• Operated 24-hours a day by professionally trained volunteers and staff available to provide emotional support and offer local treatment resources for substance abuse
• Call 1.866.789.1511 to speak to a professionally trained volunteer
• Washington Recovery Helpline website

Seattle Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

Visit Seattle AA to find an AA support group meeting or event in the Seattle area.

Inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers in Washington state

Inpatient treatment, also called residential rehab, can be effective at helping individuals seek sobriety and learn to manage behaviors that contribute to addiction. For individualized treatment options, here are some alcohol and drug rehab centers in Washington.

Additional resources

Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (DFSCA)

The Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (DFSCA) requires institutions of higher education to establish policies that address unlawful possession, use, or distribution of alcohol and illicit drugs for faculty, staff and students. Visit the DFSCA page for more information, including the drug and alcohol prevention program and distribution of additional information.

Learn about cannabis

Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute, ADAI, a multidisciplinary research institute in the UW School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, created a web resource, Learn About Cannabis WA.

LiveWell Social Norms & Risk Reduction Skills posters

LiveWell Social Norms & Risk Reduction Skills posters provide UW student social norms, statistics, and educational content regarding alcohol and drug use and are available for print and digital use.

LiveWell Peer Health Education Program

LiveWell Peer Health Educators (PHEs) are highly trained UW students dedicated to educating their peers on various health and wellness topics through evidence-based workshops, events and more.

Peer Health Education workshops

LiveWell PHEs facilitate evidence-based educational workshops for the campus community (FREE for UW students!) on topics such as: stress management, mental & emotional health, alcohol & cannabis, sleep quality, relationships, and gratitude. These workshops can be requested for your community or group, and are also offered as drop-in events throughout the academic year.

View all of our offered workshops and request a workshop below:

Peer Health Education Workshops

Peer Wellness Coaching

Individuals can schedule a Peer Wellness Coaching appointment (FREE for UW students!) where one of our Peer Wellness Coaches can talk you through the skills and knowledge of any of our workshops in a 1-1 setting. Schedule an appointment below:

Peer Wellness Coaches

Events & tabling

LiveWell PHEs are involved in events and tabling, spreading LiveWell’s services and peer-to-peer dialogue for students around health and well-being. Request a tabling event below:

Tabling Request

Follow LiveWell on Instagram @uwlivewell and our event calendar to keep up to date on our events and programs.

A look inside our Peer Health Education Program

Watch this short video for a look inside our Peer Health Education Program!

Contact information

Our Peer Health Education Program is supervised by the Peer Health Education Program Manager and can be reached at lwpeer@uw.edu if you have questions.

Work with us

LiveWell is not currently hiring for Peer Health Educators (PHEs) but check back in the future for opportunities to make a difference on campus while becoming a stronger presenter, educator, and Husky leader! We often hire PHEs in winter quarter for the following year.

Current Peer Health Educators

Services & Activities Fee (SAF)

LiveWell past events

Check out some of our recent events:

Stick with It, Stick Together

LiveWell recognizes the end of spring quarter and Mental Health Awareness Month with our Stick with It, Stick Together event. This event is designed to cultivate a sense of connection, support, and resilience. Through interactive sticky note stations placed across campus, all UW community members are invited to leave messages of encouragement, positivity, and hope. These messages serve as powerful reminders that we are not alone, it’s okay to ask for help, and that every one of us matters.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) is recognized nationally every April to raise awareness about sexual and gender-based violence through education, prevention, and survivor support. Learn more about SAAM; UW events and programs may vary year to year.

The Great Husky Race

Each year, typically in spring quarter, LiveWell hosts a team movement challenge. One of the best things to do for your mental and physical health is to move your body—learn more about The Great Husky Race.

Husky Gratitude Challenge

Each year, typically in autumn quarter, Peer Health Educators design new postcards for you to use in expressing gratitude to those in your life. We physically mail your note of gratitude on the postcard of your choice anywhere in the world for FREE. Research has proven the positive impact practicing gratitude has on mental and physical illness and suffering. Learn more about Husky Gratitude Challenge. For LiveWell Gratitude Postcard Tabling at events throughout the year, please submit a Gratitude Postcard Tabling request.

Future events

Want to collab, have feedback about a LiveWell event, or are there health and wellness events and programs you’d like to see at the UW? Email lwevents@uw.edu.

Connect about LiveWell events

Event news on Instagram

Follow LiveWell on Instagram for news and events.

Join our email list

Join LiveWell’s email list to keep in touch on news and events.

Request a workshop

UW student communities and groups can request a FREE LiveWell Peer Health Education workshop.

Peer Health Education Workshops

Request a tabling event

UW student communities and groups can request a FREE LiveWell tabling event.

Tabling Events

Event feedback?

Want to collab, have feedback about a LiveWell event, or are there health and wellness events and programs you’d like to see at the UW? Email lwevents@uw.edu.