THCC Episode 163 – The College Wellness Guide

Brad Baldridge 0:00
This episode is all about managing mental, physical and social health. Stay tuned.

Presenter 0:06
You have kids, they grow up, and before you know it, it's time to plan for college. Where do you start? How much is it going to cost? Will you qualify for financial aid? Should you be looking into scholarships? When will you be able to retire? What about student loans? The list of questions is never ending. The good news is all the answers are right here. Welcome to the Taming the High Cost of College podcast. Here is your host, certified financial planner, Brad Baldridge.

Brad Baldridge 0:36
Hello, and welcome to Taming the High Cost of College. I'm your host Brad Baldridge. Today we have an interview with Casey Barneson. She is the author of The College Wellness Guide: A Student's Guide to Managing Mental, Physical, and Social Health on Campus. And we're going to talk a little bit about what the book is about and talk about managing mental, physical and social health. There's a big push going on and lots more understanding about the whole process of managing health at school. And I think this book is a great tool for families to start understanding all the various aspects that they might need to deal with. As always, we have show notes available as well as links to the book on our website at tamingthehighcostofcollege.com. Let's go ahead and jump into the interview. Today we're talking with Casey Barneson. She's the author of The College Wellness Guide. And she's also a school counselor and college counselor in Beverly Hills. Welcome, Casey.

Casey Barneson 1:36
Hi, Brad, thank you so much for having me.

Brad Baldridge 1:39
All right. So obviously, you're wrote a book around college wellness. And can you tell us a little bit about your story and why you got involved in writing this book and kind of the backstory so to speak?

Casey Barneson 1:52
Yeah, absolutely. So I've been in the school space working as a school counselor and a college counselor for the past 10 years. And I've worked mostly in the public school system, with students preparing for the college admission process. And then connecting and traveling and seeing alumni at college campuses all over the world, which is a really exciting industry to be in but you very much as you might be aware of, it can be a little bit stressful for students and for families, just navigating that entire space and preparing. So I've worked with students, grades 9 through 12, and then seen our alumni flourish and go on after graduation. So in the number of years that I've worked, it's been really fun for me, and also really interesting for me to see the dynamics of students and families preparing for college. And then ultimately, what defines success once they get to college. And that's something that always is, is a component to me that I find really fascinating and really important, as counselors preparing our students to be successful when they when they graduate. So the book was really born during the pandemic, but very born, it was born with this idea that our students are researching and looking at colleges and applying to colleges. You know, for reasons such as that it's a top major, it's a great program, and it's a phenomenal institution. But really making this large life decision on factors that can be very anxious or, or just external, externally focused and driven. And my goal was to help students take a step back and really think about the types of institutions that would be really good fits for them. So that when they get to that phenomenal institution, they're supported and ideally in a safe space to where they can be challenged to take risks and create new experiences, but also feel supported. So I started out and I do work at a school so you might hear the bell ringing in the background. So I started kind of researching this topic, and I was fortunate enough to work with Rob Franek, the editor in chief with Princeton Review, in collaborating and coming up with this idea to publish this book, The College Wellness Guide, A Guide to Managing Mental, Physical, and Social Health on Campus.

Brad Baldridge 4:27
Right. So let's talk a little bit more about that then. So obviously, you just mentioned mental, physical and social health. I think most of us understand physical health, right? Getting enough sleep and all that type of thing. And if we're, and obviously some students are very healthy and don't deal much with health issues, the whole college process, because they're young adults, but occasionally, you know, quite often someone will go with an ongoing chronic condition, diabetes or ADHD or where maybe they're already needing to participate in seeing doctors and having prescriptions and that kind of thing. But then you also mentioned mental and social health

Casey Barneson 5:08
Yeah

Brad Baldridge 5:08
Can you expand on those two ideas a little bit more, I think those might be a little unique and new for parents.

Casey Barneson 5:16
Sure, absolutely. You know, mental health is not necessarily a buzzword, but mental health and, and it's awareness is becoming more and more prevalent. And that's incredibly wonderful for our students. And it's great that we're having these conversations and providing resources, but there also is this larger component of wellness. So in discussing what topics to implement in the book, or what topics to bring to the forefront of students and parents, the umbrella wellness really spoke loud, was really the appropriate fit for mental health for physical and social health. Because really, we're talking about our students going on and living essentially four years on a college campus. And with that, you will run across needs for self care and getting sleep and healthy exercise and diets and creating communities and social communities with like minded individuals. So our kids feel connected and supported, but also being a part of healthy conversations with students who aren't within like minded communities. So and then even navigating, ultimately, they're going to head off to careers. So handling finance and career and the stress of a schedule-building strategies to implement a weekly schedule that gets ebbs and flows throughout the semester. So as they get towards finals, and are needing to manage cramming in for study sessions, but you still need to sleep. And then you still are wanting to be a part of a social network that you feel connected to, so that you're not stuck in your dorm room, feeling this weight and not being able to get out and participate in the larger community. And that's really what we navigate as adults in life is all of these wellness spaces. So it's really starting that conversation with our students while they're in this pivotal time in college.

Brad Baldridge 7:12
Right? Absolutely. So can you tell us a little bit more about, like, who should be reading the book? And is it full of like strategies and tactics or research or what? What would we find if we actually read the book?

Casey Barneson 7:27
Yeah, absolutely. The book is really cool, because it has assessments at the beginning, essentially a very short questionnaire within the different units, mental, physical and social health, where students can go through and respond to some statements and get a self survey of which sections would be more helpful to them. Within each of the chapters, there's exercises and little fill in the blanks that help students create goals or complete tasks just to help them hone in on the idea. The book itself, I would say students who are in college can really utilize that they're having the experience, they can walk through the assessments, they can do this in real time. However, I would say that students preparing for the college process, it can be a phenomenal resource in helping them not only assess the different areas that might be important to them, but also help them figure out what types of colleges in their college search, what types of schools will fit their needs. So if a student is finding that they need more support within counseling services, for example, in the mental health unit, they might then in their college research, find a few institutions that do a really phenomenal job or prioritize meditation, meditation spaces or counseling services, or you know what not so, student-driven book. And of course, with all of our students, student driven books, it's helpful for parents to pick it up and read because I think it's a really good perspective to get a window into what students are experiencing. At the beginning of the chapters, there are three kind of scenario vignettes, that help paint a picture of a student who might be dealing with a mental physical or social health component, whether that's lack of sleep, or anxiety or depression. So kind of helps set a framework for really, students, parents, counselors in the college space.

Brad Baldridge 9:33
Okay, so I guess as a parent, sometimes it's we feel like things are just going fine. And then we get that call, eight weeks into the semester with a student that's maybe struggling in a class or two or all the classes are, needing to come home or wanting to come home and sometimes it's, they're just homesick and sometimes it's truly an issue that you know, they need some help, or it might be an actual emergency. How do parents understand those different options and how things kind of fit together? Especially parents that maybe didn't go to college or went to college a long time ago when we didn't really talk about most of this stuff?

Casey Barneson 10:21
Yeah, absolutely. There's healthy amounts of stress and anxiety that a student and adults and us as individuals will face on a day to day basis. But it's a matter of when and how much is too much. And helping students identify the tools to be able to ask and know if their stress or anxiety is something beyond what they can control. So part of us preparing our students to go to college is empowering them to know the resources. So similar, if they're in high school, and they're having an issue with their teacher, they're having trouble with a friend. And, you know, as an on some level parents, we will interject, but there is a moment where we instill these tools to help our students advocate for themselves, which ultimately will provide them with more confidence, maturity, and growth and resilience. So that when they deal with those bigger items, you know, later on in life, they feel comfortable and confident. I don't know if I mentioned this before, it may be worth mentioning. But a recent survey of over 500 colleges and universities, was done by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors. And they found that anxiety is the biggest concern among students seeking services at college campuses, followed by depression, family concerns, relationship problems, and academic performance. Our students are navigating life at college. So with that, of course, we will see mental health challenges, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is an ongoing counseling or a crisis per se. It can simply mean helping our students figure out if they've stacked too much on their schedule, and they're feeling a lot of anxiety, is there a counselor? Is there a tutoring center or an advisor that can help them pull back and feel comfortable managing their workload and their work life balance?

Brad Baldridge 12:18
Right? Absolutely. Yeah, I think with the pandemic, a lot of people got stressed out at various levels from high school and grade school students, and certainly college students all the way through, our parents and grandparents have, there's just a sudden and overwhelming change for many. So I think it brought a lot of things to the forefront. And some of this stuff is not new, I think it may be it was ramped up a bit during the pandemic, but I think it's also maybe been growing in society in general. I mean. Right? It seems like when I went to college, part of the solution was less people went to college. So they didn't have the support for people that needed support in certain ways. So they just didn't learn a lot. No, they didn't come because they knew they weren't gonna get supported, they knew they, they wouldn't be successful. Today, I think a lot more campuses are welcoming a broader variety of students, whether it's physical disabilities, mental support, physical support, all the different areas where they're trying to get more diversity and be more inclusive. And so that's one piece of it, where they're more people are coming with diabetes, and they have to figure out how to get insulin without parents around, that might have kept the student home and 40 years ago.

Casey Barneson 13:39
Yeah, absolutely. I think the conversation is definitely, you know, the doors are open for conversation, and certainly the pandemic and global events are propelling those conversations. But as you mentioned, when you look back through generations there, significant events, and anxiety and stress, and all these have been prevalent, but I think the conversation is at the forefront, and certainly, universities and institutions are investing their time and money into building wellness programs and support programs for students. Because, again, when our students graduate from these institutions, what do we want, we want successful, healthy, happy alumni, right? So when a student graduates college, theoretically, they should be ready to take on that job or grad school or med school or law school and be in a space to do it in a way that's going to be happy and healthy, that will reflect in a positive way on the university and our students. You know, there's no sense in going to one of the top ranked university in the world or program and you know, if you're so anxious, they're so stressed or it's not a good fit. And it's not a good campus environment that's conducive to your learning style, for example. It doesn't matter where you are. So there has to be that framework. Similarly, if you were to move as an adult and buy a home in a neighborhood, you're probably going to research, the local schools, look at parks, look at safety, you're looking at all these components to see if it's a good house for your family to move in and a good foundation. And that's very similar to when we approach the college process with our students.

Brad Baldridge 15:25
Right? Absolutely. So I'm looking in the book. And there's a number of different self assessments out there, you know, primarily targeted to the student.

Casey Barneson 15:36
Yes.

Brad Baldridge 15:37
And there are things around like study support, and self care and community and campus. And, you know, again, some questions that, that you might ask them, that kind of stuff. So once we take this assessment, and then switch to the finance section, or the career section, or whatever, are there solutions there or ideas there or what, you know, first we take an assessment, and it says, oh, you know, maybe the campus survey that I just took pointed out a couple of concerns. So then I flipped into the book, and then what, what am I going to find, once I move to the campus section, the problems I just discovered, or?

Casey Barneson 16:19
We're going to exacerbate the problems now, I'm kidding. The, yeah, the assessments are helpful starting point. And, and, in the intro, we remind students, you can jump around the book is really meant to be picked up, you can take the assessments, or you can simply jump around as your needs change. But if I'm a student, and let's say, I'm feeling particularly anxious about my career options, for example, let's say, you know, these are kind of the extra sections that we threw in there. What's helpful is, as students are reading this, they can identify, first and foremost, those are those kind of vignettes at the beginning, they can identify similar experiences that other students are going in. And what's helpful about that is that they can be reminded that they're not alone in facing some of these challenges. And then there are active tools, activities, little fill in the blanks, and then quotes from students who are in college currently that they can relate to. So for example, in the career section, at the beginning of the chapter, it's 'write down all your classes, extracurriculars, activities, and jobs from a semester of your choice and find the link between those activities and the connection between the career that you're beginning to think about.' And then there's some action items. So there's a section on resume service, so or what's one thing that you can do to help move forward in your career search, for example, is that attending the college for this, or I'm sorry, the career fair that's happening on campus? Is that attending a lecture series, so the part of the solution is not as providing solution for the students, but providing activities and tools that help a student implement, and find that solution for themselves. So whether that's if they're having trouble sleeping, or they're realizing they're staying up too late studying and not eating as healthy? Is there a map that they can draw where they know where the healthy foods are nearest to their dorm? And there's tools for strategies? If I'm in the library, and it's late, and everything's closed, and I don't have access to food? Did I have something that I could prepare before I got to the library? Am I having a water bottle with me at all, all times? You know, they seem simple, and they seem small. But these are all daily habits, daily wellness habits that really when you're piling on finals, and you're far from home, and you're meeting your peers for the first time and trying to build a community, lack of sleep, and food and all those all those things can really steamroll.

Brad Baldridge 19:01
Right? Absolutely. And I think as a parent, we see this as you were raising our kids, where sometimes kids will, you know, ignore a problem or just live with a problem or whatever it might be until you start coaching them through it a little bit sometimes, like, 'You're late for school four times this week. Why is that?' Well, whatever, right? It's like, well, you know, do you think we should change it? Yes. Well, what have you done to change it? Nothing?

Casey Barneson 19:33
Yeah, and that's it, the one word answer, nothing. Fine.

Brad Baldridge 19:39
But, you know, eventually we send our children off to school, and hopefully they can start doing some self assessment and self awareness and because mom and dad aren't necessarily going to be there to ask the question. So I think that's some of what's in this book would be good for parents to kind of learn about is a number of different issues that going off to college demonstrates. One is, colleges are big places with lots of services and stuff to do and all kinds of things. And but you got to spend the time and effort to explore what's available and take advantage of it. A lot of times you've are paying for it. So you should take advantage of it. You know, alumni, career centers and mental health centers and exercise facilities.

Casey Barneson 20:26
Gym facilities

Brad Baldridge 20:27
Tutoring services, resume, so, just the list goes on and on. There were a lot of people in my generation as we're starting to think about it going well. Wow, I wonder if that was there when I was there? Because I didn't even think to look. And

Casey Barneson 20:41
Yeah, absolutely.

Brad Baldridge 20:43
Then there's other issues around well, knowing and understanding well, what's going to work for me, if I, you know, I have a one of my kids is a lighter sleeper and has to work and sleeping. I can't really relate to that. If I want to sleep I close my eyes go to sleep.

Casey Barneson 20:59
Yeah, yeah, you bring up a good point to parent, you know, with each child, there's different needs, there's different interests, there's different needs, and colleges are very much set up in that way to one a large university may be perfect for one student, while a small liberal arts will be phenomenal for the other child. And so it's, you know, each each student's unique and as a parent, you see, you see the differences with your kids, and not to say that you're sending them off, and here you go, just go to the counseling center if you need help, because students may need a little encouragement and being proactive about opening this conversation of what what colleges have. And, and then also, I think it's helpful for parents when you have a sense of a parent community, you know, because when your kids are off, and you've created a boundary, perhaps not to call every single day, you know, or maybe every hour of the day, that can be hard as a parent to then just relinquish, send your child off to college, especially it's your student, you're invested in all, you know, it's your child. So I think having a parent community, similar friends, or peers, parents with students on that campus, so that you you feel you have a voice in this as well.

Brad Baldridge 22:20
Right? Exactly. So a lot of my listeners are going to be parents have high school kids that are just exploring, somewhere in the college process, you know, maybe they've got a senior and they're wrapping things up, or maybe they got a sophomore or even younger, and they're just getting into the process. So what are some things that you feel family should be doing? Maybe even in high school, I always use, or not always, but I bring up the example sometimes, I had a college roommate that didn't really understand how to do laundry, and he literally put folded all his clothes wet and put it in a drawer and said, 'Oh, they'll probably dry.' We had to tease pretty hard to get them to take it out and put it the dryer. But teasing didn't sue for sure. And that, you know, so obviously, what's the moral of that story? Well, maybe your student needs to learn how laundry works, before you send them off, because they may be in charge of it someday. But there's other things, and so what do you see, as a school counselor today? Obviously, you're in high school dealing with high school kids, so here's your chance to talk to a bunch of parents and say, well think about these things are here's some ideas, or what are you recommending these days?

Casey Barneson 23:40
Yeah, I love it. First and foremost, you know, there are 1000s of colleges and universities nationwide, not including international universities, with a myriad of programs academically, but also with all of the services that are discussed in the book, support services, but even just the campus environment, and they can differ so broadly. And so a huge component of the college prep process in getting our students to a place where they can feel safe, happy challenge, successful ready to grow, is the college research piece researching the college list and where a student ideally should be applying. And that conversation can start very well early on in high school and even really encouraging touring some local colleges, even if it's a university that they end up not applying to, if you're on vacation, or if you're in an area where you're close to a couple universities, one big one small, one public, one private, one in the city, one a little bit suburban or on the outskirts, for example, just helping your kids see the different types of colleges and institutions in a space that's not so, 'Okay. I'm a ninth grader and I want to go to this university and that's my goal. It's all or none thing. So my focus for the next four years is to study hard take all the APs I can to get into this one university.' Because what happens is we're applying to these universities are accepting, essentially, you know, 12, 13, 14% their applicants, you've now instilled a story that there is one a few components where your student can thrive in. And if they don't make it there, well, then that's it, let's pack up, we're done, right. So I think early on helping to tour campuses just get to know colleges in a space. That's not as cutthroat meaning we're not in the thick of the application process. And if you are in the thick of the application process, I would just recommend really building that college list in a strategic way. So looking at the academic components, but also looking at the personal and social components of a college campus, and making sure that list is balanced. So you have at least two or three schools that a student feels confident that they can succeed there and get them excited for it. In high school, our principal always says this, so we really want our students to fail forward, this is a safe space, they will make mistakes, and it's our job to help them find the tools and understand that it's okay to fail, where you can fail forward, it's, you will have challenges, you will have roadblocks, and you will be told no. And a huge component of the college admission process is can be rejection. So as parents really starting that narrative early on that of normalizing the different types of colleges. And, you know, if we think back to even our own careers, and if you asked your friends, the different types of colleges and pathways to where we as adults got our, you know, it's not a straight line, it's all over the place. So remembering that if they don't get into one institution, that's not the end of their road.

Brad Baldridge 27:01
Right, absolutely. I think that's where, again, if you did that survey with parents instead of students and asked, 'Well, how did you get here?' Well, there's a lot of different stories. And if you said, 'Well, would you have done it differently?' You know, a few would say, yes, but many of you people would say, 'Yeah, I went and studied this, and it didn't work out. But I don't know, if I put it in the failure column. But I needed the failure to understand this or that so that I could go on and do this.' You hear that a lot. So absolutely, most pas aren't going to be you know, paved and wonderful and smooth. And, again, we're you know, as parents, we're hoping to minimize the bumps, to some extent. But we also have to remember that bumps are a learning opportunity that, you know, unless you plan on being around your student for the rest of their lives, they're going to have to learn eventually how to self advocate and drive their own life at some point.

Casey Barneson 28:04
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, high school is such a wonderful opportunity to try new classes, join clubs, join activities, if they don't like it, and they want to give it up and try something else. And attending a college fair and touring colleges and really celebrating the, the unique strengths that each student has. We have so many phenomenal institutions, art institutes, again, large public state universities, honors programs, small liberal arts school, like there's so many opportunities for our students to thrive, that our job is to educate them and celebrate them and get them to those options rather than set up a limited amount of options at the end of the road, I guess.

Brad Baldridge 28:52
Right? Absolutely. All right. Well, it was a great learning experience. I appreciate you putting the hard work into actually write a book that's crazy, overwhelming idea to me, but if people want to learn more, how can they find you? Or you have websites or social if they want to get in touch?

Casey Barneson 29:11
Yeah, absolutely. So I can be found on my website barnesoncounseling.com. I have an Instagram @collegecounselorbarneson, and the book can be found really anywhere Amazon, Penguin Random House, on Princeton Review. And then wherever books are sold

Right. So it's called College Wellness Guide. And it's out there in Amazon, for sure. I'm looking at it right now. We do appreciate it and let's stay in touch.

Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.

Brad Baldridge 29:47
All right. That was a great interview with Casey. If you're interested in the book, I would recommend you get out there and pick one up. It is useful for both your student and for parents that are trying to organize things and understand how mental fit physical and social health play a factor in the overall college process. That's all we have for you today. We look forward to talking to you next week.

Presenter 30:12
Thank you for listening to the Taming the High Cost of College podcast. Now it's time for you to take action head to tamingthehighcostofcollege.com for show notes, bonus content and to leave feedback for Brad. The next step on your college journey starts now.

Brad Baldridge is a registered representative of Cambridge Investment Research and an investment advisor representative of Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, a registered investment advisor. Securities are offered through Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated, a broker dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Brad owns two companies Baldridge Wealth Management and Baldridge College Solutions. The Baldrige companies are not affiliated with Cambridge Investment Research.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai