Weekly Wellness Newsletter - Autumn - Week 8

Autumn Quarter, Week 8

Need a break from the noise and a quiet place to recharge? Join Student Wellness, Peer Health Advocates, Quiet Together event on Nov. 17th, 4-6 PM in the Reynolds Club, South Lounge. 📖

It's a device-free zone to unwind, learn about sensory overload, snack, grab and fidget, or create your own craft/fidget. Bring your favorite book and a friend! Register Below!

Prioritize your goals and take them one at a time
- Feeling overwhelmed before finals? Break big projects or study goals into small, manageable tasks. Write them down, check them off, and build confidence as you make steady progress.
Recharge with a bit of movement
- Exercise boosts your mood, focus, and energy. Pick an activity you enjoy and schedule it a few times a week before finals, set a reminder, and stick with it.
Make meals a priority
- Your gut and brain are closely connected, and what you eat affects your mood. As finals approach, don’t skip meals. Eat balanced meals with fruits, veggies, and protein.
Get support from a professional
- Sometimes self-care isn’t enough, and that’s okay. Reach out to on-campus resources for extra support when you need it.
- Student Wellness Resources

Lawrence is guided by a deep commitment to understanding the human experience and helping individuals, couples, and families navigate life’s challenges with compassion and purpose. His clinical interests include student mental health, mood and anxiety disorders, trauma, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, personality development, relational issues, grief and loss, and emotional and behavioral concerns across the lifespan. Lawrence takes an integrative approach to therapy that is strength-based, trauma-informed, and emotion-focused, emphasizing the interconnectedness of biological, psychological, social, spiritual, and cultural influences. He believes that the meaning we make from our experiences shapes how we move through the world, and he strives to create a therapeutic environment that feels safe, genuine, and collaborative. Within this space, clients are encouraged to explore vulnerability, express difficult emotions, uncover personal insight, and transform past pain into growth and self-understanding.

As a person of color, Lawrence brings a nuanced awareness of multicultural and intersectional factors to his work, drawing from both professional training and personal experience to support clients from diverse backgrounds with cultural humility and sensitivity. Outside the therapy room, Lawrence finds inspiration in creative expression—playing the drum set, writing poetry, painting, crafting short films and stories, and playing Dungeons & Dragons. He also enjoys spending time outdoors, where he reconnects with nature, creativity, and reflection—values that continually inform and enrich his therapeutic practice.

Education: B.A. in Psychology from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina; M.A in Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School; Currently pursuing a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at The Chicago School

What's Your Self-Care Style??

✨Not sure what kind of self-care you need right now? You’re not alone. Sometimes we all get caught up in the noise of everyday life and forget to check in with ourselves. This quick quiz will help you figure out where to start — whether you need a mental reset, a physical recharge, or just a little kindness toward yourself. ✨

The Missing Ingredient in Self-Care with Portia Jackson-Preston

At first, Portia, an Associate Professor of Public Health at Cal State Fullerton, believed self-care meant luxury — vacations, spa days, and quick escapes from stress. But after facing major life changes and moments of burnout, she began to see self-care as something far more essential.

Through her research on evidence-based strategies for sustainable wellness and her organization, Empowered to Exhale, Portia helps create transformative spaces that go beyond surface-level self-care. She invites people to explore the deeper resistance that keeps us from setting healthy boundaries, asking for help, and showing ourselves compassion. In her talk, Portia explores the many forms of self-care and challenges the toxic “sleep when you’re dead” mindset. She reminds us that real self-care isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity, and even workplaces should treat it that way.🌿🌱🌟