HOT TOPIC: OT Designed Campus-Based Outreach Supports to Reduce the Gap in Access for Mental Health and Wellness Services for College Students with Mental Health Needs

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2026

4:10 PM – 4:40 PM

Course Description

A mental health crisis is unfolding on college campuses across the country. College students are experiencing increasing rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation each year, while counseling centers struggle to keep pace with growing demand. Students seeking mental health and wellness resources face long wait times and overwhelmed counselors, with many campus wellness centers maintaining waiting lists of several weeks or more. As the gap in mental health access widens, campus-based outreach supports have emerged as a tool some universities are using to address unmet student needs.

Grounded in current evidence, an occupational therapy-informed approach to campus-based outreach was designed and implemented at a large university to foster student well-being and address gaps in access to traditional counseling services. The result was Pathways to Thrive — a structured, holistic program built around two core domains of student support: Success through Self-Determination and Wellbeing through Regulation. By centering occupation, self-regulation, and student agency, Pathways to Thrive expands the reach of mental wellness resources beyond the counseling center and positions OT as a vital contributor to campus mental health systems.

What sets this program apart is its accessibility and flexibility. As a manualized, evidence-based intervention with multimodal delivery options — including traditional workshops, tabling events, individual meetings, and online formats — Pathways to Thrive meets students where they are, creating multiple meaningful opportunities for engagement across the campus environment.  This Hot Topic session will highlight the program’s design, implementation, and early outcomes, offering attendees a replicable model for OT-led campus outreach that is responsive to the evolving mental health needs of college students.

Speakers

Content Level

Intermediate: This level assumes the audience has general familiarity with the literature and professional practice. The focus of the presentation is on increased understanding and application by the participants.

Practice Areas

Community-based Practice; Health and Wellness; Mental Health