Welcome to the new Centre for Wellbeing.

Wellbeing is the focus of a new initiative at Surrey. There are now many definitions of wellbeing but one of the most useful is by the new economics foundation (nef) which defines it as: ‘a dynamic process which gives people a sense of how their lives are going, through the interaction between their circumstances, activities and psychological resources or mental capital’.

The Centre for Wellbeing, which incorporates the work of the University Counselling Centre, will promote the awareness of good emotional, psychological and physical health and will highlight the benefits associated with this important area of employee and student life.

In academic terms the upsides of wellbeing are evident in increased retention rates and reduced levels of anxiety, stress and social disruption. Wellbeing also contributes to reduced absenteeism, motivation to fully engage with change and an increase in emotional employment and social capital.

It will provide the University with a unique Centre in UK higher education and provide a distinctive edge combining a blend of good, evidence-based practice and innovative developments in linking wellbeing and creativity. An important strand of our work will be to develop an evidence-base for our work.

We will also draw upon new ideas emerging from areas as diverse as behavioural economics, neuroscience and positive psychology.

The Centre will offer a genuine opportunity to enhance and support two of the key assets in the University – ‘know-how’ and people. Throughout this first year we will be developing a new agenda for the University and piloting a number of new initiatives which we hope you will find interesting.

At a time of economic downturn, we know that psychological (as well as economic) wellbeing can be perturbed and this in turn can impact on relationships and the multiple life-choices that we all have to make.

We are interested in what leads individuals to lead more sustainable lifestyles as well as developing the necessary resilience for an increasingly complicated world. So whether you have a problem, want to build on your existing strengths and would value some help in thinking about your own wellbeing, or you simply want to find out more then get in touch. You can find more information here

Dr Les McMinn

Director, Centre for Wellbeing.