Peer Health Education
Contact Us
Contact:
Pritma "Mickey" Irizarry
Director, Wellness Center
Workshops
The Peer Health Educators (PHE's) are undergraduate students who are highly trained in various health-related topics, especially those that are pertinent to college students at AU. They can provide your class, residence hall, organization, etc. with a variety of health education programs and workshops.
**Please give 2-3 weeks' notice when planning a workshop for your group.**
**All workshops below are one hour unless otherwise noted.**
Are you interested in becoming a Peer Health Educator? For more information, feel free to contact us at hpac@american.edu.
Alcohol and Other Drugs
Alcohol Abuse and Staying Safe
We know that more than three-quarters of AU students drink regularly. And while moderate alcohol consumption is safe, binge drinking is not. These workshops will address how drinking can be dangerous to your health and safety, strategies for safe drinking, and what to do if you think someone drank too much.
Other Drugs
Alcohol isn't the only drug used on college campuses. The use of marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, and other drugs happens often, too, as well as the misuse of prescription drugs. These workshops will address the dangers of using drugs, mixing them together, and using them in conjunction with alcohol. Because there is a lot of information about each different type of drug, please specify which you'd like to focus on in your request.
Become a Sex Wonk
Sex Jeopardy
How much do you really know about sex? This interactive workshop will explore several different sexual health topics, such as birth control, STIs, protection, sexual health in the LGBTQ community, alcohol and sex, and more. By the end of the game, you'll be a sexpert.
Contraceptive Workshop
Condoms, the pill, IUDs, the implant... These days, there are so many different forms of birth control. What's the deal with all of them? In this workshop, attendees will explore how each method works and will have a better idea of which one would be best for them.
Consent, Interpersonal Violence, and Bystander Intervention
Sexual Assault and Consent
This workshop covers definitions and statistics related to campus sexual assault. Participants will also learn what constitutes consent and how to respect & communicate boundaries before, during, and after hooking up. Finally, confidential and non-confidential resources (both on and off campus), will be explained.
Help a Friend
Research shows that when survivors disclose sexual violence, they are much more likely to disclose to friends than campus administrators or law enforcement. This workshop starts with a review of consent but mostly focuses on how to respond to disclosures in an empathetic and helpful way--whether you know the survivor, the accused, or both parties. We also provide an overview of boundaries, self-care, and resources.
Empower AU (90 minutes)
Empower AU is a nationally recognized, home-grown curriculum developed by the AU Health Promotion and Advocacy Center. The workshop covers AU’s definition of consent and sexual violence, sexual communication, alcohol, bystander intervention, and resources.
Step Up -- Bystander Intervention (90 mins)
Active bystanders intervene in a troubling situation and contribute to our community of care. In this 90 minute training, participants will learn the steps in Stepping Up, strategies to intervene, and personal barriers to intervening. Step Up applies to 10 topics - the group will vote on the top 3 issues at AU and will then review realistic scenarios for those 3 issues and discuss ways to Step Up.
Dating Violence
Nearly half (43%) of dating college women report experiencing violent and abusive dating behaviors. Workshop participants learn what makes a relationship abusive and what makes a relationship healthy. Participants will learn about red flags, how to help a friend experiencing dating violence, and where to get help.
One Love -- Escalation (90 mins)
Yeardley Love was a college athlete who was killed by her abusive ex-boyfriend. This workshop, which starts with the 30 minute film "Escalation" and ends with a guided discussion, was created in Love's honor. Her family started the One Love to raise awareness and educate students about the warning signs of relationship abuse.
Dating Violence in LGBTQ Communities
This collaborative workshop is co-facilitated by one Peer Health Educator and one LGBTQ Peer Educator from CDI. The workshop covers healthy relationships, challenges and barriers unique to LGBTQ survivors of dating violence, and how to help a friend (including responding to disclosures and offering on- and off-campus resources).
Mental Health & Emotional Well-being
Self-Care
An integral component to stress management is self-care. This interactive workshop will address the importance of practicing regular self-care and will include activities that help students discover areas of their life that need more attention, negative parts to cut down on, and what type of self-care is best for them.
Stress Management
With all the pressures and time demands of being a college student-class, work, internships, student organizations, etc.-stress levels can increase rapidly. And too much stress is not a good thing. This workshop will focus on the detrimental health effects of consistently high stress as well as tips on how to manage and decrease it.
Body Image
This workshop will create the space to talk about body image issues and the detrimental effects of negative self-talk. By the end of this workshop, we hope attendees will feel empowered to love and accept their bodies. Because hating it is one of the most unhealthiest behaviors of all.
Sleep
Sleep is absolutely crucial to overall wellness, but it is often overlooked as other activities are given higher priority. This workshop will adress just why sleep is so important and will help attendees achieve optimum sleep health.