MoveU.HappyU
MoveU.HappyU
Did you know that physical activity can help decrease negative mood and stress, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and enhance academic success?
MoveU.HappyU is a free, unique six-week program that offers behaviour change coaching and exercise training to students for mental health support.
Eligibility
MoveU.HappyU is for help-seeking U of T students and aims to help reduce symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety. The program is open to both international and domestic students enrolled in academic courses at U of T. Undergraduate and graduate students are welcome!
How it Works
MoveU.HappyU is a six-week program. Each week, students complete a 60-minute session, which consists of two components lasting roughly 30 minutes each:
1. Behaviour Change Coaching
Learn behaviour change strategies
Set goals and weekly activity action plans
Learn strategies to overcome barriers to your action plans
Focus on techniques that reduce stress and increase coping skills
2. Exercise Training
Work through an individualized exercise program designed for your needs and goals
Learn exercise techniques you can incorporate into your daily exercise routine
Increase your knowledge on exercise training (e.g. flexibility, cardio-respiratory training, resistance training)
Get answers to your fitness and health related questions
After the initial meeting, weekly online exercise sessions will be scheduled for six weeks. The exercise component is led by a fitness professional.
At the end of the program, a follow-up questionnaire will be handed out. The follow-up questionnaire is completely confidential and serves to evaluate the MoveU.HappyU program.
How To Get Started
Students can be accepted into the MoveU.HappyU program based on referrals, or apply directly using the form linked below! You can get a referral from Health and Wellness, a don at your residence, staff in your registrar’s office or from other student life professionals at the university.
Preference is given to students who are not currently meeting physical activity guidelines (e.g., individuals who are engaged in less than 150 minutes of higher intensity exercise per week).
If MoveU.HappyU sounds like the right option for you, speak to someone at Health and Wellness or apply to the program directly.
Applications are now open! As space may be limited, we encourage you to apply early!
Who runs MoveU.HappyU?
MoveU.HappyU is run through the Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Centre (MPARC) in cooperation with Sport & Rec within the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education.
MPARC is a unique research facility integrating the study of physical activity and mental health.
The goal of the program is to better understand the effect of physical activity on mental health and functioning.
Individual classes can take place at the Athletic Centre at 55 Harbord Street, in MPARC’s private gym space, or online over platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
Individualized results will be provided to all participants and these findings will also help MPARC researchers better understand how exercise improves student well-being.
Participation in this research is strictly voluntary and students may discontinue participation at any time, without explanation and without penalty.
Contact Us
If you have questions or comments about MoveU.HappyU, please contact us at moveuhappyu@utoronto.ca.
