The Development of Project Wellness: A Mental Health Companion for College Students

This study is focused on the development of Project Wellness: A Mental Health Companion for College Students, a pen-and-paper comics module that answers the call to ensure that the mental health needs of college students are met. It revolves around several aspects of the student’s life, such as academic, career, and social/emotional. This also aims to develop a material that is self-paced, flexible, can be an enjoyable activity for the students, and is free and accessible without the constant use of an internet connection. The Project Wellness: A Mental Health Companion for College Students underwent a development process, such as drafting of written narrative, commissioning an illustrator to create the images, and consolidating the narrative and images to make them into comics. The manuscript including narratives and images, was reviewed and validated by professionals such as a Registered Guidance Counselor, Registered Psychometrician, and graphic design professional. The Project Wellness: A Mental Health Companion for College Students comics were used by students from the National Teachers College (NTC) who are classified as student-at-risk during the academic year 2024-2025. A purposive sampling technique was employed. The NTC Guidance Office has provided fifteen (15) selected students to participate who are currently experiencing academic, career, and social/emotional concerns affecting their overall mental health. Pre-evaluation, post-evaluation, and feedback forms were given to the students to identify the implications of the comics module for the participants. The relevance of this initiative is that students can reflect on their own experiences and learn from the discussion while having fun by answering activities, exercises, and reflections. After analyzing the data obtained from the student's feedback, the following comments and suggestions were noted to improve the content and functionality of Project Wellness: A Mental Health Companion for College Students: (1) to make the font size bigger, (2) to allow additional writing space for self-expression, and (3) to create a similar module that can be dedicated to high school students. Other than these, the majority of comments and suggestions highlighted students’ gratitude for using the module. They mentioned that they were able to understand the importance of mental health, especially taking care of themselves, setting goals, and having self-reflection.