UHCL Counseling and Mental Health Center

04/29/2026

CMHC Topic of the Month: Belonging

As we’ve been sharing during the month of April, belonging is so important. It is intricately related to our self-esteem, our physical health, and our emotional well-being. Belonging can occur in various relationships: individual, community, societal. We hope you feel a sense of belonging on our campus, whether that’s in a club, in a class, or in an on-campus employment. University belonging can look different for everyone person and, no matter how it looks for you, you deserve to feel included and welcomed on campus! If we at the Counseling and Mental Health Center can support you in your journey toward finding a sense of belonging at your university, feel free to visit us in the CMHC at SSCB 3103 to inquire about our services, or call to make an appointment at 281-283-2580!

04/27/2026

CMHC Topic of the Month: Belonging

A sense of social connectedness is important to one’s sense of belonging. Some benefits of social support include improved physical wellbeing, improved self-esteem, and decreased overall stress. There are various kinds of social support that you can receive:
1. Emotional support. Feeling heard, listened to, and understood. Sometimes this consists of problem-solving and other times it consists of simply providing a space where you can feel heard.
2. Tangible support. Receiving support with a practical need. Several offices on campus exist to provide you with support on these kinds of needs, such as the Dean of Students of the Career Center.
3. Informational support. Receiving information that’s vital to satisfying your needs, such as the information you learn in class or administrative support from advisors and other staff around your degree program.
4. Social needs. This is where belonging most specifically comes into play, when we feel a sense of value and security in our community and our relationships.
At CMHC, we specialize in providing emotional support. If we at the Counseling and Mental Health Center can support you in your journey toward finding a sense of belonging at your university, feel free to visit us in the CMHC at SSCB 3103 to inquire about our services, or call to make an appointment at 281-283-2580!

04/23/2026

CMHC Topic of the Month: Belonging

As a student, you spend so much time interacting with UHCL. Whether that’s being on campus, taking a class, or interacting with staff. The quality of those interactions matter and, as a student, your sense of belonging here is critical not only to your academic outcomes but also your overall well-being. If we at the Counseling and Mental Health Center can support you in your journey toward finding a sense of belonging at your university, feel free to visit us in the CMHC at SSCB 3103 to inquire about our services, or call to make an appointment at 281-283-2580!

04/22/2026

CMHC Topic of the Month: Belonging

Belonging doesn’t look the same for every person. Moreover, belonging doesn’t occur at only the individual level. From an ecological systems perspective, we have to consider belonging in context of the systems we operate it. These can be tighter-knit and closer systems, like the individual level or broader systems, such as the society or region we live in. Intermediately, organizations and community-level systems are also important. What these look like vary from person to person, based on your interests and needs. As you reflect on this graphic and the various kinds of relationships, think about which emerge as particularly salient for you and how much you currently feel a sense of belonging in those relationships. If we at the Counseling and Mental Health Center can support you in your journey toward finding a sense of belonging at your university, feel free to visit us in the CMHC at SSCB 3103 to inquire about our services, or call to make an appointment at 281-283-2580!

04/22/2026

CMHC Topic of the Month: Belonging

A sense of belonging at one’s university can have profound impacts on their mental health, significantly predicting both symptoms of depression and also positive mental health attributes, such as a sense of meaning and joy. As we spend so much time at school as students, it’s important that we feel valued and secure in our interactions with the university. To belong looks different for every person. Where on campus do you feel the strongest sense of belonging? Today, take a moment to reflect on how your school community has impacted you mentally, emotionally, and academically. Just as different departments on campus work together to promote student success and wellbeing, we hope you are able to find pockets of connectivity and support in your time here at UHCL.

04/14/2026

04/09/2026

CMHC Topic of the Month: Belonging

Belonging is more than a positive feeling. It’s a fundamental need associated with various outcomes on not only our mental and physical health, but also our academic outcomes. From a well-being perspective, as well as a student success perspective, this means that belonging should be a key consideration in the university setting. While one can belong in many different kinds of relationships, university belonging can be particularly important as students often spend significant time interacting with their higher education institution. Do you feel like you belong at UHCL? Do others around you feel like they belong here? If you or fellow students would like support from a mental health counselor in better understanding yourself and your sense of belonging at UHCL, feel free to visit us in the CMHC at SSCB 3103, or call to make an appointment!

04/08/2026

CMHC Topic of the Month: Belonging

How do we work toward making sure everyone belongs, particularly within a system like a school? This visual suggests some steps we can take toward promoting an overall sense of belonging at our schools, which includes understanding and valuing our differences. This can be done at a university-wide level and can also be done at the group level. We can all make shifts to promote a sense of belonging, which can have significant impacts on student mental health overall.

04/07/2026

CMHC Topic of the Month: Belonging

What are the key elements that make up one’s sense of belonging? UC Berkley’s Other and Belonging Institute names four key aspects:
1. Inclusion. Belonging encompasses and requires inclusion. If extreme disparities persist or exclusion is maintained, the conditions for belonging cannot grow.
2. Connection. Belonging requires a sense of connection – the experience of belonging is more likely when there is a tether or a tie, something that binds or affiliates a person to another person, community, group, or institution.
3. Agency. This is the sense or feeling of control people have over actions and their consequences – brings power into the belonging formula. To have agency, one must individually and collectively have the power to act and the potential to influence.
4. Recognition. Belonging requires visibility or recognition – people feel that their social group is seen, respected, and valued. If a person feels that their identity or their group is invisible in the community or institution, they are less likely to feel a sense of belonging.