Education & Outreach
OwlWell provides educational workshops, trainings, and resources for the Bryn Mawr community. Learn more about our offerings below!
Alcohol & Substance Use Education
OwlWell provides confidential, one on one psychoeducation for students who have questions about their relationship to alcohol or substances or who are seeking additional on or off campus resources and would like to explore their options.
In addition to individual consultations, we also provide community training which includes Narcan administration as well as alcohol and substance use harm reduction.
Explore below to learn more about our current offerings!
All students are responsible for knowing and acting in accordance with the College’s Substance Use Policies as well as complying with state and local laws. The College Substance Use Policy can be found here.
The legal drinking age in Pennsylvania is 21. Drinking alcohol under the age of 21 or buying it for / serving it to those who are underage can result in serious legal risks.
If you have questions related to your own relationship to alcohol & other substances or supporting a friend, you can always reach out to OwlWell at owlwell@photographywaltz.com to schedule a 1 on 1 meeting. You can also connect with Bryn Mawr Counseling Services or Health Services. All of the Health & Wellness offices are confidential.
Utilizing the community training model developed at Columbia Health, we provide Narcan trainings to help teach critical life saving skills for responding to an opioid overdose. This training covers a brief overview of opioids, their effects on the body, xylazine or "tranq" and its relationship to opioids, potential overdose signs, and how to administer Narcan. We also share campus and community resources for support. Participants receive a free Narcan kit at the conclusion of this program.
This is a training designed for student leaders, first years, and anyone looking for an introductory workshop that explores the basics of substance use, harm reduction, and supportive resources. In this workshop, we discuss how we form ideas about and relationships to substances, explore the risks and effects of certain substances, and offer concrete campus, local, and digital resources for harm reduction, prevention, and recovery. We also provide a brief overview of applicable Bryn Mawr, Bi-Co, state, and national policies relating to alcohol and substance use.
Pacing yourself and setting a drink limit that you feel comfortable with are important tools in staying safer if you choose to drink alcohol. But how do you do that and what information do you need to pay attention to? Two really helpful things to know are standard drink sizes and Alcohol by Volume (ABV). Each kind of alcohol has a standard serving size from 1.5 oz for liquor up to 12 oz for beer. Why the different sizes? That is related to ABV. ABV is the measurement used to determine how much pure alcohol is in a single serving. The higher the ABV, the more quickly a person's Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) rises, thus, higher ABV drinks have smaller serving sizes. Read more below to learn about drink sizes and ABV of some standard drinks.
- Beer - 1 serving: 12 oz, ABV: 4% +
- Craft Beer - 1 serving: 9 oz, ABV: 6% +
- Hard Seltzer - 1 serving: 12 oz, ABV 4% +
- White Wine - 1 serving: 5 oz, ABV: 11% +
- Red Wine - 1 serving: 4 oz, ABV: 14% +
- Liquor (80 proof) - 1 serving: 1.5 oz, ABV: 40%
It's important to note that ABV can vary from brand to brand. For example, most hard seltzer has an ABV of 4% to 6% but some brands have an ABV of almost 12%! We've given averages in these examples but it's always best to check the ABV of the particular type and brand of alcohol you may be drinking.
If you choose to drink alcohol, it's important to do some self assessment to see what you are hoping to get out of your experience, make a plan, and implement some harm reduction strategies. While not an exhaustive list, we have added some tips here that can help you make informed choices that feel good to you and can help support your overall health and wellbeing.
- Check in with yourself: Before drinking, do some self assessment. How are you feeling that day? What kind of experience are you hoping to have? Is there anything that you are currently experiencing (positive or negative) that may impact how you approach your alcohol consumption? Doing a check in with yourself can help inform your decision to drink (or not to drink).
- Eat!: Seriously! Consuming alcohol on an empty stomach can increase your chances for dehydration, irritate your stomach, and increase your risk of alcohol poisoning, among other potential health impacts. Plan on a well balanced meal with a good source of protein before your drink and plan to have some food during and after as well!
- Make a plan: Making a plan as to how much you will drink and sticking to it can help you stay within your limit. Also make a plan for how you are going to get home. Do you have a designated driver, public transit pass, or an Uber set up? If you are walking, plan a walking buddy ahead of time.
- Take it slowly: Begin with one standard drink and wait. It can sometimes take up to 45 minutes to feel the full effects of alcohol.
- Hydrate: Drink water before, during, and after you consume alcohol. Drinking a glass of water in between alcoholic drinks can also help you pace yourself. Replenishing yourself with electrolytes after drinking can also help with your hydration!
- Check in with yourself, again!: After drinking, check back in with yourself. How are you feeling now? Did you have the experience you were hoping to have? Is there something you may want to change or add for the future? If concerns come up for you, or even if you just have questions, you can always reach out Counseling Services, Health Services, OwlWell, or Bryn Mawr's Interfaith Chaplain to check in with a confidential staff member.
- When in doubt, call: If you are concerned about your own or another's over-consumption, contact Campus Safety at 610-526-7911
Programs & Trainings
Here is a sampling of some of our educational offerings. This page is a work in progress as we continue to develop our offerings. We will continue to update as we add more workshops, trainings, and resources.
Our professional staff members provide one on one, confidential consultations for students interested in learning more about health and wellness topics.
Areas of focus that we provide consultation on include, but are not limited to:
- Sexuality, gender, and identity exploration
- Sexual health and wellness
- Contraceptive education
- Safer sex and STI risk reduction
- Healthy relationships
- Communication and boundary setting
- Navigating conflict
- Self and community care
- Alcohol and substance use
- Stress and anxiety
- Mindfulness
- Sleep hygiene
- Health behavior change
- Campus resource exploration
- And more!
We believe that open and honest dialogue and education regarding these topics is incredibly important for personal development. We strive to create an informative and supportive environment for students to explore wellness in their own way and seek.
With that in mind, it is important to remember that our staff consist of trained wellness educators. We are not medical or mental health providers. Where appropriate, we can facilitate referrals to Health Services and Counseling Services.
Bystander Intervention is a powerful tool that can help us create safer and more caring and supportive communities by empowering individuals to intervene when they witness problematic behavior. Utilizing the Step UP model developed by the University of Arizona, this training provides participants with strategies and concrete intervention skills, discusses barriers to intervention, and explores prosocial behavior.
Self-care is a crucial pillar of health promotion and wellness. When we begin to tap into our senses and observe what our body needs -- rest, sleep, exercise, food, spirituality, friendship, and community -- we can best support our long-term health and well-being. In this workshop, we begin by looking at the origins of self-care throughout history. Then, we offer a few participatory activities that ask students and staff to consider the ways in which they can support their own self-care. We ask participants to think beyond the “instagramification” of self-care (think facemasks and bubble baths) and to consider how to build sustainable wellness rituals into their lives.
Consent, communications, and boundaries are critical components of all healthy relationships but what does that look like in practice and where do you begin? This program discusses the foundations of healthy and unhealthy relationships, establishing consent, healthy communication skills, values clarification, and boundary setting. Through small group activities, we analyze how media impacts our views of relationships, deconstruct relationship tropes, and explore relationship communication tools.
Interested in A Training?
Contact OwlWell@photographywaltz.com to discuss training for your class, department, or student group!