The Zenstudies: Making a Healthy Transition to Higher Education program aims to prevent depression and anxiety among first-year students in post-secondary school. It includes three modules, or prevention levels, Module 3 of Zenstudies, presented here, is a targeted-indicated prevention program led by two mental health professionals. Module 3 takes place in a small group setting and consists of 10 sessions that will help students develop coping skills. Some of these skills include identifying stresses linked to making the transition from high school to higher education, better managing anxiety by facing stressful situations instead of avoiding them, increasing the number of pleasant activities they take part in, reflecting on their professional goals, learning social, communication, problem-solving, conflict-management and studying skills, questioning unrealistic thoughts, as well as participating in many activities linked to practising mindfulness. Published in English.

The Zenstudies: Making a Healthy Transition to Higher Education program aims to prevent depression and anxiety among first-year students in post-secondary school. It includes three modules, or prevention levels, Module 3 of Zenstudies, presented here, is a targeted-indicated prevention program consisting in 10 small-group sessions (no more than 12 students) led by two mental health professionals. This is the guide for Module 3, the targeted-indicated prevention program. It presents the 10 small-group sessions (6 to 10 students) that will be led by two mental health professionals. The sessions include 15 components and are tailored to first-year students experiencing anxious or depressive symptoms. The goal is early intervention, aimed at preventing mental health disorders in at-risk students. It has been shown that the presence of symptoms is a strong predictor of a future mental health disorder, which is why intervention is vital at symptom onset. By reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, the program also facilitates the transition from high school to college or university, thereby lowering the risk of dropout. It also raises awareness about anxiety and depression—which are both internalizing disorders—and equips students with different preventive strategies. Published in English.

The Zenstudies: Making a Healthy Transition to Higher Education program aims to prevent depression and anxiety among first-year students in post-secondary school. It includes three modules, or prevention levels. Module 1, presented here, is an in-class universal prevention program, designed to be delivered by a post-secondary instructor, that helps students develop mental-health awareness and understand the transition to higher education, equipping them with preventive strategies so they can successfully adjust. This first module of Zenstudies endeavours to ease the transition to higher education and thereby lower the risk of dropout, while providing students a better grasp of the issues surrounding internalizing problems, such as anxiety and depression, and equipping them with a few prevention strategies. The facilitator’s guide has been specifically designed for teachers who want to use the program in their classrooms. The participant’s workbook was developed for students and accompanies the facilitator’s guide, which will be used by your teacher. In Section 1 of the program, your teacher will give you information about the difficulties of transitioning from high school to college or university; for example, the challenges in the transition to adulthood and the importance of effective time management. Then in Section 2, the teacher will provide indicators that will help you recognize symptoms of anxiety and depression that you might experience during this transition. Finally, in Section 3, you’ll learn a few preventive techniques and strategies for anxiety and depression. The program is accompanied by an online component available via the website of the Research Laboratory on School-Based Mental Health at the Université du Québec à Montréal’s Psychology Department (www.labomarcotte.ca/en). Published in English.

The Zenstudies: Making a Healthy Transition to Higher Education program aims to prevent depression and anxiety among first-year students in post-secondary school. It includes three modules, or prevention levels. Module 2, presented here, is a targeted-selective prevention program. It includes two workshops, one for anxiety management and one for depression prevention for self-referred students, taught by a team of teachers and specialists. Participants in these small-group workshops will have volunteered to take this training. Module 2 aims to ease the transition to college or university and lower the risk of dropout, while equipping students with a solid understanding of issues related to internalizing problems (anxiety and depression) and teaching them a few preventive strategies. The facilitator’s guide has been specifically designed for teachers or professionals trained in providing mental health services and who are working with this student clientele. Published in English.

The Zenstudies: Making a Healthy Transition to Higher Education program aims to prevent depression and anxiety among first-year students in post-secondary school. It includes three modules, or prevention levels. Module 2, presented here, is a targeted-selective prevention program. It includes two workshops, one for anxiety management and one for depression prevention for self-referred students, taught by a team of teachers and specialists. Participants in these small-group workshops will have volunteered to take this training. This participant’s handbook is for Module 2 and its two targeted-selective prevention workshops. “Targeted selective” means that the students participating have all decided of their own volition to sign up, after learning about it at their school or following a recommendation from a teacher or counsellor. The workshop When Fear Takes Hold looks at symptoms of anxiety, and When the Blues Take Over looks at depression. This participant’s workbook is for you to use during the workshop to complete activities; it will also be a good reference for techniques you can practice on your own afterward. The online component that accompanies this guide can be found on the website of the Research Laboratory on School-Based Mental Health at the Université du Québec à Montréal’s Psychology Department (www.labomarcotte.ca/en). We hope that after participating in this program, you’ll feel better equipped for a successful transition to post-secondary life. Published in English.

The Zenstudies: Making a Healthy Transition to Higher Education program aims to prevent depression and anxiety among first-year students in post-secondary school. It includes three modules, or prevention levels. Module 2, presented here, is a targeted-selective prevention program. It includes two workshops, one for anxiety management and one for depression prevention for self-referred students, taught by a team of teachers and specialists. Participants in these small-group workshops will have volunteered to take this training. This participant’s workbook is for Module 2 and its two targeted-selective prevention workshops. “Targeted selective” means that the students participating have all decided of their own volition to sign up, after learning about it at their school or following a recommendation from a teacher or counsellor. The workshop When Fear Takes Hold looks at symptoms of anxiety, and When the Blues Take Over looks at depression. This participant’s workbook is for you to use during the workshop to complete activities; it will also be a good reference for techniques you can practice on your own afterward. The online component that accompanies this guide can be found on the website of the Research Laboratory on School-Based Mental Health at the Université du Québec à Montréal’s Psychology Department (www.labomarcotte.ca/en). We hope that after participating in this program, you’ll feel better equipped for a successful transition to post-secondary life. Published in English.

Introduction to Zen Training is a translation of the Sanzen Nyumon, a foundational text for beginning meditation students by Omori Sogen--one of the foremost Zen teachers of the twentieth century. This book addresses many of the questions which arise when someone first embarks on a journey of Zen meditation--ranging from how long to sit at one time to how to remain mindful when not sitting--and it concludes with commentaries on two other fundamental Zen texts, Zazen Wasen (The Song of Meditation) and the Ox-Herding Pictures. Written to provide a solid grounding in the physical nature of Zen meditation training, this text delves into topics such as: Breathing Pain Posture Physiology Drowsiness How to find the right teacher The differences between the two main Japanese schools of Zen: Soto and Rinzai Zen As a master swordsman, Omori Sogen's approach to Zen is direct, physical, and informed by the rigorous tradition of Zen and the martial arts that flourished during Japan's samurai era. For him, the real aim of Zen is nothing short of Enlightenment--and Introduction to Zen Training is a roadmap in which he deals as adeptly with hundreds of years of Zen scholarship as he does with the mundane practicalities of meditation. Sogen prescribes a level of rigor and intensity in spiritual training that goes far beyond wellness and relaxation, and that is rarely encountered. His is a kind of spiritual warriorship he felt was direly needed in the middle of the twentieth century and that is no less necessary today. With a new foreword from Daihonzan Chozen-ji, the headquarters Zen temple established by Omori Sogen in Hawaii, this book is an essential text for every student of Zen meditation.