Jeff G. Rettew
Assistant Professor
Faculty Associate, UVM Wellness Environment
PRONUNCIATION Reh-too
PRONOUNS he/him
- Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, University of Kansas, APA Accredited, Predoctoral Internship at University of New Hampshire Counseling Center
- B.A., Psychology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, V.T.
Department of Psychiatry, UVM Division of Student Affairs Wellness Environment
Areas of expertise
transitional aged brain development, college student development, incentive based behavior change, brain health, resilience, science of connection, positive psychology, Wellness Environment
BIO
Jeff Rettew is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the UVM Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, and a Faculty Associate for the UVM Wellness Environment program in the Division of Student Affairs. A counseling psychologist by training, Jeff's career has focused on how to leverage the fields of behavioral economics, positive psychology, and developmental neuroscience to improve the well-being and outcomes for people, from first-year college students to corporate executives. His work centers around the question, "What are the essential components of building a healthy brain, and how can we help people apply those components in their lives?"
For the past 12 years, he has led the innovative Wellness Environment program at UVM, founded by Larner Professor Emeritus Jim Hudziak, M.D. Jeff also oversees and teaches several courses in Larner's Behavior Change Health Studies minor, including COMU1010: Healthy Brains, Healthy Bodies – Surviving and Thriving in College.
Courses
COMU1010: Healthy Brains, Healthy Bodies – Surviving and Thriving in College
COMU2250: The Science of Happiness
COMU2310: Sex, Love, and the Neuroscience of Relationships
Publications
Bio
Jeff Rettew is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the UVM Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, and a Faculty Associate for the UVM Wellness Environment program in the Division of Student Affairs. A counseling psychologist by training, Jeff's career has focused on how to leverage the fields of behavioral economics, positive psychology, and developmental neuroscience to improve the well-being and outcomes for people, from first-year college students to corporate executives. His work centers around the question, "What are the essential components of building a healthy brain, and how can we help people apply those components in their lives?"
For the past 12 years, he has led the innovative Wellness Environment program at UVM, founded by Larner Professor Emeritus Jim Hudziak, M.D. Jeff also oversees and teaches several courses in Larner's Behavior Change Health Studies minor, including COMU1010: Healthy Brains, Healthy Bodies – Surviving and Thriving in College.
Courses
COMU1010: Healthy Brains, Healthy Bodies – Surviving and Thriving in College
COMU2250: The Science of Happiness
COMU2310: Sex, Love, and the Neuroscience of Relationships
Publications
Select Publications
Pasqualoni S, Bai Y, Curl A, Rettew J, Kimball L, Devadanam V, Yousef H, Hudziak J, Copeland WE. The substance use behaviors change of first-year college students before and during COVID-19 pandemic. J Am Coll Health. 2025 Apr;73(4):1502-1509. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2023.2299419. Epub 2024 Jan 16. PubMed PMID: 38227917.
Bai Y, Copeland WE, Burns R, Nardone H, Devadanam V, Rettew J, Hudziak J. Ecological Momentary Assessment of Physical Activity and Wellness Behaviors in College Students Throughout a School Year: Longitudinal Naturalistic Study. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2022 Jan 4;8(1):e25375. doi: 10.2196/25375. PubMed PMID: 34982721; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8767478.
Copeland WE, Bai Y, Adams Z, Lerner M, King JA, Rettew J, Hudziak J. Daily wellness behaviors in college students across a school year. J Am Coll Health. 2022 Aug-Sep;70(6):1731-1737. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2020.1819291. Epub 2020 Nov 5. PubMed PMID: 33151841.
Copeland WE, McGinnis E, Bai Y, Adams Z, Nardone H, Devadanam V, Rettew J, Hudziak JJ. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on College Student Mental Health and Wellness. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2021 Jan;60(1):134-141.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2020.08.466. Epub 2020 Oct 19. PubMed PMID: 33091568; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8173277.
Bai Y, Copeland WE, Adams Z, Lerner M, King JA, Szopinski S, Devadanam V, Rettew J, Hudziak J. The University of Vermont Wellness Environment: Feasibility and Initial Results of a College Undergraduate Health-Promoting Program. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2019 Apr;28(2):247-265. doi: 10.1016/j.chc.2018.11.011. Epub 2019 Jan 3. Review. PubMed PMID: 30832956.