Group Counseling

Group Counseling is a form of treatment that focuses on the interpersonal relationships and social interactions that are a fundamental part of a group experience. Groups meet at regularly scheduled times and typically consist of 6 to 8 members.

The process of "counseling" takes place as group members interact with one another and explore problems with everyone in the group; members gain insight into their own patterns of behaviors while still offering support to others.

The Counseling Center strives to provide a safe and comfortable place on campus where students can work through their problems. An added benefit of group counseling is that it inherently helps students who struggle with social interactions. Most groups are comprised of students from different majors, backgrounds, and life experiences but all of this adds to the wealth of insight that can be gleaned when group members come together to share and focus on problem resolution.

 

Benefits of Group Counseling

  • Groups are a powerful means of growth and change because students who face similar issues not only provide support and insight for their peers in the group, but they also benefit from the tremendous understanding and encouragement they receive from others. 
  • Group members are privy to different perspectives and viewpoints that they may not have considered.
  • Many students tend to shy away from groups, preferring individual counseling, thinking that that's the quickest and safest way to resolve their issues, but the opposite is true for most students. Those who have pushed past their apprehension have reported the group experience to be beyond their expectations.
  • While individual counseling sessions tend to be short-term, there is no limit to the number of group sessions a student can have

 

Introduction to Group Therapy by Darius Campinha-Bacote

Spring 2021 Therapy Groups

  • Navigating Relationship Groups

    Are you concerned about your relationships? Social anxiety? Family issues? Asking for what you need? Figuring out who you are? These weekly groups will offer a safe, confidential place to discuss these issues, with other students. The leaders will facilitate group discussions to help participants better understand themselves and their relationships with others.

    • Mondays: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm 
    • Tuesday: 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm 
    • Wednesdays: 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm  
  • Women's Group

    This group will focus on the shared experience of women-identified students who are survivors of past emotional, physical or sexual traumas that have affected the way they view themselves, their confidence, and their ability to trust others.  In a safe, supportive, and confidential environment, the group leaders will facilitate participants’ awareness of the lasting impact of unresolved feelings of past trauma.   Ways to strengthen self-esteem, bolster resilience, modulate the intensity of emotional expression, and manage safe interpersonal boundaries will be discussed.

    Thursdays 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm 

  • RAMS Group: Responding to Addiction with Mindfulness-based Strategies

    This group is for anyone who is struggling with substance abuse or other addictive behavior and would like a safe, supportive and confidential space to talk, connect with others, and learn.  The group leader will facilitate conversations that focus on recognizing abuse and dependency, identifying ways unhealthy behaviors become addictions, and learning how to use mindfulness-based strategies as a way to safely and effectively cope with stressors.  (*R.A.M.S. is not a substance abuse treatment group or 12-step support meeting.  Please contact the Counseling Center or visit our website’s resources page for information about these services

    Mondays 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

  • Stress-Less: What to do when life is a mess

    DBT skills Group

    This group is designed to help students learn effective ways to manage emotions and counterproductive behaviors. Through experiential activities and discussion this group will teach participants how to manage life with competence and confidence in the areas of relationships, stress and emotion management and the struggles of everyday life.

    Thursdays 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

 

    FAQs

    What are the goals of group counseling?

    The goals of group counseling are grounded in the basis that it is a group and there are more individuals with different levels of experience in attendance to share in the process. The Counseling Center believes that groups provide a unique means of resolving conflict and problems because group members:

    • Both provide and receive support
    • Gain understanding and explore possible outcomes
    • Practice interpersonal skills in a safe setting
    • Receive feedback on how they are perceived by others
    • Enhance their problem-solving skills
    • Decrease social isolation
    • Develop better communication skills
    • Improve their emotional expressiveness

    Why Group Counseling?

    Many personal problems are interpersonal in nature. Typically, personal problems stem from past and current relationships or from the patterns of relating to one another that are unique to the individual. Group counseling offers the rare opportunity to better understand how people relate to one another and provides an opportunity to receive specific feedback in a supportive setting.

    Many students report effective and quick results as a result of being a group member. The group leader(s) also set the stage for trust and safety in the group. Once an individual experiences that safety in that setting, it is easier to recreate it in other aspects of one's life, such as in classes, in work, in one's living situation, with family members, with friends and with an intimate partner.

    5 Benefits of Group Therapy

    How often do groups meet?

    Groups typically meet weekly, on a scheduled day and time, and run for an entire semester. The group leaders ask for the student's commitment for the entire duration of the group so members will feel a sense of cohesion and safety, knowing who will be there and who they can count on weekly. Students have reported that the greatest progress was attained when they attended all scheduled sessions.

    Is there a cost associated with Group Counseling?

    There is no cost to attend groups and there is no limit in group sessions for students!  
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