Health & Society

Counseling Center Expands Group Therapy Options for Graduate Students and Students of Color

Tuesday, September 25, 2018, By Joyce LaLonde

As student interest continues to grow for group therapy options, the Counseling Center has expanded sessions for the fall 2018 semester, including additional group therapy sections of Students of Color: Releasing the Invisible Weight and graduate student groups.

“Group offers a unique way to learn about forming connections, practicing communication and healthy relationship patterns. The mutual support and exploration in group allows students a deeper opportunity to learn about themselves and others,” says Carrie Brown, staff therapist, sexual and relationship violence response team member and group coordinator at the Counseling Center.

Below is a list of the group therapy options for the fall 2018 semester. For more information, dates and times, access the Group Therapy website.

  • Basic Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Practices introduces students to the concept of mindfulness as a means for tolerating stress and managing difficult or painful emotional experiences.
  • Building Resilienceis a skill-based, process group designed to help students understand more about their own personal resilience skills and to develop additional skills related to resilience.
  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Skills Group is a skills-based form of therapy that teaches mindfulness skills, interpersonal effectiveness skills, emotional regulation skills and distress tolerance skills and has been found to be effective at helping people manage overwhelming emotions.
  • Healthy Minds and Healthy Bodies is a semi-structured group for students motivated to learn strategies for managing concerns related to eating and/or body image.
  • Options Education Group–Alcohol and Other Drugs focuses on harm reduction, decision making and the physiological impact of substance abuse.
  • Sexual Assault Survivor Support Group is for female-identified survivors of sexual assault and a place where members can share their experiences and feelings in an understanding and accepting environment.
  • Students of Color: Releasing the Invisible Weight offers students of color a safe space to process the burden of race-related stress, stereotype threat and the impostor syndrome that often add to the stress of being a college student.
  • Supporting Students with Anxiety is for students experiencing symptoms of anxiety and difficulty with stress management and provides a variety of relaxation and coping skills.
  • Understanding Yourself and Others (undergraduate and graduate groups available) is an interpersonal process group that offers an opportunity to relate to others as you work to increase self-awareness.

To join a group, students must first contact the Counseling Center at 315.443.4715 or contact Brown. An orientation session will then be completed prior to starting group.  For more information on the different group therapy options, visit the Counseling Center’s Group Therapy website or contact Brown at clbrow01@syr.edu.