Group Care and Workshops

Thames Hall meeting room with students chatting, blurry in the background

Group Care

Each group will incorporate a presentation of relevant material with discussion and practice of new strategies among group members. It is a place for students to learn about new skills, increase self-awareness and share their experiences with others. Groups are generally small ranging from 5-12 people. Group members are encouraged to participate in group discussions.

All groups are approved activities for the co-curricular record. However, please note that if you miss more than 2 group sessions, in one term that this activity cannot be verified on your co-curricular record.

Group Care Schedule

Coping Well

Coping Well is an 8-week group that will teach you how to manage thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and events in your life that cause you distress, as well as how to live in the moment, accepting reality as it is. This group will introduce mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness skills from dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT):

  1. Mindfulness: skills for being present
  2. Distress tolerance: skills for sitting with, distracting from, and accepting painful emotions, events and urges
  3. Emotion regulation: skills for reducing the intensity of painful or unwanted emotions and stopping unwanted emotions from starting in the first place
  4. Interpersonal effectiveness: skills for increasing your confidence in saying no and asking for what you want in relationships

A commitment to attending all 8 sessions is required. If you are struggling with active self-harm or suicidal ideation, connect with a group facilitator to discuss if this is the right group for you.

For more information, please contact health@uwo.ca.

Registration for this group has now closed as group is currently underway.

Grief & Loss Support

This 6-week group is designed to help normalize and support individuals moving through the grieving process following the loss of a loved one. This group will explore how to navigate the grieving process, how to manage emotions related to loss, how to maintain connection with a loved one, as well as develop strategies to cope with experiences of grief. This group aims to create a safe, nurturing, and non-judgmental space to help process the loss of an individual through emotional support, connection, validation, and education around the grieving process.

Starting February 29 & running Thursdays from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. in Thames Hall.

For more information & to register, email health@uwo.ca.

Journey Together: Sharing our Lived Experience (for Black & Racialized students)

This is a support group for Black and Racialized Students. This wellness group aims to create a safe and healing space to share race-related lived experiences including race-related stress, navigating environments, renewal and care. Together in sharing our common lived experiences, we draw a collective voice to:

  • not feel alone
  • process and learn from each other's wisdom
  • create a community to uplift and support one another
  • empower through collective healing, growth, and transformation

This group will be co-facilitated by two counsellors from Health & Wellness Services who are themselves persons from racialized backgrounds.

Running virtually (dates TBD). Students can register throughout the term. For more information & to register, please email health@uwo.ca.

Once signed up, a group facilitator will contact you to do an individual intake which will provide an opportunity to discuss details of the group more fully.

Learn2Thrive

Was your last academic year tough? Want to do better but don't know where to start? Learn2Thrive is an initiative aimed to help students thrive, academically and personally.

Being a student doesn't mean that you have to be satisfied with being in a state of survival. There are strategies, tools, and support that can make a real difference and take you from striving to be resilient in the face of challenges to a place where you can really thrive. There is a lot of research on what helps humans flourish and the Learn2Thrive program exists to provide a supportive space for you to explore your own path towards a state of thriving.

Best suited for undergraduate students and graduate students taking courses. Join us for our holistic 10-week program and learn how to thrive.

Running January 24 - April 4 (not including the Spring Reading Week). For more information visit the Learn2Thrive website. Registration is now open.

Queer Connections

A weekly 90-minute group bringing in relevant topics, discussion, and mutual support for students who identify as part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and other diverse sexual orientations and gender identities) community.

Starting January 9 & running Tuesdays from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. in Thames Hall.

To register or for more information, please contact health@uwo.ca.

Reflecting on the End of Your PhD

This group is a space for PhD students completing their degree to come together for support and to learn how to navigate the challenges that come with finishing a PhD, using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy.

Starting February 6 & running Tuesdays from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. in Thames Hall rm. 3172

To register or for more information, please contact health@uwo.ca.

Relationship Basics (for female & non-binary identified students)

The Relationships Basics is a 4-week facilitated discussion group for female-identified students. Over the course of the 4 weeks, the group will follow the course of a relationship from learning how to identify healthy and unhealthy relationships, setting boundaries, navigating communication, and deciding to break up or keep the relationship going. Students can discuss all types of relationships whether with friends, romantic/sexual partners, or more casual hook ups.

Starting January 24 & running Wednesdays from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. in Thames Hall rm. 3172

To register or for more information, please contact health@uwo.ca.

Relationship Basics (for male identified students)

To provide information on how to get the meaningful and enriching relationships you want - focusing on reflection and skills to improve all relationships in your life.

Starting January 18 & running Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. To register, please contact health@uwo.ca.

Skills for Wellness

If you are looking to create a more meaningful life and develop skills to cope in challenging situations, this 6-week group based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) may be of interest to you. You can expect to explore your values, learn ways to be more present, identify and cope with difficult thoughts and feelings, and commit to acting based on what matters to you in difficult situations. This group will focus on psychoeducation and experiential exercises that you can apply to your daily life.

Starting January 29 & running Mondays from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. To learn more & register, please contact health@uwo.ca.


Workshops

Workshops are pyschoeducational sessions, designed to provide information on the offered topics. These workshops will help those who attend develop skills and strategies to manage some of what they are going through.

Workshop Schedule

Anxiety 101

This 90-minute workshop will equip attendees with the knowledge and skills needed to understand and manage anxiety. This workshop will offer practical knowledge and skills to address anxiety symptoms and how to cope.

This workshop will take place January 10, February 14, March 13 and April 10 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Register by emailing health@uwo.ca.

Managing Difficult Life Transitions, Change, and Homesickness

This 90-minute workshop will explore how to cope with life changes and the emotions these changes can bring about, such as guilt, anger, loneliness, anxiety, and instability. In addition to discussing how difficult transitions and changes affect an individual's life, we will also explore how to move forward to find balance, connection, and belonging in the new environment that is presented to us. This psychoeducational session aims to help support students to adapt more functionally to the changes that come with starting University.

This workshop will take place virtually on February 1 from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. Register by emailing health@uwo.ca.


Laura Evans Wellness Workshops

The Laura Evans Wellness Workshops is supported by a gift from Marilyn and Rick Evans and family in honour of their daughter and sister, Laura. Laura was a third-year psychology student at Brock University who at age 19 died of suicide.

In celebration of Laura's generous spirit and willingness to help others, her family wishes to ensure all students can access and benefit from the psychoeducational information provided through this program.

All Workshops are approved activities for the co-curricular record.