Workshops and Support Groups

The Counseling Center will be offering a variety of opportunities for students to enhance their care for themselves and connect with their peers.

Workshop Offerings

Workshops facilitated by a counselor offer psychoeducation and useful tools for participants to increase their emotional awareness, reduce stress, and incorporate new coping skills into their daily routines.

Mindful Self-care

The Mindful Self-Care Live Workshop is an all-encompassing experience that will culminate in having your own action plan for coping and managing the stressors of being a college student. During this workshop, you will engage in a variety of exercises and reflections to be able to create more effective, healthy, and practical ways to take care of your needs. This workshop will be offered monthly during the fall and spring semesters only. Check back in early Fall 2023 for dates and times for this workshop.

Can’t attend the drop-in workshop? Check out this self-care video instead!

Yale Course on Happiness

The Science of Well-being. This course, offered by Yale University, will offers a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. As preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life. The course is currently available for no cost.

Journaling

This recorded journaling workshop will introduce the benefits of journaling and provide prompts for students to explore their thoughts and feelings.

FAC Fitness Classes for Physical and Emotional Wellness

Group X: The Fitness and Aquatics Center (FAC) offers a wide variety of Group Exercise classes open to anyone. Whether you're a first timer on the spin bike or a seasoned yogi, there is a class that will fit everyone's needs. Feel free to contact the FAC at 410-617-5453 or the Counseling Center at 410-617-2273 for more details. You can sign up for Group Exercise classes by creating an account on IM Leagues, the FAC's Group X registration platform. Classes are only offered during the fall and spring semesters respectively.

Wellness Walks: Join a group of undergraduate students on a bi-weekly walk on beautiful Stony Run Trail and reflect on a variety of wellness related topics while getting just a few steps away from campus. From emotional to spiritual to physical well being and more, the group will reflect individually, in small groups, and in the larger group. Free registration will be on The Bridge for the fall and spring semesters respectively. The group will be led by Katie Benoit, who you can contact for more information at kmbenoit@loyola.edu or 410-617-2270.

Solace

Self-esteem and body image are common concerns for college students. Better understanding the interplay of self-esteem, authenticity, self-talk, body-image and our social media presence can be a part of working towards greater insight and self-acceptance. The Solace video series addresses Self-Esteem & Authenticity and Body Image & Social Media. Please pause to reflect on the prompts and exercises to get the most out of each brief video!

Support Group Offerings

Support Groups provide a place for students to come together to learn new skills, receive support, and share information and resources. These groups are different from therapy groups. The facilitator may provide educational information and facilitate an interactive dialogue among students who are sharing information and resources and providing one another with support. Groups are held weekly to bi-weekly at a scheduled date and time. Regular attendance is strongly encouraged. Participants will be provided with additional information prior to the start date and once they register for the group. All support groups are offered in fall and spring semesters respectively. We do not offer support groups during summer months. Register for a support group.

Excel

Excel is a support group for students who have a disability or face learning challenges. Excel provides a space for students to discuss their unique challenges related to virtual learning and find support to navigate learning hurdles. Students will also be able to share resources, learn stress management skills, and discuss self-care. Students do not need to be registered with Disability and Accessibility Services to join this group.

Facing Loss

Facing Loss is a grief support group that brings together students who have lost a loved one, recently or long ago. This group meets weekly.

Anxiety Toolbox

Anxiety Toolbox focuses on helping you understand anxiety symptoms and build skills to manage these symptoms. The sessions include modules dedicated to: (1) understanding anxiety, (2) introducing a method for slowing down and disentangling the experience of anxiety, and (3) developing alternative responses to anxiety. By the end of the workshop, you will have your own individualized plan for managing anxiety.

RIO (Recognition, Insight, Openness)

RIO is an innovative program specifically tailored to provide quick and useful tools without overburdening the busy schedules of Loyola students. RIO is a 3-week psychoeducational seminar designed to help students clarify their concerns and develop a clearer sense of what they would like to change in their lives. RIO is a curriculum-driven workshop and respects students’ individual privacy while still providing ample space to begin building skills through experiential training opportunities. Programs like RIO have been shown to help with overall functioning and sense of well-being, improve concentration and grades, and make adjusting successfully to new environments and challenges more likely. Once you have completed the registration form, a Counseling Center staff member will reach out to you to assist with scheduling. RIO is currently being offered multiple days and times per week.

Coping Skills

Coping Skills is a five-part workshop series focused on teaching and exploring coping skills in a hands-on environment. Sessions focus on developing building block skills to help manage stress, anxiety, anger, depression, and other difficult emotions. The workshop is an open series, allowing you to come to some or all sessions as your schedule allows. Topics include Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance. Session(s) are open to anyone but do involve actively practicing the skills during the workshop, with additional suggestions provided that can be used at home. Coping Skills will meet for three straight weeks toward the end of the fall and spring semesters respectively in person at the Counseling Center Humanities 150. For more information contact Lucy Anson at eganson@loyola.edu.

Men's Group

The Men’s Group is a supportive space for undergraduate and graduate students who identify as men to discuss a range of issues related to their mental, emotional, and physical health. Masculine norms and social stigma can often make it difficult for men to feel comfortable asking for and receiving emotional support. This group is for men who want a safe, inclusive, and supportive opportunity to practice doing so. Topics of discussion vary each session and will be decided by each group member’s needs. Some common areas of focus include relationships (romantic, platonic, family, etc.), identity development, anger, vulnerability and authenticity, stress, anxiety, depression, dating and sex, substance use, body image, financial issues, loneliness, and confidence/self-esteem. This group is designed to provide men of various identities opportunities to connect with each other for support, while healing, learning, and growing together. Please contact Dr. Ryan Sappington at rsappington@loyola.edu with questions or for more information.

Resilient Healing

Resilient Healing is an educational group for students who have experienced some type of trauma. The group will educate members about trauma, practice grounding and mindfulness techniques to help manage symptoms, increase coping skills and resilience, reduce and heal feelings of shame and anger, and provide a safe and supportive environment from which to heal. The goals of the group are to help members move forward with strength, insight, and resilience. This group will meet weekly. Please contact Dr. Kourtney Bennett at kbennett@loyola.edu or Julie Phillips, LCSW-C at japhillips1@loyola.edu with questions or for any additional information.

Time & Space: Trans Support Group

This weekly therapy support group is for transgender, non-binary, and gender questioning individuals of diverse backgrounds to confidentially discuss aspects of gender and gender identity in a space of mutual support. Please contact Sunny Swift for more information eswift@loyola.edu

Understanding Self and Others

Understanding Self and Others is a general process group intended to help students improve personal relationships through increased self-awareness, growth, and feedback. It is designed to help students understand and clarify their needs and find healthy ways to get needs met in an interpersonal context. Group participants will learn skills aimed at facing life's challenges, increasing self-esteem, and providing feedback in a safe and confidential group. Please contact the Counseling Center at 410-617-2273 for more information or speak to your individual counselor to express your interest.

Women's Group

Join us for this weekly meeting of women identified graduate and undergraduate students. Themes of this supportive process-oriented group include relationships (friendships, romantic, family), communication, boundary setting, and healthy coping techniques. This group is designed to provide women of various identities opportunities to connect with each other for support, while learning and growing together. Through connection with others, you can learn new coping, relational, and life skills. All women identified students are welcome to do a screening. Please contact Julie Phillips, LCSW-C at japhillips1@loyola.edu for more information.

Support Group Registration

Support Groups provide a place for students to learn new skills, receive support, and share information and resources. These groups are different from therapy groups. The facilitator may provide educational information and facilitate an interactive dialogue among students who are sharing information and resources and providing one another with support.

Informed Consent for Support Groups

The facilitator will establish and maintain a climate of respect among students. Each student is asked to respect the privacy of the other students and thus refrain from sharing any personal information about a participant to anyone outside of the virtual group. Even though the privacy of your information among students cannot be guaranteed, the facilitator will protect your privacy in accordance with applicable standards for mental health professionals in Maryland. Limits of Confidentiality apply to virtual support groups in similar ways as in-person services. Disclosure of the information you provide may be made by the Counseling Center: (1) when you sign a written request to have information released, (2) when the facilitator believes that you present a danger to yourself or to others, (3) when the facilitator has reasonable suspicion of abuse or neglect of a child or a vulnerable adult, (4) when the life or safety of an identified or readily identifiable third person is endangered or threatened, and (5) when otherwise required or permitted by law.

Support groups involve alternative forms of communication that may reduce visual and auditory cues and increase the likelihood of misunderstanding one another. In rare cases security protocols could fail and your confidential information could be accessed by unauthorized persons. The Loyola University Counseling Center works to reduce these risks by only using secure videoconferencing software through Zoom. In order to reduce any privacy and security risks of TMH, you agree that:

You will engage in sessions only from a private location where you will not be overheard or interrupted.
You will use your own computer or device, that is not publicly accessible.
You will ensure that the computer or device you use has updated operating and anti-virus software.
You will not record any sessions, nor will the Counseling Center record your sessions without your written consent.

Should there be technical problems with video conferencing during a virtual support group session, the most reliable backup method of contact is by phone. You acknowledge that the phone number provide below is the best number at which you can be reached, and to have your phone with you at session times. If you are unable to connect, or get disconnected, please try to connect again and if problems continue call the Counseling Center.

If during this support group, you become interested in pursuing counseling services, we encourage you to contact the Counseling Center to connect with a counselor to discuss your needs. The facilitator of the support group can provide referral resources or additional help if needed. The facilitator(s) may consult with Counseling Center staff members for the purpose of providing the best possible service to meet your needs.

If you experience a mental health emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. Additional crisis resources can be found on our Counseling Center website.

Registration Form

Completion of this form serves as your registration to participate in the selected group and that you understand and agree to the above principles and policies. You will be contacted at your Loyola email address by the group co-leader for meeting days/times.