Clinical Groups In Winter 2025
Clinical groups offer a unique learning experience, and they are a great first step to connecting with counselling in the Student Wellness Centre. In clinical groups, you'll receive support from other group members as well as the counsellors who are facilitating; you will hear different perspectives from your fellow students; and you will gain an important sense of community.
The counsellors in the Student Wellness Centre are excited to offer clinical groups in the Winter 2025 term! These groups range in topic and duration; some are offered virtually and some are in-person, and there is no fee to participate.
Emotional Fitness 101
Habit Changing for Graduate Students
Overcoming Perfectionism
Emotional Fitness 101
This new, in-person group on the Waterloo campus will focus on emotional awareness, coping strategies, self-compassion, and the art of relationship success.
This is an in-person group that will meet in P119 on Wednesdays from 3 to 4 p.m. from January 29 to March 23, 2025. Please note, we will not meet during Reading Week.
Personal commitment to the program is the strongest predictor of successful outcomes! We recommend attending every week to get the most out of this meaningful initiative, but you don’t have to attend all sessions.
Registration is required. To register, please email wellness@wlu.ca and tell us your name, student ID, and that you want to register for Emotional Fitness 101. This group is for Waterloo campus students only.
Habit Changing for Graduate Students
Join Chris for an informative and practical group to help you develop or replace a habit within a guided framework. This program is for any graduate student who is interested and motivated to start a new, desired habit or to shift from an unhelpful habit to a desired habit.
Come prepared with ideas about a small habit you would like to change and a curiosity to learn.
This is an online group that will be held on on Thursday January 16 and Thursday February 13 on Zoom from 11 a.m. to 12 pm.
Registration is required. To register, please email wellness@wlu.ca and tell us your name, student ID, and that you want to register for Habit Changing for Graduate Students.
Session 1: January 16
The first session provides guidance for choosing a habit, understanding and enhancing motivation, and sustaining change by managing obstacles and slips. You will leave the session with your own Habit Change Plan. Ideas for this new habit can be related to lifestyle such as healthy eating, activity, mental wellness activity, productivity, use of time; to name a few.
Session 2: February 13
Return to the second session for accountability, review, and for more ideas on how to apply this learning to future habit changes.
This program is led by Chris Kardol (she/her), RSW, MSW. Chris is the embedded graduate counsellor from the Student Wellness Centre. The information is from “From Intent to Action: Master a New Habit in 30 Days.”
Overcoming Perfectionism
Join us for a virtual series exploring perfectionism. We will discuss what it is, how it shows up in our lives, ways to interrupt it, and how to challenge and change perfectionistic thoughts and behaviours. This is an open group. Attendance at each session is not required, but it is strongly encourage because each week will build upon the last as we move from awareness and understanding to practical change.
This is an online group that will run on February 25 and March 4, 11, and 18 on Zoom from 2:30 to 3:30.
Registration is required. To register, please email wellness@wlu.ca and tell us your name, student ID, and that you want to register for Overcoming Perfectionism.
Week 1: Understanding Perfectionism – February 25
Learn about perfectionism and its associated thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. Together we will explore the benefits and challenges of perfectionism and how perfectionism shows up in our lives.
Week 2: Interrupting the Cycle of Perfectionism – March 4
Learn about factors that support and maintain perfectionism. Together we will explore how beliefs around perfectionism impact our thoughts and behaviours and what happens when we don’t meet our own standards.
Week 3: Challenging Perfectionistic Thinking – March 11
Learn strategies for changing perfectionist behaviours and thinking patterns. Together we will explore skills for coping with the consequences of perfectionism and how self-compassion can act as an antidote to perfectionism.
Week 4: Changing Perfectionist Behaviour - March 18
Learn strategies for challenging your perfectionist mindset and re-evaluating the importance of achievement. Together we will explore how to change our self-evaluations and create new, more flexible ways of thinking.