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Workshops and Groups
Professional staff in the Student Wellness Centre offer psychoeducational workshops and groups to provide additional support to student. Workshops and skills groups offer unique benefits and provide practical tips to increase resilience, manage stress and develop stronger coping skills. For more information, or to give us feedback, email wellness@wlu.ca.
For more information about the benefits of skills groups and workshops, read our article The Benefits of Skills Groups and Workshops.
Wellness Workshops
The clinical staff from the Student Wellness Centre lead a variety of skill-building psychoeducational workshops designed to manage stress and increase resilience. For the fall 2021 semester, all workshops are being held on Zoom and are open to all registered students. Visit the Wellness Education program calendar for the full schedule of workshops.
Drop-In Conversations and Experiences: BIPOC Perspectives
Do you identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Colour (BIPOC) and are feeling anxious about returning to campus? Join two racialized counsellors for a drop-in session on Zoom to talk about your experiences dealing with Covid 19 compounded by race related stress on and off campus.
This group will meet on Zoom on the first Tuesday of the month from 4 to 5 p.m. (October 5, November 2, and December 7, 2021)
The first Tuesday of the month from 4 - 5 p.m. | Drop in on Zoom
Check back soon or follow us on Twitter for additional sessions throughout the year.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Coping Skills Group
About the DBT Group
This is a two-hour, weekly, interactive group based on Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). DBT teaches effective ways of behaving and coping with emotional chaos and interpersonal conflict. Learn skills for coping with extreme emotions so that you can succeed in university, manage your relationships, and get through life stress without making it worse. We will cover skills from the four DBT modules: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness, put into the context of a university student’s life.
Committment to Change
In order to get the maximum benefit from your time in skills group, there are two commitments that you must be willing to make. You must be able to commit to regular attendance of all sessions. If you miss two group sessions, you will no longer be able to join. You also need to commit to practicing skills in between sessions. Our experience has been that students were most satisfied with this group when they practiced their skills several times per week.
This is a closed group. To participate, you must be referred into the group by a practitioner in the Student Wellness Centre. The group may have been suggested to you by your counsellor or physician, but if think you it might be a good fit for you, call the Student Wellness Centre and ask to schedule a DBT intake appointment.
Details
If you are interested in participating in group that will start in January 2022, give us a call and ask for a DBT intake appointment. In the meantime, consider dropping in to DBT in a Nutshell on Tuesdays from 2 to 3 p.m.
DBT in a Nutshell
This online group will review one skill of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy each week. You will learn concrete skills to solve problems, maintain positive relationships, and navigate difficult events, and emotions.
Drop in on Teams Tuesdays from 2 to 3 p.m. from September 14 to November 23, 2021 (but we will not meet on October 12). There is no commitment to attend every session, drop in to as many sessions as you wish.
Feeling Grand: Coping with Anxiety and Depression
This group will introduce key concepts of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for depression relapse prevention and managing anxiety. Participation in this workshop is on a drop-in basis. Each workshop will run twice, and you are welcome to attend as many modules as you wish in any order. In the Fall 2021 semester, this group will run on Mondays from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Anxiety and Depression 101
Monday September 20, 2021 at 1:30 p.m.
Drop in on Teams
Exploring Anxiety and Depression Through Mindfulness and Creativity
Monday September 27, 2021 at 1:30 p.m.
Drop in on Teams
Taking Back Control: Cycles, Exposure, and Behaviour Activation
Monday October 4, 2021
Drop in on Teams
Examining Patterns of Thinking and Feeling
Monday October 18, 2021
Drop in on Teams
Self-Care for Anxiety and Depression
Monday October 25, 2021
Drop in on Teams
Anxiety and Depression 101
Monday November 8, 2021 at 1:30 p.m.
Drop in on Teams
Exploring Anxiety and Depression Through Mindfulness and Creativity
Monday November 15, 2021 at 1:30 p.m.
Drop in on Teams
Taking Back Control: Cycles, Exposure, and Behaviour Activation
Monday November 22, 2021
Drop in on Teams
Examining Patterns of Thinking and Feeling
Monday November 29, 2021
Drop in on Teams
Self-Care for Anxiety and Depression
Monday December 6, 2021
Drop in on Teams
Substance Harm Reduction Group
About the Harm Reduction Group
This weekly online interactive group is based on the understanding that harm reduction is an effective and informed way to address problematic substance use. The weekly sessions are intended to provide a supportive space to look at why and how substances can have negative consequences in various areas of student life; to provide skills for safer use; and to support individual work to better understand your relationships with substances. Attendance each week allows students to learn and discuss the unit topic, listen to each other, and practice skills between sessions.
Expectations
Members of the group are not required to share their thoughts nor abstain from using substances during the five weeks; they are however expected to maintain confidentiality and show respect to the other members of the group. Students involved will agree not to use substances or be noticeably intoxicated during group sessions. Attendees must be open to change and to building awareness of the potential harms of their past and current substance use.
This is a closed group and members will be referred by counsellors or physicians from the Brantford and Waterloo Student Wellness Centres. If you are interested in attending this group please ask to speak to the mental health nurse in the Student Wellness Centre on your campus.
Details
In the fall 2021 semester, this group runs on Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. starting on September 22, 2021. To join this group, book an appointment with the mental health nurse on your campus.