The University Counseling Center’s groups and workshops offer powerful options for treatment that cannot be found in individual counseling. Their power lies in the support and feedback given by other participants as well as by the facilitators. They offer an affirming space for students to discuss challenges and build connections.
Brief group and workshop descriptions are below. Further details are on the UCC Groups & Workshops website. If you are interested in any group or workshop, contact one of the facilitators on the website or complete an interest form.
Group therapy:
- Mostly focused on the development of resilience and self-awareness
- Generally closed format (i.e., maximum number of participants); no session limits
- Includes other participants who wish to receive support around a shared identity or lived experience
- Requires continuous attendance for participants to obtain full benefits
- Group facilitators will often screen group members before they join the group
- Requires a referral from an SCC care coordinator or UCC provider
Workshops:
- Mostly focused on the development of everyday skills
- Workshops tend to be intermittent and take place in series, not requiring continuous attendance
- There is no necessary screening (drop-in registrations are welcome)
UCC Fall 2023 Groups
- Continuum: LGBTQI+ Support Group
- Presents a safe, confidential and affirming environment for students wishing to give and receive support around sexual identity and/or gender identity
- DBT Group: Building Your Best Life
- Lends a safe place for students to learn a variety of skills and tools to manage problems in daily life, particularly in this challenging academic environment
- This semester’s module is Emotion Regulation
- Graduate & Professional Process Group
- Brings together graduate and professional students to discuss common concerns, including navigating programs and demands, relationships, transitioning to the work environment, individuation, identity and work/life balance
- Rooted in Resilience
- Nurtures a supportive environment for students who have been affected by interpersonal violence
- Time is spent listening, sharing experiences, sharing challenges associated with trauma and gaining tools and knowledge as students work toward healing
- STEM Support Group
- Provides graduate students in BRET/STEM departments a safe, private space to share, listen and connect with other students
- Topics may include stress and coping, impostor syndrome, managing relationships, identity, helping a friend and grief
- Substance Use Support Group
- Offers a space to learn about the concepts of drugs and alcohol, how these substances affect the body, thoughts and emotions involving drugs and alcohol and techniques and resources to assist with moderation and/or abstinence of use
- Understanding Self and Others
- Allows undergraduate students the opportunity to explore personal growth, increase self-awareness and enhance their experiences in personal and academic settings
- Group members will practice communicating more honestly and effectively with others
- Untangle: Trauma-Sensitive Expressive Arts Group
- Creates a space to connect, in the “here and now,” and experience the healing power of creativity
- Through visual art, movement, music and storytelling, emotions are liberated, facilitating insight and growth
- Women’s Process Group
- Equips female-identifying students with a space to discuss concerns about relationships, academic/work stress, depression or anxiety, family, life transitions and communication, among other concerns
- The group focuses on ways women’s lives are affected by societal gender stereotypes
- VUSN Student Support Group
- Gives support and guidance to nursing students as they cope with the challenges of nursing school and their upcoming professional practice
- Topics include fitting in, stress, perfectionism, imposter syndrome and compassion fatigue
UCC Fall 2023 Workshops
- Anxiety Toolbox is a three-week workshop for students with anxiety-related concerns. It is often described as a “mini class on anxiety” and includes activities for practice outside of each session. Attendees will walk away with tangible tools for identifying and managing anxiety symptoms.
- DBT Drop-In teaches skills to better approach problems in life. Topics include how to be more present in life, how to cope with emotions that are overwhelming, how to cope with and change distressing and unhelpful emotions, and how to find the balance of the give and take in relationships.
- Self-Compassion Workshop Series is designed to help students become less self-critical and respond to daily struggles with kindness and compassion, rather than judgment and criticism.
- Thriving and Surviving with ADHD has an emphasis on deepening understanding of what ADHD is and isn’t, while also touching on cognitive, behavioral and mindfulness interventions. Participants will actively engage in skill building in a scaffolded, supportive environment.
You at VU
At Vanderbilt, fostering a deep sense of belonging for every community member is a core value. You at VU encompasses campus resources needed for members of the Vanderbilt community to be well, to grow and to thrive physically, emotionally, mentally, socially and professionally. The You at VU portal is a one-stop spot where students, staff and faculty can find ways to connect with others, engage across campus and discover well-being support and resources. Each person who is a part of our campus shares one commonality: You belong here. For more information, visit vanderbilt.edu/youatvu.