UTSC Health & Wellness Centre offers three types of group sessions.
- Mental Health Workshops. These workshops are educational in approach. They provide information and support to cope and improve your well-being and better understand mental health surrounding various topics and issues.
- Drop-in Groups. Participants are encouraged to engage throughout the session. These groups focus on developing and improving self-care strategies. Participants may join these groups at any point throughout the series, weekly registration is required.
- Therapy Groups. Weekly attendance is mandatory, and an intake assessment is required. The student must reside in Ontario due to governmental regulations. Therapy groups help change attitudes, behaviour and habits that may be unhelpful; and promote more constructive and adaptive ways of coping.
Group Therapy Schedule
Type: Closed psycho-education group
Format: Hybrid
Description & Objectives:
This DBT-informed group will introduce participants to skills they can use to manage their reactions to stress and emotions. Students will start by watching a mini-orientation before the group. Modules include mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. A variety of methods will be used including handouts, short videos and small group activities. The same participants will be meeting over 12 sessions (+1 optional session).
Registration: To register or to learn more information, please self-refer by contacting the Health & Wellness Centre to complete an intake assessment with a counsellor. Call Health & Wellness at 416-287-7065, email us at health.utsc@utoronto.ca, or visit us at the Sam Ibrahim Building 鈥 IA5061.
Date & Time: Thursdays from 2:00-4:00pm, from September 19 to December 12, 2024
Schedule:
Module 1 鈥 Mindfulness: September 19, September 26, October 3
Module 2 鈥 Distress Tolerance: October 10, October 17, October 24
Optional Reading Week Session 鈥 Sleep Hygiene: October 31
Module 3 鈥 Emotion Regulation: November 7, November 14, November 21
Module 4 鈥 Interpersonal Effectiveness: November 28, December 5, December 12
Type: Closed psycho-education group for students registered with AccessAbility Services
Format: Hybrid
Description & Objectives:
This DBT-informed group will introduce participants to skills they can use to manage their reactions to stress and emotions. Modules include mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation. This group will be tailored for a neurodivergent population and will use a variety of learning methods such as handouts, videos, discussions, and experiential learning. The same participants will be meeting over the course of 10 sessions (+1 optional session).
Registration: To register or to learn more information, please consider one of these options:
- Speak to a staff member at AccessAbility Services
- Self-refer by contacting the Health & Wellness Centre to complete an intake assessment with a counsellor. Call Health & Wellness at 416-287-7065, email us at health.utsc@utoronto.ca, or visit us at the Sam Ibrahim Building 鈥 IA5061.
Date & Time: Tuesdays from 2:00-4:00pm, from September 24 to December 3, 2024
Schedule:
Orientation: September 24
Module 1 鈥 Mindfulness: October 1, October 8, October 15
Module 2 鈥 Distress Tolerance: October 22, November 5, November 12
Module 3 鈥 Emotion Regulation: November 19, November 26, December 3
*Optional Reading Week Session on Sleep Hygiene: October 29
Type: Closed psycho-education group
Format: In-person
Description & Objectives:
- Participants will learn about trauma, its impacts on the brain and body, and learn practical skills and strategies that will empower participants with the knowledge and tools that have been found effective for trauma recovery and healing.
- This is NOT a trauma therapy or trauma processing group. You will NOT be asked to share your trauma story or history. It will be a closed group with the same participants week to week, to facilitate a sense of comfort with the facilitators and one another. Emotional & physical safety is foundational for this group.
Registration:
To register or to learn more information, please self-refer by contacting the Health & Wellness Centre to complete an intake assessment with a counsellor. Call Health & Wellness at 416-287-7065, email us at health.utsc@utoronto.ca, or visit us at the Sam Ibrahim Building 鈥 IA5061.
Date & Time: Wednesdays, 2:30-4:00pm, from October 9 to November 20, 2024
Schedule:
Week 1 鈥 October 9: Trauma & Its Impacts on the Brain & Body
Week 2 鈥 October 16: The Triune Brain & Window of Tolerance
Week 3 鈥 October 23: Self-Care, Self-Soothing, & Self-Nurturing
Week 4 鈥 November 6: Challenging Common Stuck Points
Week 5 鈥 November 13: Coping with Intrusive Thoughts / Flashbacks, & Practicing Grounding
Week 6 鈥 November 20: Post-Traumatic Growth & Meaning Making
Type: Drop-in psychoeducation group
Format: In-person
Description & Objectives:
Participants will engage in a variety of arts and crafts-based activities, and are invited to use this group as a space for cultivating present moment awareness, settling the mind, and making room for creativity and playfulness to emerge.
Registration:
Participants are encouraged to pre-register on Folio . Drop-ins are welcome, too.
Date & Time: Every other Friday from 2:30-4:00pm, from September 27 to December 6, 2024
Location: Health & Wellness Centre, Sam Ibrahim Building, IA5068 HWC Multi-Purpose Quiet Room
Schedule (Activities subject to change):
Week 1 鈥 September 27: 鈥淭he Dot鈥 Painting
Week 2 鈥 October 11: Zentangle / Flextangle
Week 3 鈥 October 25: Crochet - Granny Square
Week 4 鈥 November 8: Origami
Week 5 鈥 November 22: Self-Care Kit
Week 6 鈥 December 6: TBD
Type: Drop-in workshop series
Format: In-person
Description:
Black students on post-secondary campuses struggle with a number of stressors that impede their mental health. In addition to academic stressors, they also often contend with systemic barriers as well as micro-aggressive behaviours (within and outside of campus communities).
The Black Wellness Connect will integrate themes of Black joy and will offer monthly workshops to foster mental health, resiliency & belonging and wellbeing among Black UTSC students
Objectives:
- Provide a space for Black students to discuss various topics affecting their mental health (i.e. micro-aggression, 鈥榖lack tax鈥, family pressure & responsibilities, imposter syndrome, code-switching, etc.).
- Combine psycho-education and innovative wellness-based activities (i.e. mindful movement, music, art-based strategies etc.) to instill coping skills and increase resiliency, hopefulness & joy among Black students.
- Deepen a sense of belonging to the university community & empower agency
Registration:
Participants are encouraged to pre-register on Folio. Drop-ins are welcome, too.
Schedule:
*Topic of these sessions may be subject to change
Workshop 1 鈥 Mindfulness & Movement*:
- Description: Through Socacize dance, students will be introduced to mindfulness practice and ways they can use it to manage stress and anxiety. For students that might not feel comfortable in participating in the Socacize dance portion, other mindfulness activities will be offered.
- Date & Time: October (Specific date & time TBD)
- Location: TBD
Workshop 2: Stress Management 鈥 A Collaboration with Black Student Engagement
- Description: Students will learn strategies for coping and managing stress as they prepare for midterms and assignments after reading week. This meeting is a collaboration with Black Student Engagement.
- Date & Time: November 7, 2024, 5:00-7:00pm
- Location: TBD
Workshop 3 鈥 Jam & Chat*:
- Description: Using various genres of music (i.e. afrobeats, hip hop & rap, etc.), students will be guided through a conversation to reflect on themes in the lyrics and how it relates to their experiences.
- Date & Time: December (specific date & time TBD)
- Location: TBD