Group Counseling

Group counseling provides a unique opportunity for students to receive multiple perspectives, support, and encouragement from other students in a safe environment. For many emotional concerns, personal struggles, and relationship issues, group counseling is the most effective treatment.

Group Counseling Sessions

Weekly group sessions are led by a mental health professional and range in size up to 10 students per session. Group members learn from and support one another in a setting guided by mutually agreed upon rules, practices, and procedures that promote respect, individual and group growth, and constructive exchanges.

Group counseling can help you:

  • Discover that you're not alone in your struggles, thoughts, and feelings
  • Learn from other students facing similar issues or problems
  • Gain multiple perspectives on your concerns
  • Feel more connected to others
  • Become more aware of yourself through genuine feedback from others
  • Develop new interpersonal skills that you can use in your daily life
  • Internalize the lessons you've learned by helping others in the group

Fall 2023 Group Counseling Opportunities

Full Semester Groups

Psychotherapy groups listed below meet weekly and have 10-12 sessions per semester. Students who join at the beginning of the semester stay in the group together until the group is completed. Group members typically build connections and build on skills over the course of the group. Some groups may allow new members to join at different points through the semester.

Students need to attend a group screen appointment with the facilitator before starting group. To schedule a group screen, contact our office or talk with your therapist if you are already connected.

Mondays, 3-4:30 p.m.
Facilitator: Conner Burry

Wednesdays, 2-3:30 p.m.
Facilitator: Doug Newcomb

Thursdays, 2-3:30 p.m.
Facilitator: Conner Burry

Fridays, 10-11:30 a.m.
Facilitator: Doug Newcomb

This group is a living laboratory to explore our default ways of being with one another, and to try out new ways of relating. It is an excellent place to explore what gets in the way in your relationships- have trouble advocating for yourself? Talking about personal issues? Telling someone they hurt your feelings? USO Group is a great place to try this out in a safe and confidential environment, and explore why these things might be hard for you. In this interpersonal process group, we will use the here and now to try out new ways of relating. Students report feeling less alone in their struggles, understanding themselves better, and growing in their relationships.

Thursdays, 3-4:30 p.m.
Facilitators: Patrice Anderson and Jacquie Compagnoni

This is a clinical group focused on helping students to explore their identity, strengths, and values. We will explore how negative thoughts and impostor syndrome can impact their identity and confidence. Through this short and fast-paced group, students will engage in conversation and activities on self-discovery, identity development, and acceptance.

Tuesdays, 3-4:30 p.m.
Facilitator: Conner Burry

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a useful treatment modality for LGBTQIA+ folks as it is a method that helps clients to interact more effectively with invalidating environments. In the last year specifically, the larger social climate of the United States has become increasingly invalidating for LGBTQIA+ people, and a need to develop new ways of coping with this stigma has been observed. In this group, students will received a mixed-methods experience, offering them a chance to connect and support one another through navigating an invalidating social environment, while simultaneously learning concrete DBT skills to help them better cope with the stigma they experience. Offered in two modules, this semester, we will focus on using Core Mindfulness skills to explore the ways we internalize stigmatizing messages from our social zeitgeist, as well as Emotion Regulation skills to develop new coping mechanisms when we experience this stigma.

For more information, contact our Groups Coordinator, Conner Burry, at clbycc@rit.edu.