Group Counseling

You are not alone. Group counseling offers students a community of people with relating experiences, a safe space to discuss and receive feedback and a way to observe how others navigate struggle.

Group counseling is free and generally requires 3-5 students to participate. When a student communicates interest, they will meet with the facilitator to discuss specific details or concerns related to the group and determine if it's a good fit for them. Once the minimum number of students have been admitted, the facilitator will reach out to everyone individually.

Group therapy can be overwhelming for some. The effectiveness of group therapy for an individual is dependent on several factors. Some may also find both individual and group therapy beneficial.

Fall 2024 Groups

• Self-Esteem Improvement Group

  This group is aimed helping participants boost/improve their self-esteem. The focus of this group is interactive and psychoeducational. There is an initial screening appointment required for this group, and interested students should contact Dr. Carol Challenger at carol.challenger@okstate.edu.

• Anxiety Management Workshop

  This workshop focuses on reducing social and generalized anxiety. This group is an open, drop in group and does not require screening

• Melanin and Mental Health Process Group

  Being a college student is very challenging in itself, but presenting as a student of color at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) comes with its own specific set of challenges and obstacles.

   

  While some of the faced difficulties are known, studies show students of color are still far less likely to seek mental health services and resources than white students.

   

  Melanin and Mental Health is a processing group meant specifically for students of color to process any feelings, challenges and concerns related to being a student of color at a predominantly white school, and to provide support and foster connections with peers. We hope to normalize the experience of students of color and promote seeking help in a safe environment.

   

  Interested students should contact Nate Covington, LPC-C at nate.covington@okstate.edu.

• Body Image Group

  Do you struggle with self-esteem related to body image and comparing yourself to others? How much time do you spend thinking about your body and appearance? Do you want to develop a healthy relationship with your body?

   

  In this group, members will have a chance to explore their feelings about themselves and their bodies in a supportive environment. This will include exploring cultural, familial and social factors contributing to poor body image. Members will also work to explore ways to develop more appreciation, respect and confidence in their body and who they are.

   

  This group requires an initial brief meeting with the group facilitator to determine if the group will adequately address your reasons for attending the group. Interested students should contact Andrea Larabee, PhD, at andrea.larabee@okstate.edu for more information.

• Graduate Student Support

  Being in graduate school be challenging in many ways. The purpose of this group is to give time and space for processing the feelings, challenges and concerns you may have related to being in graduate school, and to provide mutual support and foster connection to peers. Topics may include academic stress, relationships with advisors and peers, balancing work and family life, identity-related issues, dissertation completion, navigating the academic job market and self-care.

   

  This group is open to anyone who is in a graduate program at OSU. This group requires a brief meeting with the group facilitator to learn more about the group and determine if it’s a good fit. Interested students should contact Jo Fullmer, LCSW at joanna.fullmer@okstate.edu for more information.

• Self-Compassion Mindfulness Group

  This group is designed for all of us who struggle with a harsh inner critic. Learn to treat yourself with the same warmth and kindness you would offer a close friend, especially in times of struggle.

   

  In this skills-based group, we learn and practice mindfulness exercises designed to build self-compassion and treat ourselves with kindness and care during difficult times. The group setting enables you to connect with other students with similar concerns and offer one another support and care as you build self-compassion and self-regard. No meditation experience required.

   

  This group requires a brief meeting with the group facilitator to learn more about the group and determine if it’s a good fit. Interested students should contact Jo Fullmer, LCSW at joanna.fullmer@okstate.edu for more information.

• Mental Health Series

  This workshop series will consist of four stand-alone sessions on common mental health topics and skills. The skills will be explained with examples, and then you will have a chance to practice them. Each week, there will be two options for the same session. Dates are to be determined.

   

  Emotional Awareness:

  In this session, we will discuss what emotions are, the purposes they have, mindfulness skills to provide you with present moment awareness and a plan for thinking through desired actions.  

   

  Distress Tolerance:

  Sometimes stressful things happen that are beyond our control. How can we deal with stress when we can’t change our situation? This session will go over why we feel anxiety and depression, how it works in our brains, ways to accept what has happened and improve the moment and how to create a distress tolerance kit with enjoyable items and activities. 

   

  Thinking Patterns:

  We often have unique ways of thinking that we develop at an early age and continue to use throughout our lives. Even though our brain may be trying to help us, sometimes our ways of thinking are unhealthy and unhelpful. This session will discuss ways our thinking and beliefs can sabotage us, what to replace them with and how to change the way we think about stressful circumstances. 

   

  Behavior Change:

  Our brains have developed neural pathways that help us automatically respond to situations over time. While this is meant to be helpful to us, sometimes we have been ingrained with responses that are not helpful. In this session, we will learn how our brain gets trained to respond to anxiety and depression. Then, we will go over useful tools to retrain our brains into new responses while weakening the old, unhelpful responses.