Groups & Workshops

Anxiety Toolbox focuses on helping you understand anxiety symptoms and build skills to manage these symptoms. The sessions include modules dedicated to: (1) understanding anxiety, (2) introducing a method for slowing down and disentangling the experience of anxiety, and (3) developing alternative responses to anxiety.  By the end of the workshop, you will have your own individualized plan for managing anxiety.

Thursdays 2:30-3:30 March 23, 30, & April 6th. Facilitated by Anita Hodnett.

Location: Counseling Services (Check in at the front desk).

Sign up here.

BRIDGE (Building Relationship Intimacy and Dialogue Effectiveness) focuses on identifying ways to foster healthy relationships via self-monitoring, effective communication, and conflict resolution skills. The sessions include modules dedicated to help you: (1) better understand your values and boundaries in relationships, (2) learn the role of culture in communication, different styles of communication, and strategies for effective communication, and (3) identify common causes of conflict and effective conflict management techniques.

Wednesdays 2:30-3:30 March 29, April 5, & 12th. Facilitated by Meredith Harrison.

Location: Counseling Services (Check in at the front desk).

Sign up here.

This group is for students who experience disordered eating and body image concerns and are actively in recovery for these concerns. This will be a space to connect with others who experience similar challenges, explore themes related to relationship with food and body, and build on skills to cope with these challenges.

This group will meet weekly in Spring 2023 Mondays 12:30-1:30.

There is a pre-group screening required prior to joining the group. If you are interested in participating in this group please talk with your individual counselor or contact group facilitator, Christine Borzumato-Gainey (cgainey@elon.edu), for more information.

Tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Quest allow participants to take on the persona of fictional characters and to complete daring adventures across mysterious worlds. This therapy group takes the core elements of these games but also challenges you to set goals that will improve your behavior and mindset in the real world.

In Dungeons, Dragons, & Therapy you will work with a psychologist to create a fantasy character that is personalized to you and your goals. This character might excel at something with which you struggle, be the complete opposite of who you are, or be designed you help you emphasize any given attribute. Within sessions of Dungeons, Dragons, & Therapy you will interact with other players not only to find treasures, solve puzzles, and converse with enigmatic individuals–but also to express meaningful parts of yourself. No previous experiences with Dungeons and Dragons or other Role Playing Games is required.

This group has stated and is closed for Spring 2023. If you are interested in participating in this group in Fall 2023, please contact the game master/groups coordinator, Meredith Harrison (mharrison19@elon.edu).

Eat, Pray, Love is a four-week workshop designed to empower fem of core identified students at Elon University. The workshop is designed for people who are seeking self-awareness, self-love, and self-discovery. It’s designed to be interactive and fun, but you aren’t required to participate verbally if you’re not comfortable. Because of the nature of the work we will cover, the workshop will remain small. Each week will have a different theme based on our relationships with food (eat), spirituality or values (pray), and love (loving yourself and others).

April 14, 21, 28, and May 5.

For questions or scheduling a pre-group screening, talk with your individual counselor or reach out to group facilitator, Cara Plasencia at cplasencia@elon.edu

A workshop designed to help you better manage stress, anxiety, and other emotions productively, learn mindfulness skills, and identify what’s most important to you and prioritize accordingly. This combines evidence-based practices with both conceptual and experiential tools. No screening or prior meeting with Counseling Services necessary. Space is limited so secure your spot by singing up by the date/time that works best for you.

Tuesdays 3:30-4:30 April 4, April 11, April 18. Facilitated by Tumi Shadreck.

Location: Virtual

Sign Up here.

Relationships play an important role in mental health. This process group is open to students who are interested in gaining greater self-awareness, understanding their relationships with others, and practicing healthier ways of relating to others. To foster connection and growth within the group, membership is limited, and participants are expected to commit to regular attendance throughout the semester. Group sessions are typically 1 ½ hours and held weekly throughout the semester.

This group has started and is closed for Spring 2023.

Facilitator, Tal Fish at tfish@elon.edu 

If you are interested in participating in Fall 2023, talk to your individual clinician or reach out to the groups coordinator, Meredith Harrison at mharrison19@elon.edu.

We offer a variety of groups and workshops that fall into two general categories:  events you can “show up” for and those that you need to “sign up” for.  for “Show Up” groups and workshops, there’s no need to do anything other than to drop in when the workshop is taking place.  Feel free to bring a friend!  These events are about giving information about topics that students might find interesting or helpful to them.  “Sign Up” groups and workshops require a student to either speak with a counselor before entering a group or to sign up for a workshop due to limited space.  Instructions for how to sign up are listed under each group and workshop, or, you can always call counseling services for instructions on how to sign up for a group.  Both “Sign Up” and “Show Up” groups are completely free for Elon students.

In group therapy, six to ten people meet face-to-face with one or more trained group therapists and talk about what is troubling them. Members also give feedback to each other by expressing their own feelings about what someone says or does. This interaction gives group members an opportunity to try out new ways of behaving and to learn more about the way they interact with others in a safe environment. The content of the group sessions is confidential; what members talk about or disclose is not discussed outside the group.

When people come into a group and interact freely with other group members, they usually recreate those difficulties that brought them to group therapy in the first place. Under the skilled direction of a group therapist, the group is able to give support, offer alternatives, or gently confront the person. In this way the difficulty becomes resolved, alternative behaviors are learned, and the person develops new social techniques or ways of relating to people. During group therapy, people begin to see that they are not alone. Many people feel they are unique because of their problems, and it is encouraging to hear that other people have similar difficulties. In the climate of trust provided by the group, people feel free to care about and help each other.

Talk about what brought you to the counseling center in the first place. Tell the group members what is bothering you. If you need support, let the group know. If you think you need confrontation, let them know this also. It is important to tell people what you expect of them.

Unexpressed feelings are a major reason why people experience difficulties. Revealing your feelings is an important part of group and affects how much you will be helped. The appropriate disclosures will be those that relate directly to your present difficulty. How much you talk about yourself depends upon what you are comfortable with. If you have any questions about what might or might not be helpful, you can always ask the group.

You control what, how much, and when you share with the group. Most people find that when they feel safe enough to share what is troubling them, a group can be very helpful and affirming. We encourage you not to share what you are not ready to disclose. However, you can also be helped by listening to others and thinking about how what they are saying might apply to you.

Actually, group therapy is often more efficient than individual therapy for two reasons. First, you can benefit from the group even during sessions when you say little but listen carefully to others. You will find that you have much in common with other group members, and as they work on a concern, you can learn more about yourself. Secondly, group members will often bring up issues that strike a chord with you, but that you might not have been aware of or brought up yourself.

It is very important that group members feel safe. Group leaders are there to help develop a safe environment. Feedback is often difficult to hear. As group members come to trust and accept one another, they generally experience feedback and even confrontation as positive, as if it were coming from their best friend. One of the benefits of group therapy is the opportunity to receive feedback from others in a supportive environment. It is rare to find friends who will gently point out how you might be behaving in ways that hurt yourself or others, but this is precisely what group can offer. This will be done in a respectful, gentle way, so that you can hear it and make use of it.

Group therapy is being recommended to you because your intake counselor believes that it is the best way to address your concerns. We do not put people into group therapy because we don’t have space in individual therapy, or because we want to save time. We recommend group when it is the most effective method to help you. Your intake counselor can discuss with you why group is what we recommend for you.

Most people are anxious about being able to talk in group. Almost without exception, within a few sessions people find that they do begin to talk in the group. Group members remember what it is like to be new to the group, so you will most likely get a lot of support for beginning to talk in the group.