Our general therapy groups are named Understanding Self and Others primarily because they are designed for students who wish to increase self-understanding, self-esteem, and intimacy in relationships, as well as address their interpersonal style and relationship-building skills. Group members come together with others who are also struggling with something about themselves or life with which they are not happy. The group provides a private, warm and supportive environment in which you can constructively experiment with new ways of relating to others, share personal experiences, express fears and concerns, and get support and feedback. A group orientation is required for group membership and is usually scheduled one-half hour before the start of your first group meeting or other convenient time that fits your schedule. Groups can be joined at any time in the semester.
Graduate students entering these Understanding Self and Others graduate groups will have the opportunity to explore personal issues and dynamics that are affecting their personal life, performance, and well-being while at Purdue. Group members will support each other around graduate school and interpersonal concerns and will explore and process how their interpersonal styles are related to their grad school experiences and life in general. The dynamic interactional patterns that occur within the group will be discussed and processed for the therapeutic benefit of group members. A group orientation for new members is required for group membership.
The Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Skills Group is for students whose coping skills are no longer working, resulting in their having difficulty controlling emotions and experiencing chaotic friendships and relationships. Students will learn a variety of skills to help control where they focus their attention, understand and reduce painful emotions, navigate relationships successfully, and tolerate distress in a skillful way. A group orientation and concurrent individual therapy are required for group membership.
This is a semi-structured therapy group for individuals struggling with body image distress, and is oriented toward students with dissatisfaction with weight or shape. The group will meet weekly and use mindfulness and acceptance techniques to help change the relationship with one’s body. This group is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and will be interactive. Topics will include detaching from negative body thoughts, practicing acceptance of emotions, identifying and committing to meaningful life activities that body distress has blocked, and engaging new ways of viewing personal identity.
This is a semi-structured group for individuals struggling with depression. The group will meet weekly and incorporate both psychoeducation-focused discussions and more unstructured process discussions within each session. Topics will largely focus on life aspects that contribute to depression as well as learning tools and strategies to manage symptoms and improve overall self-care. Learning tools, skills, and using behavioral change will be highly emphasized within this group. This is a more intensive group than the Getting Unstuck workshop and will run for at least 8 sessions. A 50-minute orientation must be completed prior to the group.
The Advanced Anxiety group provides an opportunity to explore and process personal experiences with anxiety and is designed to develop your understanding of and skill at managing anxiety and panic. Members will meet with others who share similar issues with anxiety and process feelings of anxiety in the moment during group. This is a semi-structured group that will meet weekly and incorporate both psychoeducation-focused discussions and more unstructured process discussions within each session. Topics will largely focus on life aspects that contribute to intense anxiety as well as learning tools and strategies to manage symptoms and improve overall self-care. Learning tools, skills, and using behavioral change will be highly emphasized within this group. This is a more intensive group than the Anxiety Toolbox workshop and will run for at least 8 sessions. An orientation must be completed prior to the group.
This confidential group is designed for individuals who identify their sexual orientation as non-heterosexual, including, but not limited to, gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, queer, questioning, or asexual.
The goal of this group is to provide a safe, affirming, and therapeutic experience, where students can share experiences, express hopes and fears, explore interpersonal patterns, and receive support and feedback both from other group members and from co-facilitators. We will spend time discussing issues related to sexuality and sexual orientation, however, no topic is off limits. Group members are encouraged to use the time to discuss and receive feedback on the concerns that are important to them.
We get together so that you, college students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or those with similar tendencies, can have a safe space to discuss and understand your experiences while at Purdue. In this group you will meet people who "get" you and who will provide honest feedback and genuine support. You will also have opportunities to try out and to practice social skills and to build friendships with fellow group members. What you learn here you can take to your everyday life outside of the group. The activities and discussions will center on specific themes that come up regularly in college life. Another goal is for group members to have fun, positive social experiences with leaders and other group members that will build confidence.
The Thrive Hour is a highly experiential venue for self-care and empowerment. Its primary purpose is to help you take care of yourself, let go of your stress, and enable you to get in touch with your inner strength and resources. Every session begins and ends with a mindfulness activity designed to draw your attention to the present moment, allowing you to calm your mind and body and relieve your current stress. Each session will focus on a resiliency strategy that will assist you in cultivating a positive sense of self. Through the use of TED talks, group discussion, and didactic learning, we will help you identify your resiliency and strengths, and offer you alternatives that can change your mindset and your overall sense of well-being.
RIO is a 3 session workshop that uses evidence-based interventions from ACT therapy to help you better stabilize yourself emotionally, think clearly, and access your personal strengths and supports. Each session includes the use of metaphors to explain principles of resilience, mindfulness exercises, and other experiential components that help you accept your emotional experiences and engage with them more flexibly. We also focus on connecting to your values and help you use those values to guide life choices. We include a student workbook that helps you practice the skills outside of session and provides additional support.
A fast-paced, four-session (50 minutes each) seminar specifically designed to help people who struggle with a variety of depression-related concerns. The goal is to provide education on depression and to teach coping skills for managing symptoms. The four seminars are divided into content that builds upon itself. The sessions will include activities that help students understand the experience of depression, explore how thoughts and behaviors impact depression, and how we can begin to make changes to our thoughts and behaviors in order to better manage depression.
Anxiety Toolbox is a fast-paced three-session seminar specifically designed to help people who struggle with a variety of anxiety-related concerns (e.g., panic attacks, Generalized Anxiety, test anxiety). The goal of this seminar is to provide education on anxiety and to teach coping skills for managing anxiety symptoms. The three seminars are divided into content that builds upon itself. In session one, we take a broad look at 4 symptom clusters of anxiety and introduce a method for slowing down and disentangling the experience of anxiety. In session 2, we focus on increasing insight on the thought patterns that impact anxiety; increasing awareness and understanding are major tools in addressing anxiety. In session 3, we develop alternative responses to anxiety and create a personalized action plan for managing anxiety.
