Group Therapy
Group therapy is often the best way to work on problems, especially when the problems deal with issues about your relationships. Being a member of a group allows you to interact with peers who are not part of your everyday life. These interactions, along with those of the therapist, can give you useful feedback that you may not get from friends or family. Group is also a safe environment where you can safely try out different ways of interacting with others, such as initiating conversations or improving your listening skills.
The specific groups available each semester vary in theme and time commitment, but in recent semesters we have offered groups for students struggling with anxiety (including social anxiety), depression, emotional regulation, eating issues, grief and loss, sexual identity, and general interpersonal issues for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Fall 2023 Group Offerings
The first step in joining a group is to schedule a phone screening at 848-932-7884 to discuss what group may be right for you.
BLACK AFFINITY WEDNESDAY
Wednesday 1:30- 2:55 pm (In person, CAC), Starting September 27, 2023
The Black Affinity Group will allow Black Students with a safe and authentic space to express themselves, and to be in community with other Black Students on the Rutgers Campus. It is designed to be a space of encouragement, building positive self-esteem and seeing the strengths in our struggles on campus and beyond.
COPE NOW
Monday 3:00-4:00 pm (In Person, CAC) Starting October 17, 2023 FULL/CLOSED
This is a workshop that meets weekly for 4 sessions. The goal is to give/build on practical skills to help manage your distress.
COPING WITH SOCIAL ANXIETY
Monday 3:00-4:00pm (In person, CAC) Starting October 17, 2023
Wednesday 5:30-6:30pm (In person, CAC) Starting October 25, 2023 FULL/CLOSED
Social anxiety is very common – probably more than you think. The good news is that you can overcome it! In this group you’ll learn what causes social anxiety and develop proven skills to change it. Students learn from and support each other in a non-judgmental and positive environment.
CONEXIÓN
Wednesdays, 2:30-3:55pm (Virtual) – FULL/CLOSED
This group is a supportive space for students who are LatinX or Afro-LatinX identified. The group provides individual members the opportunity to move forward towards self-healing through collective sharing while providing a safe atmosphere in which members can engage in authentic conversations around their experiences as LatinX and Afro LatinX students on campus. COMMON THEMES INCLUDE BUT ARENOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING: Intersecting identities, academic stressors, imposter syndrome, family conflict, intergenerational conflicts, relationship concerns, cultural factors, any other concerns hat impact our well-being.
CULTIVATING CALM
Monday 6:30-7:30pm (In Person CAC) starting October 9, 2023
Tuesday 5:30-6:30pm (In Person CAC) starting September 26, 2023 FULL/CLOSED
Wednesday 6:30-7:30pm (In Person CAC) starting October 4, 2023
Wednesday 6:30-7:30pm (In Person CAC) starting November 8, 2023
Monday 6:30-7:30pm (In Person CAC) starting November 20, 2023
Cultivating Calm Workshop is a 4-session workshop which provides psychoeducation about anxiety and reviews a variety of evidence-based interventions to help students manage anxiety (e.g., relaxation, cognitive, behavioral, mindfulness based, and acceptance-based techniques, among others). Each workshop session lasts approximately 60-75 minutes. Workshops run on a rolling basis throughout the semester. It is recommended that students begin attending at session 1 and continue through the 4 sessions, although students may also benefit from entering at session 2 and continuing through the 4 sessions.
DBT SKILLS
Monday: 1:30-2:55pm In Person, Starting September 25, 2023 – FULL/CLOSED
Friday 1:30-3:00pm In Person, Starting September 29, 2023 – FULL/CLOSED
A skills-based group that equips students with tools needed in everyday life. The four main modules are taught: Core Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
DISTRESS TOLERANCE WORKSHOP
Monday (In-Person) 2:00p – 3:00p December 11, 2023
Friday (In-Person) 2:00p – 3:00p December 15, 2023
Workshop to Review Coping Skills that can help in a time of increasing stress, such as finals.
E- MANAGE
Various Offerings (Virtual) – TBD
The E-manage workshop is a one-session, 90-minute workshop which reviews three skills from the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (Barlow et al., 2018) — Anchoring in the Present, Thinking Flexibly, and Countering Emotional Behaviors — and guides students through applications of these skills. The workshop is associated with a research project conducted by researchers at Rutgers and Harvard University, and students who participate in the workshop will be asked to register for it through Dr. Kleiman’s lab (link will be provided). Consistent with the emphases of the Unified Protocol, this workshop is appropriate for students with a wide range of emotional concerns who you believe may benefit from a single session that focuses specifically on three skills.
EARLY RECOVERY GROUP (ERG)
TDB
The Early Recovery Group is designed to support students who are considering life beyond substance-use or have embraced abstinence-based recovery. Members of the Early Recovery Group learn to identify then replace ineffective coping methods and negative thought patterns with healthier alternatives that support recovery on a college campus. To that end students will have an opportunity to receive feedback from their peers about academics, social life, family issues and other subjects with the ultimate goal of enhancing their lives and recovery in a supportive therapeutic environment.
FAMILYLGBTQ+
Friday 2:00-3:30pm (Virtual), Starting September 29, 2023
FamilyLGBTQ+ is a group for students who identify within the LGBTQ+ community and would like support navigating family concerns of acceptance and rejection in relation to sexuality and/or gender identity. The group will provide a safe space to discuss these concerns, brainstorm ways to manage family difficulties, and tools to cope if it is not safe to come out to family at this time.
FINISH LINE
Tuesday (In-person) 3:00p – 4:00p November 27, 2023, December 4 & 12, 2023
Students Hoping to get the most out of the semester, even though it is not going as planned. Struggling to finish the semester due to difficulty with organization and time management. Having difficulties with motivation and procrastination.
FLOW
Friday 12:50-2:30pm (In Person, DC)
The essence of this group is to develop healthy coping skills through the use of creativity, art, music, storytelling, sound healing, drumming and dance. The intention of the group is to help those who have anxiety, stress and for anyone who may need an alternative way to connect to their peers, through creativity and self-expression. It is also designed to help students get more connected within their own bodies, and hone in on our natural inner compass though these creative outlets like intuitive body movement, using your own voice, co-creating art, co-creating music, and much more…Each group will have a set theme, so students know what props to bring, and what to expect from each session. We will also take time to process thoughts, feelings, and emotions that may come up during these sessions. Students get the chance to find themselves utilizing their own innate gifts, talents and abilities.
GENDER IDENTITY GROUP:
Wednesday 2:00-3:30pm (Virtual) – FULL/CLOSED
Starting: Sept. 27th ending on the 10th session on Dec. 6th – FULL/CLOSED
The Gender Identity Support Group is specifically for students who identify as trans or questioning and includes being transgender, genderqueer, gender expansive, gender fluid, nonbinary, agender, etc. Our goal is to provide a safer space to discuss various challenges related to coming out as trans, how relationships with friends, family and others may be affected, managing emotional and physical changes related to transitioning, dealing with bias and discrimination, navigating name and gender pronoun changes, sexuality concerns, and anything else that may be impacting the wellbeing and functioning of our trans students.
GETTING UNSTUCK
Thursday 2:30 – 3:45pm (3 sessions starting October 26, 2023)
Thursday 2:30 – 3:45pm (3 sessions starting November 30, 2023)
Getting Unstuck focuses on helping you understand depressive symptoms and build skills to manage these symptoms. The sessions include modules dedicated to: (1) understanding depression, (2) exploring how thoughts and behaviors impact depression, and (3) addressing how you can begin to make changes to thoughts and behaviors in order to better manage depression. By the end of the workshop, you will have your own individualized plan for getting unstuck! ** Used with Permission from Cal Poly Counseling Services
GRADUATE GROUP
Friday, 1:00-2:30pm (In Person, CAC)
We find many times graduate students have issues related to making friends, sustaining relationships, self-esteem, and anxiety and the like, but do not have the proper forum of people their age or at their level to give them support. The present graduate group aims to provide a safe space and supportive setting for members. its goal is to help participants gain a better understanding of themselves and their relationship with others, particularly in the context of the gradate school experience. Students will have the opportunity to explore and share issues, concerns, and feelings they may have, Topics may include among others: social adjustment and loneliness, romantic relationships, handling conflicts with peers and professors, feelings of inadequacy, assertiveness, stress management and balancing family life and academics.
GRIEF & LOSS
Friday 11:00am -12:30pm (Virtual), Starting September 29, 2023
This is a support group for students who are struggling with grief and bereavement related to the loss of a loved one. Regardless of where students are at in the grieving process, the group can help with increasing awareness of how grief impacts functioning in all areas of life. The goal of the group is to help the students reflect on how grieving is an individual process and a natural part of life through radical acceptance, group support, and adaptive coping mechanisms.
HOPE AT HOME
Tuesday: October 3, 10 and 17th from 1:00-2:00pm (In person)
Monday November 20, 27th and December 4 from 2:00-3:00pm (virtual).
Are you affected by someone else’s substance use? Is it a parent, a sibling, a partner, a friend or a roommate? Caring for someone with an alcohol or drug problem can create serious challenges in our lives. This three session workshop will offer insight, guidance, and support in addressing these challenges in a safe place.
I AM NOT MY GRADES
Tuesday (In-Person) 3:00p – 4:30p December 5, 2023 – One session only
This group is for any student who struggles with feeling pressure to perform and has difficulty separating self-worth from external measures (e.g. grades).
In this one session 90-minute workshop we’ll offer strategies to cultivate self-acceptance independent of performance. We’ll also talk about building motivation to pursue success for positive reasons (There are things I want to pursue because they will enhance my life and support what I value but NOT because I “need” to achieve them to feel worthy of life and love).
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS WELLNESS
Fridays, 1:00-2:30pm (Virtual)
Are you an international student? Many international students face unique challenges due to cross‐cultural adjustment. Some experience homesickness, loneliness, language barriers, discrimination, and different levels of acculturative stress socially and academically. CAPS’ International Student Wellness Group is here to support you by providing a safe and confidential virtual space to discuss various concerns and to help you connect with each other.
ONE POSITIVE CHANGE
Thursday 4:00-5:15pm (Virtual) Starting September 28, 2023
One Positive Change is a group designed to help students reduce and minimize the risk associated with their substance use. We at ADAP recognize that making positive change with respect to one’s substance use is rarely a straightforward process; change often happens in starts and stops. So in the One Positive Change group we would like to honor students’ work and commitment to change and provide a space where students can process and practice new approaches to regaining or possibly forming a healthy relationship with substances.
OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATION
Tuesday (In-Person) 3:00p – 4:30. November 28, 2023 – One session only
This workshop is open to students expecting to struggle with procrastination and avoidance during the end-of-semester crunch time. This program offers a behavioral activation model to help students identify typical avoidance patterns and learn strategies they can immediately use.
INTERPERSONAL PROCESS GROUP UNDERGRAD
Friday 2:00-3:30pm (In Person, CAC) – FULL
Interpersonal process groups aim to support students with any social or interpersonal concern (e.g., challenges making or keeping friends, difficulty trusting others and being vulnerable, family conflict). These groups involve reflecting on communication and relationship patterns, providing and receiving feedback, and practicing different ways of relating in the group space. These groups require a group screening and consistent attendance is encouraged.
RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Wednesday, 1:15-2:45pm – In person (CAC)
Psycho-education and support group generally, but not exclusively, targeted for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Group will provide instruction, guidance and practice in developing, maintaining and understanding relationships: friendships, roommates, romantic/dating, academic and work.
WOMXM OF SUBSTANCE
Thursday 1:00pm (In person, CAC)
Here in this safe, confidential, non-judgmental environment, we will explore, process and identify alternatives to your relationship with drugs and alcohol. You can speak freely and honestly about your questions, concerns and observations, and benefit from the support and input of others struggling with similar issues. We will address how your use impacts all areas of your life as a student; physical, emotional, academic, spiritual, sexual and social aspects will be explored. We will offer resources and skills to help you cope with the life stressors you are experiencing.
NS Group Descriptions Fall 2023
Self- Compassion
Thursday 11:00-11:55am (Virtual)
Self-Compassion: Combines the skills of mindfulness and self-compassion to meet difficult internal and external experiences with less resistance. During the group, participants will learn about and practice mindful self-compassion skills. (OPEN TO ALL CAPS)
Study Buddies
Thursday 4:00-5:25pm (Virtual)
Weekly supportive study space open to all. Come to learn a brief skill around executive functioning. Students spend the remainder of the group working independently on school assignments, applying to internships/jobs, etc. Group begins with a review of goals for each student to work on. The remainder of the group is spent in quiet study. (OPEN TO ALL CAPS)
Yoga Meditation:
Friday 1:00-1:55pm (Virtual)
Yoga Meditation: Next Step Yoga Group will start and end with a short mindful or guided meditation. The group will then participate in one chair yoga flow and one standing yoga flow. We invite all students to turn off their cameras during the meditations and yoga flows. Cameras will be on for check-ins before, during and after group. Yoga group is for all bodies and all levels of experience. (OPEN TO ALL CAP
Individual Therapy
Individual psychotherapy and counseling at CAPS are interventions for college students who are experiencing depression, anxiety, loss, or situational difficulties such as adjusting to transition and change. The goal is to enhance the individual’s ability to manage their feelings and behaviors, make sound decisions, achieve personal goals, realize potential, and feel more in charge of their life.
The nature, approach, and concerns encountered in individual therapy vary greatly depending on the particular student’s issues and concerns. For college students going through significant developmental changes, individual therapy may be designed to address a particular challenge or to assist them gain insight to their current behaviors and feelings.
