Group Counseling
Group counseling is often a beneficial form of therapy for many student concerns. Group counseling usually involves 4-6 students and 1-2 counselors or trainees as co-leaders. During that time, the members of the group discuss the issues that are concerning them while offering each other peer support and feedback.
Our groups bring together students with a variety of concerns that may include, but are not limited to:
- Being easily hurt or offended
- Interpersonal relationship concerns
- Social Anxiety
- Being personally affected by family or friends’ substance use concerns
- Stress
- Needing a lot of reassurance from others
- Lack of intimacy in relationships
Our group programs continue to grow every semester with SHU students reporting very positive experiences and results including identifying unhealthy behavior, understanding self better, understanding others better and improving relationships.
Testimonials
“Group helped me learn to talk with others better.” ~Male, Junior
“I now have a good idea of how I used to have irrational thoughts and miscontructed my own reality.” ~Male, Senior
“I learned I’m not as different as I thought and don’t feel alone.” ~Female, Senior
What skills can I gain from group?
- Learning to communicate more comfortably and effectively
- Identifying and exploring inner feelings
- Getting feedback from others
- Learning to express your own wishes and to act on your own behalf
- Being honest with self and others
- Becoming more sensitive to the ways people communicate
- Learning about closeness and intimacy
- Experimenting with new ways of relating to others
Why group works!
One of the major ways that group can be helpful to you is that it can replicate the ways you interact in your everyday life. Other group members and leaders can give feedback about how they perceive you and offer alternative ways of thinking and reacting in order to help you interact more productively.
Additionally, groups provide support, offer alternatives, or gently confront group members in such a way that difficulties can be resolved and new behaviors learned. It can be very encouraging to hear that others have experienced and worked through similar problems.
How can I trust what I say will be kept confidential?
At the SHU Counseling Center we emphasize and stress utmost confidentiality within our groups. Group members are asked to make a commitment to protect each other’s confidentiality by agreeing not to divulge any information that would identify other members outside of group. Our experience at SHU shows that group members respect each other’s privacy just as they respect their own. The only time the leaders of group would break confidentiality of one of its members is when a student expresses plans to harm himself/herself or others.
Call the Counseling Center for more information at 203-371-7955.