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Group Counseling


 

Psychoeducational & Support Groups

 

Please share the following information about the psychoeducational & support groups (coordinated by the Counseling Center team, for WKU students) offered this Spring 2023:

  • An Introduction to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction | 4-Session Group Program
  • Psychological Skills for Helping Self, Relationships, & Communication | 6-Session Group Program
  • Sexual Assault Services Support Group

Below is a brief description of each opportunity, with dates, times, and registration link (if applicable); however, please look at the flyers attached for more information about the first two group offerings. Please share widely with students whom you think may be interested in any of our offerings.

Thank you,

The Counseling Center Team

An Introduction to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction | (4-Session Group Program)

  • Spring 2023 for WKU Students (WELL-U credit offered!)
  • WKU Zoom Portal: Coming Soon!
  • 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15 & 22, March 1 & 8, 2023

This is a shortened version of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program for college students. MBSR is an evidence-based group program for adults to cultivate mindfulness and develop mindfulness-based skills to cope with various life stressors effectively for a wide range of physical and mental health benefits.

We will meet via Zoom for 4 sessions to deepen our understanding of mindfulness, practice mindfulness-based skills and meditation together, and support one another in building our “mindfulness muscle” (in our brains!) by daily practice for a month.

Attendance to all 4 sessions, some readings from the textbook (Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn, about 1 hour weekly), and practice of mindfulness-based skills/meditation at home (at least 10 minutes daily) are strongly encouraged to receive the full benefits of this program, such as reduced stress reactions, lowered blood pressure and heart rate, enhanced attention and concentration, management of anxiety, prevention of recurrent depression, and improvement of eating habits.

*No need to purchase the book unless you want to own your personal copy (about $10 in online bookstores). Reading assignments will be accessible via WKU Blackboard to registered participants prior to each session. The electronic version of this book is also accessible via WKU Library.

Click the link to register with your WKU email address by -Coming Soon!

If you have any questions, email Masami Matsuyuki, Ph.D. (WKU Counseling Center) at masami.matsuyuki@wku.edu

  

Psychological Skills for Helping Self, Relationships, & Communication | (6-Session Group Program)

  • Spring 2023 for WKU Students (WELL-U credit offered!)
  • WKU Zoom Portal: Coming Soon!
  • 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, 29, April 5, 12, 19 & 26, 2023

 

  • Session 1: Introduction & Dialectics (3/22)
  • Session 2: Mindfulness (3/29)
  • Session 3: Emotion Regulation (4/5)
  • Session 4: Distress Tolerance (4/12)
  • Session 5: Interpersonal Effectiveness (4/19)
  • Session 6: Interpersonal Effectiveness 2 & Wrap Up (4/26)

 

This program is an adapted version of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills Training for college students who are interested in improving their intrapersonal, interpersonal, and communication skills.

Although DBT is known as an evidence-based treatment for various mental disorders, this program is designed to be a psychoeducational workshop for self-help, not a group therapy for treatment. If you have any questions or concerns about whether or not this program is appropriate for your needs and interests, please contact: Masami Matsuyuki, Ph.D. (masami.matsuyuki@wku.edu) at the WKU Counseling Center before you register.

Participants are strongly encouraged to attend all 6 sessions and practice newly learned skills between sessions in order to receive the full benefits of this program. Sessions 1 and 2 cover the foundational contents and skills for this program. Each session covers different contents and skills relevant to the topic of the session, and what participants learn in one session will be built upon what they learn in the preceding session(s).

Click the link to register: Coming Soon!

 

LGBTQ+ Support

Visit the WKU Pride Center for information and a listing of helpful links. Graves Gilbert Clinic LGBTQ general health care needs information.

 

Sexual Assault Services Support group

Hosted, via Zoom, on Tuesday’s

The purpose of the SASS group is to provide a supportive and safe space for members who have been victims and survivors of sexual assault.  This trauma can be at any point in their life.  The group will allow students share their own stories as they become comfortable, depending upon their healing process, and learn from other members to reinforce that they are not alone. 

This group is “BY REFERRAL ONLY”; therefore, please email Elizabeth Madariaga, WKU Counseling Center Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor & Sexual Assault Services Coordinator, at: elizabeth.madariaga@wku.edu if you believe a student would benefit and is interested in attending. Please make sure the student is aware that you are referring them BEFORE making a referral for the student.  You may also share Elizabeth’s contact information with the student and they can refer themselves and/or find out additional information. 

*To safeguard privacy, observers, screenshots, video and audio recordings are not permitted in this support group.

 

 

Updated: 1/23/22 @ 1:08 PM

 

 

Information



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 Last Modified 1/10/24