Fall Term Drop-In Support Groups and Skills Groups
A supportive space for students to connect, discuss, and build community. Students may attend as many of the meetings as they find helpful. Though a therapist will be present, please note that these services are not considered to be counseling, therapy, or treatment. They may, however, still be beneficial to the emotional well-being of participants.
Black Joy Sessions: Finding Joy Within
Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m. (weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10)
Location: Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center
Facilitator: Dr. Cecile Gadson
Black students, faculty members, and staff are invited to engage in activities that center Black joy including art, laughter, music, and movement. Black Joy Sessions create a space to center a celebration of Black culture, uplift, heal, and empower using a liberated narrative of the Black experience. This space is designed to be an easy, transformative, and love-infused space to create, express, and (re)claim Black joy.
Black CommUNITY Table
Wednesdays, 3:00 p.m. (weeks 3, 5, 7, 9, 11)
Location: Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center
Facilitators: Dr. Cecile Gadson and Dr. Aris Hall
In collaboration with the Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center, Black CommUnity Table provides a space for Black** students and staff to connect for a weekly discussion related to the strengths and challenges within the community. The discussion varies weekly with topics ranging from campus climate and activism to mental health as well as popular culture. We welcome Black students and staff for an open dialogue where they can be their radical and authentic selves. This space will be part of Wellness Wednesdays.
Kuponya: Centering Black Healing
Fridays, noon (weeks 3, 7, 11)
Location: Zoom meeting, register in advance
Facilitator: Dr. Cecile Gadson
Black-identified* students, faculty members, and staff engage in guided soulfulness mindfulness; African-centered healing strategies; and dialogue to promote collective healing. Connect, breathe, and heal in a space designed specifically for you. This group is also available upon request. Please complete the outreach and presentation request form.
*Black, African, African American, Afro-Latinx, Afro-Caribbean, or the African Diaspora
Kuponya Connect: Centering Black Grad Wellness
Check social media for updated time and location information
Facilitator: Dr. Cecile Gadson
Dedicated space that empowers Black* graduate students through community support, resources, and focus on holistic wellness. These events provide nourishing meals with activities that range from healing circles, Black joy sessions, meditation and wellness workshops. By achieving these goals, we aim to not only alleviate food insecurity but also empower Black graduate students through community support, resources, and a focus on holistic well-being.
*Black, African, African American, Afro-Latinx, Afro-Caribbean, or the African Diaspora
Anxiety Skills Lab Workshop Series
Mondays, 3:00–4:15 p.m. (weeks 3, 5, 7)
Location: University Health Services Training Center
Facilitator: Kate Phillips
Feeling anxious? If so, you aren’t alone. Many UO students identify difficulties navigating stress and anxiety. This drop-in Anxiety Skills Lab aims to help students improve their understanding of anxiety while also teaching anxiety-management strategies so students feel more in control and better equipped to deal with challenges in their lives.
queerly beloved (formerly known as LGBTQ+ Drop-In Support Group)
Wednesdays, 3:00–4:00 p.m.
Location: The Hub, 123 Living Learning Center North
Facilitator: tayler thompson
This is a safe and confidential drop-in space to talk, explore, support, challenge, and just be present in your identity without having to explain, educate, or fear judgment. This LGBTQ+ support group is for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and/or other gender or sexual minority identities. This group will have weekly themes, which will be posted in various locations for students to access. Stay tuned for more information about themes and how students can learn about the themes!
Fall Term Therapy Groups
Creating Healthy Relationships*
Mondays, 2:00–3:30 p.m.; Tuesdays, 2:30–4:00 p.m.
Facilitators: Sarah Anderson-Wilk and Haidee Reff
This is a processing and support group designed for individuals who want to build and maintain healthier, more meaningful relationships with themselves and others. Whether you’re navigating romantic partnerships, friendships, family dynamics, peer connections, this group offers a safe space to explore relationship patterns, strengthen communication skills, set healthy boundaries, and deepen self-awareness.
Living with Loss Support Group*
On hold for fall term. Returning winter term.
Facilitator: Kristen Besler
Navigating the loss of someone close to you can be an overwhelming and sometimes isolating experience as a college student. This group is aimed to help students navigate the grieving process to facilitate understanding and healing. Members of this group will have an opportunity to learn about the grief process, express and explore emotions related to grief in a safe space, feel connected to and supported by others experiencing loss, and gain a greater understanding of how grief and loss impacts them.
Graduate, Nontraditional, and Parent Support Group*
Wednesdays, 12:30–2:00 p.m.
Facilitator: Melissa Gomsrud
This group is a safe, welcoming, and affirming space for all graduate and nontraditional students, including students who are parenting. Group members will be able to share and receive support in a space that acknowledges each person’s current concerns and life experiences while being able to navigate challenges within a strong and supportive community.
Healing from Family Challenges*
Thursdays, noon–1:30 p.m.
Facilitators: Kimberly Wasserman and Julia Le Grande
For students who have experienced significant distress or dysfunction within their family of origin (such as abuse, substance use, divorce or separation, etc.), which has impacted core beliefs about self and others, self-worth, and relationships with others. Focus is on increasing self-awareness, exploring impact of family experiences, enhancing interpersonal skills, and working toward personal goals.
Sista Circle**
On hold for fall term. Returning winter term.
Facilitator: Dr. Cecile Gadson
Sista Circle is a processing and support group for African-American/Black-identified** womxn to work through concerns such as academic stress, self-esteem, family challenges, relationships, identity development, mental health concerns, and much more. Group members will be able to work through their presenting concerns, find community, and be empowered in a protected therapy space.
Varsity Practice: Personal Growth for Men*
Wednesdays, 3:30–5:00 p.m.
Facilitator: Dusty Destler
Varsity Practice is a group for men wanting to develop greater awareness about themselves and how they relate to others. In this six-week group, facilitators and attendees support one another through struggles often experienced by young men, such as stress, anxiety, self-doubt, and loneliness. Group time is used to achieve greater awareness of thoughts and emotions, and devoted to identifying new strategies for connection with self and others. Through practice, group members may apply their new knowledge and ability to benefit their personal relationships and communities.
Trans, Nonbinary, Gender-Diverse/Expansive Support Group*
Fridays, 2:00–3:30 p.m.
Facilitators: tayler thompson and Kate Phillips
The Trans, Nonbinary, Gender-Diverse/Expansive Support Group is a place to build community, receive and provide support, share experiences, and find empowerment in the intersections between gender, life experience, and connection with others. Find support with TNBGD/E peers on identity, emotional health, relationships, self-esteem, academic stress, self-expression, and more.
Survivor Space*
Thursdays, 2:30–4:00 p.m.
Facilitators: Kimberly Wasserman and Haidee Reff
For students of all genders and identities who have had unwanted sexual experiences at any time in their lives. Members gain understanding of how sexual violence has impacted them, work on creating a sense of safety, grow their abilities to have meaningful connections with others, and address feelings that follow sexual violence.
Empowered*
Wednesdays, 10:00–11:45 a.m.
Facilitators: Kimberly Wasserman and Hannah White
When is the last time you lived fully in your body without caring what others thought? Is it difficult to identify, honor and communicate your boundaries? Do you wonder if you’re good enough? For people socialized as women in US, it is nearly impossible to avoid messages that cause us to compare ourselves to others, fear rejection and believe our worth lies in our body. Empowered is a group designed to critically consider oppressive systems that negatively impact our intersecting identities, and challenge the beliefs that have been holding us back from our fullest potential.
Catch Feelings: Former Student-Athlete Group*
Mondays, 2:00–3:30 p.m.
Facilitator: Dusty Destler
Catch Feelings is a group for former high school and college student-athletes wanting to process the shift from competitive sport participation to post-sport life. In this six-week group, facilitators and attendees support one another through struggles often associated with being a former student-athlete, such as change in identity, loneliness, confusion, grief, depression, and anxiety about the future. Group time is used in two ways to tap the mind-body connection: through sport-specific physical movement (e.g., throwing a softball, kicking a soccer ball), and participation in a supportive sharing and listening therapeutic group. The dual process aims to utilize muscle-memory to pull sport-related thoughts and feelings into awareness for integration into new life chapters and relationships.
Connecting Through Chronic Health Conditions*
Wednesdays, 2:30–4:00 p.m.
Facilitators: Haidee Reff and Sarah Anderson-Wilk
Living with a chronic health condition can be isolating, overwhelming, and emotionally challenging especially while navigating your college career. This supportive process group offers a safe and understanding space for students managing long-term physical health issues.
*Groups that require a pre-group orientation meeting
**Black, African, African American, Afro-Latinx, Afro-Caribbean, or the African Diaspora
What to expect from a pre-group orientation: You will be meeting with the therapists who facilitate the group for a 20- to 30-minute appointment. At this meeting, you and the group therapists will get to know each other, you will get information about the group and how it functions, and about the structure and format of the group. You will also be oriented to how you can receive the most benefit from the group through intentional participation. This is also an opportunity for you to be able to ask any questions you have about the group. Once you and the therapists have talked about your needs and your goals, a decision is collaboratively made about whether this group is the best fit for you.