Group Therapy

Therapy Groups - FALL 2020

If you are a current client, please speak to your current therapist about joining a group.

If you are not a current client, please call to schedule an "Initial Consultation" and mention your interest in joining a group to the therapist.

If the group you are interested in is still accepting new members and follows your recommended treatment plan, the therapist will advise you to schedule a “Group Screening" appointment, a 20-30 minute meeting with the relevant group facilitator to further answer any specific questions you may have about the group and to ensure that the group is the right fit.
 

Group Name	Facilitator(s)	Day	Time	Start Date
Anxiety Support Group	Sarah Colwell, Psy.D. Jennifer Armstrong, Psy.D.	Tuesdays	3:00 PM - 5:00 PM	Week 6
Be Body Positive	Amelia Ramirez, LMFT Shawna Dobson, LPCC	Tuesday	3:00 PM - 4:00 PM	10.20.20
Connecting with Self & Others	Paul Carbajal, Psy.D. Diana Menendez, Psy.D.	Friday	1:10 PM - 2:40 PM	Running
Connecting with Self & Others	Jenilee Sneed, Ph.D. Shala Cole, Psy.D.	Wednesday	2:10 PM - 3:40 PM	Running
Female-Identified Survivors of Sexual Assault	Courtney de Blieck, Psy.D. Ana Cabezas, Psy.D.	Friday	1:00 PM - 2:30 PM	10.23.20
Grief Group	Courtney de Blieck, Psy.D. Jennifer Armstrong, Psy.D.	Friday	10:10 AM - 11:40 AM	CANCELED
LGBTQIA+	Kimberli Andridge, Psy.D. Becca Gillis, Psy.D.	TBD	TBD	TBD
Mindful Living	Becky Sznejkowski, Psy.D. Jennifer Armstrong, Psy.D.	Monday	2:10 PM - 3:40 PM	Running
Nourish (Sec. 1)	Amelia Ramirez, LMFT	Wednesday	10:10 AM - 11:00 AM	09/30, 10/6, 10/13
Nourish (Sec. 2)	Alison Aylward, Ph.D.	Friday	3:10 PM - 4:00 PM	10/16, 10/23, 10/30
Nourish (Sec. 3)	Courtney de Blieck, Psy.D.	Thursday	11:00 AM - 12:00 PM	11/5, 11/12, 11/19
Romantic Relationships	Kimberli Andridge, Psy.D. Alison Aylward, Ph.D.	Wednesday	2:00 PM - 4:00 PM	10/14/20
ROOTS (Reclaiming Our Origins Through Self-Exploration: A BIPOC Support Group)	Ana Cabezas, Psy.D. Diana Menendez, Psy.D.	Wednesday	10:10 AM - 11:40 AM	ASAP
Steady Steps	Becky Szenejkowski, Psy.D.	TBD	TBD	TBD

 

Group descriptions 

ADHD Support Group

This group is Hosted by the DRC in collaboration with Counseling Services.  Students with a current diagnosis of ADHD are welcome to give and get support around the impact of this diagnosis on daily functioning.  Please contact Dr. Isaac Brandt (ibrandt@calpoly.edu) for additional information and Zoom ID.

Anxiety Support Group

Are you anxious?  Is it hard for you to talk about your anxiety?  Do you panic imagining other people noticing you're anxious?

Anxiety does a great job of making us feel like we have to hide our experiences from others. It is not until we start talking with others about what we are going through that we learn that we are not alone. Our Anxiety Support Group is a group just for anxious folks who feel like their anxiety is getting in the way of them connecting with others. Our group content will be tailored to our group members' goals and will include skill-building around coping with anxiety. You will have the opportunity to meet with one of the Group Leaders prior to the first group meeting to make sure you feel like this is the right group for you!

Be Body Positive

The Be Body Positive Model was developed to teach people how to overcome conflicts with their bodies to lead happier, more productive lives. It is a solution-focused, whole-person model that offers positive messages of hope and freedom, and provides an alternative to the mainstream weight-focused health model that most individuals are taught. The goal is for people to gather information from a place of trusting their own intuitive wisdom in order to develop balanced and lasting self-care practices so they can focus on the parts of life that have purpose and meaning. The content of the group is influenced by the 5 Core Competencies developed by The Body Positive (www.thebodypositive.org): Reclaim Health; Practice Intuitive Self-Care; Cultivate Self-Love; Declare Your Own Authentic Beauty; and Build Community.

Better Decisions

Better Decisions is an ongoing weekly support group for students with substance misuse/abuse issues. Students will be met with a harm-reduction approach, where they can set goals to lessen the impact that their substance abusing behavior has on their life. Goals of group counseling are to: reduce stigma and isolation of substance abuse issues, assist in moving through stages of change, learn and implement healthy coping strategies, and remedy incongruence between values and behavior.  Please access the Zoom room at the designated time: https://zoom.us/j/91747014520.

Connecting with Self and Others

This therapy group is designed for students who struggle in relating with others and for those who want to better understand themselves in the context of their relationships. Relationship is used as a general term and includes: romantic, familial, friends, roommates, classmates, coworkers, professors etc. Members of this group will benefit from the interactive nature of the group. Members have the opportunity to share and receive feedback and practice new ways of connecting with themselves and others within the context of a safe environment. 

Female-Identified Survivors of Sexual Trauma Support Group

This is a support group for female-identified survivors of sexual trauma, including rape, sexual assault, abuse, exploitation, harassment, etc. The focus of the group will be on providing support to group members, normalizing their experiences, and exploring ways of building positive self-esteem and healthy coping mechanisms.  Contact your primary therapist, Dr. de Blieck (cdebliec@calpoly.edu) or Dr. Cabezas (acabezas@calpoly.edu), if interested in participating.

Gradutate Student Drop-In Support Group

A safe place for Graduate Students to seek out and offer support to peers around common experiences and challenges in graduate school.  All departments welcome!  Please access the Zoom room at the designated time: https://zoom.us/j/92823891003.

Grief Group

This is a semi-structured therapy group for all undergraduate and graduate students who have experienced the loss of a loved one through death. The loss can be past or recent and involve anyone who was close to the student (e.g., family member, partner, friend, etc.). The first part of each group session focuses on strategies and activities to allow students to better manage and process their grief, while the second part is dedicated to group discussion of how to implement these strategies.  While this group is open to all students who have lost a loved one, it is especially tailored to students who feel that their loss was traumatic or is interfering with their functioning. *A support group for pet loss can be found here through SLO Hospice: hospiceslo.org/support-groups/pet-loss-support-group.

LGBTQIA+ 

This group is designed to serve as a safe space in which students whom identify as LGBTQIA+ are able to discuss specific concerns directly or tangentially related to their identities. Group is primarily support based, including some process components. Group discussion is based on student needs, with some topics created by co-leaders to encourage discussion. Previous topics have included: coming out and being out (family, friends, academically, in the workforce), dating at Cal Poly, intersections of identities, and media/social representations of LGBTQIA+ individuals. 

Let's Talk

A free, confidential, one-on-one informal consultation space with a mental health provider for any Cal Poly student.  Students are seen on a first come, first served basis.  Please access the Zoom link at the designated time: https://zoom.us/j/97713861468

Let's Talk: Anything & Everything

A free, confidential, one-on-one informal consultation space with a mental health provider for Cal Poly students with marginalized identities.  Please access the Zoom link at the designated time: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86260282673 

Mindful Living

This 8-week psychoeducational and skills-based group is intended for individuals who are feeling stuck, generally unfulfilled, or distressed by any variety of psychological pain such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, isolation, etc.  The overall purpose of this group is to help individuals get unstuck and live a more fulfilling life by (1) enhancing their awareness of the psychological processes that contribute to feeling stuck; (2) helping them learn healthier ways to relate and respond to their distress; and (3) helping them commit to choices and actions that are guided by their deepest values.  Individuals will learn skills that help them connect to the present moment, understand how the content of their thoughts can trap them, and how their reactions to emotions can ultimately keep them stuck.  Through use of these skills and reconnection with their values, individuals will have more psychological flexibility to move their life in a fulfilling direction.

Morning Meditation

Jenilee Sneed, Ph.D., C-IAYT will be hosting a meditation every Monday morning to help you connect with yourself, increase mindfulness, and set intentions for your week. Please access the Zoom room at the designated time: https://zoom.us/j/91789785916.

Nourish

Nourish is a three-session group that was created to be helpful in learning how to recognize and better manage eating disorder symptoms. The main goals of Nourish are to allow students to develop more awareness of the impact of their eating disorder and to develop tools to begin to heal. Since treatment for eating disorders tends to be multi-faceted (e.g., individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, monitoring by a medical provider and Registered Dietician, etc.) and may require longer term treatment, Nourish is considered a supplement to individual therapy and focuses on providing psychoeducation about eating disorders, discussing individual motivations for change, and starting to design treatment strategies that are specific to each student. Feel free to download a PDF copy of the Nourish Student Workbook.

Romantic Relationships

This group is designed for those who are distressed about a current or recent romantic relationship.  It is meant to provide support for the painful, confusing, or frustrating emotions that arise from a difficult romantic relationship or recent breakup.  This group is also meant to help participants gain more insight into the factors contributing to these difficulties so they may move towards more fulfilling romantic relationships in the future.  Students will also have the opportunity to provide one another with interpersonal feedback.

ROOTS (Reclaiming Our Origin Through Self-Exploration: A BIPOC Support Group)

A space for BIPOC students to explore their intersecting identities and gain support through shared stories in the current political climate. Students will gain support through building community and fostering resilience. Each session will start with a reflection exercise followed by exploration through group dialogue.  

Steady Steps

This group is designed as a psychiatric disability advocacy/support group. Participants have been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder that has an ongoing impact on some aspect of their functioning (academic, social, occupational, self-care, self-image, etc.). Participants have experienced their symptoms for an extended period of time, or anticipate that their condition will be ongoing (although not necessarily life-long). Examples of diagnoses can include, but are not limited to, psychotic disorders, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, autism/Asperger's disorder, and personality disorders. The purpose of the group is to provide support to students with ongoing mental health concerns, explore resources both on and off campus, discuss strategies for dealing with symptoms, and examine how students can reach their academic and personal goals while simultaneously living with a mental illness.

Transfer Student Drop-In Support

A space for transfer students to seek out and offer support to peers around common experiences and challenges as transfer students.  Hosted by the Transfer Student Center in collaboration with Counseling Services.  All majors welcome!  Please contact Amelia Ramirez, LMFT (arami191@calpoly.edu) with additional questions, or access the Zoom room at the designated time: [Zoom ID coming soon].

Virtual RIO: A Drop-In Experiential Workshop

Via HIPAA-compliant Zoom:
https://zoom.us/j/99599620151?from=msft
Meeting ID: 995 9962 0151

Virtual Recognition/Insight/Openness (RIO) is an adaption of the three-week Emotional Wellbeing Workshop, and will run continuously through the summer (pending on student interest). You can begin this 3-part experiential workshop at any point and take it as often as desired.

RIO focuses on building skills and creating flexibility in how you respond to distress.  Each week will focus on a different concept that enhances wellbeing and includes modules dedicated to: (1) helping you gain a deeper understanding of your concerns, (2) creating flexibility in how you view and approach these issues, and (3) helping you take steps toward living with a wide range of emotions.  By the end of the workshop, you will have a better sense of your personal values and how you want to focus your energy. 

Download the RIO Student Workbook HERE.

Yin Yoga

Jenilee Sneed, Ph.D., C-IAYT will be teaching a Yin Yoga class every Thursday afternoon on Zoom. Yin Yoga uses long holds of primarily seated poses to increase flexibility and help you connect with your present moment experience. Yin Yoga is appropriate for all experience levels. Please access the Zoom room at the designated time: https://zoom.us/j/182753001