Winter 2013 Counseling Groups Open to Graduate Students
CAPS offers 17 process, skills, and/or support groups that are available for graduate students. These groups take place in an inviting and confidential environment on the 3rd floor of the Michigan Union. The groups begin meeting a few weeks after the start of each semester, typically last around 8 weeks, and are free for U-M students. Check out our Group Videos page!
Understanding Self and Others
Would you like to enhance your personal relationships? Curious about how others perceive you? Would you like a place to share personal experiences and get feedback? Are you anxious or depressed and wondering how this impacts your relationships? These groups provide a confidential and supportive atmosphere to explore new ways of relating to others while learning about yourself and getting support from other students like you! A pre-group meeting is required. For more information e-mail the groups coordinator at jmutinda@umich.edu, to be connected with a facilitator for a pre-group meeting.
Mondays, 1:00-2:30 pm, Dwaine Campbell, Ph.D and Liz Schneider-Bateman L.L.M.S.W. Post M.S.W. Fellow
Wednesdays, 2:00-3:30 pm, Tim Davis, Ph.D and Matthew Schottland, Doctoral Intern
Stories of Recovery
(A group for women recovering from Disordered Eating and Distorted Body Image)
This therapy group is intended for students who are currently recovering from an eating disorder or distorted body image and would like to talk about themes essential to recovery in a supportive, safe environment. It will be a confidential, semi-structured, 9-week group utilizing metaphor and story along with guided discussion. Each 90-minute meeting will focus on a recovery-related topic such as intuition, assertiveness, and nurturance. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to schedule a pre-group meeting, contact the leader Holly Davis at holdavis@umich.edu.
This therapy group is intended for students who are currently recovering from an eating disorder or distorted body image and would like to talk about themes essential to recovery in a supportive, safe environment. It will be a confidential, semi-structured, 9-week group utilizing metaphor and story along with guided discussion. Each 90-minute meeting will focus on a recovery-related topic such as intuition, assertiveness, and nurturance. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to schedule a pre-group meeting, contact the leader Holly Davis at holdavis@umich.edu.
Mondays, 3:15-4:45 pm, Holly Davis, Pre-Doctoral Intern and Toni Crocilla, Practicum Student
Coping Skills: Interpersonal Effectiveness
In this 8-week supportive, Mindfulness-based, educational group you will learn practical, empowering skills to better manage intense emotions that often can cause problems in relationships. You can learn to lessen the intensity of your feelings, and to balance emotion with rational thinking. You will learn skills to improve how you react to and interact with others, thus improving the quality of your relationships, your self-esteem, and your overall quality of life. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to schedule a pre-group meeting, contact the leaders at racrutch@umich.edu orryonmcd@umich.edu.
Mondays, 5:15-6:45 pm, Rachel Crutchfield, L.M.S.W. and Ryon McDermott, Ph.D., Post Doctoral Fellow
Personal Empowerment by Managing Anger
This group is open to undergraduate and graduate men and women. Members will discuss their anger, difficulties they have managing their anger (when appropriate), learn why they can’t manage their anger, why they have difficulties expressing their anger (when appropriate), anger expression skills, and anger management skills. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to schedule a pre-group meeting, contact the leader La Reese Collins at lareesec@umich.edu.
Tuesdays, 5:30-7:00 pm, La Reese Collins, Ph.D., L.M.SW, A.C.S.W., B.C.D.
Graduate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Support
This confidential group is for registered U-M graduate students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, transgender or questioning. This group focuses on ways sexual and gender orientations and identities interact with the unique challenges of being a graduate student. In the past, this group has focused on such issues as: how “out” to be on campus, coming out later in life, being out in career, balancing relationships or pursuing relationships while in graduate school, and accepting the fluidity of one’s sexual identity. The focus of this group is truly dependent on the make-up of the group. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to schedule a pre-group meeting, contact the leader Mark Sampson atmarksamp@umich.edu or Justin Harms at jusharms@umich.edu.
Wednesdays, 12:15-1:45 pm, Mark Sampson, Ph.D. and Justin Harms, Pre-Doctoral Intern
Conquering Social Anxiety
This group is open to undergraduate and graduate male and female students. Members will learn what social anxiety is, why they experience social anxiety, discuss their social anxiety experiences, learn social anxiety reduction tools and communication skills, role play interacting with other students, and obtain skills to enable them to have a fuller campus and general life. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to schedule a pre-group meeting, contact the leader La Reese Collins at lareesec@umich.edu.
Wednesdays, 1:30-3:00 pm, La Reese Collins, Ph.D., L.M.S.W., A.C.S.W., B.C.D
Sister-Friends (Graduate Black Women)
Sister Friends is an empowering and supportive group for Black female graduate students. In this group we will explore issues relevant to Black women including self esteem, relationships, spirituality, academic pressures, beauty & body image, combating stereotypes, discovering HERstory, and the myth of the "Strong Black Woman." Black women will facilitate this group. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to schedule a pre-group meeting, contact the leader Joy Mutinda at jmutinda@umich.edu.
Wednesdays, 3:15-4:45 pm , Joy D. Mutinda, Ph.D.
Las Comadres (Graduate Latina)
This is a supportive and therapeutic group designed for graduate Latina students. This is an empowering space to discuss the joys and challenges of being a graduate student; in particular, what it means to be a Latina graduate student at U-M. Topics include but are not limited to: academics, relationships, family, and overall wellness. Pre-group meeting required, contact Elizabeth Gonzalez at lizbethg@umich.edu.
Wednesdays, 5:30-7:00 pm, Elizabeth Gonzalez, L.L.M.S.W.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
This group is designed to help students explore the ways that mindfulness meditation can help quiet the mind, improve attention, and enhance overall wellness by cultivating present moment awareness. No meditation experience necessary. Group participants will learn a variety of meditative techniques with the goal of establishing a daily individual meditation practice. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to set up a pre-group meeting contact the leader Laura Monschau at lauralm@umich.edu.
Thursdays, 12:00-1:30 pm, Laura Monschau, Ph.D.
The Men’s Group (Graduate Interpersonal)
This is a confidential group where guys can let their guards down and work on improving their relationships and becoming more of the men they’re meant to be. The group is open to male graduate students. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to schedule a pre-group meeting, contact the leader Ed Huebner at huebnere@umich.edu.
Thursdays, 2:00-3:30 pm, Ed Huebner, L.M.S.W.
Mind-Body Support for Anxiety
Group members will gain new tools for decreasing mental and physiological symptoms of anxiety by exploring thoughts, physiological response and anxiety themes, while connecting with others in a confidential space. For more information or to schedule a pre-group meeting, contact the leader Claudia Miller, N.P. clmiller@umich.edu.
Thursdays, 2:30-4:00 pm, Claudia Miller, N.P. and Whitney Begeman, Practicum Student
Q-POC (LGBTQQ People of Color)
In this confidential, safe, and supportive environment group participants may explore issues such as inclusion/exclusion in the LGBTQQ community, navigating multiple and intersecting identities, social isolation, questioning and coming out issues, relationships with family/friends and academic issues. Facilitators of this group identify as members of this community. This is co-created space. A pre-group meeting is required. Please contact the leaders kshorton@umich.edu orwlryan@umich.edu.
Thursdays, 3:30-5:00 pm, Kiyana Horton, L.L.M.S.W and Ryan Wade, Social Work Intern
Women’s Group (Graduate)
This group is designed for U-M graduate women seeking a supportive therapeutic space to share their experiences at U-M and other contexts of their life, navigating their multiple identities within these contexts. Common themes include navigating academic demands, interpersonal relationships with peers, partners, family members, advisors and professors among others. This group is also a great forum for graduate women simply connecting with other graduate women. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to set up a pre-group meeting contact the leader Rachel Crutchfield atracrutch@umich.edu.
Thursdays, 4:30-6:00, Rachel Crutchfield, L.M.S.W. and Natalie Burns, L.L.M.S.W., Post M.S.W. Fellow
Beginning Meditation
This group is for individuals who are interested in learning some basic meditation skills and who would benefit from incorporating meditation into their lives. Meditation is an effective way to manage stress, anxiety, and to increase focus and productivity. The group will be open weekly on a drop-in basis; each week the basic instructions for meditation will be presented. No pre-group screening is required. Starts 1/24.
Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 pm, Jerry Dowis, Ed.D
Lesbian, Bisexual, Queer and/or Questioning Women’s Support Group
This supportive and therapeutic group is designed for women who love women, regardless of identities or labels. Together we will create a safe and confidential place to discuss identities, communities, coming out, self-esteem, relationships, sexuality, the “isms” and other topics of interest to group members. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to schedule a pre-group meeting, contact the leader Vicki Hays at vhays@umich.edu.
Fridays, 3:15-4:45 pm, Vicki Hays, Ph.D. and Sara Fitzgerald, Social Work Intern
Gender Identity and Trans/Gender
This supportive and therapeutic group is designed for University of Michigan students who are questioning or exploring their gender identity and for those who may consider themselves gender-variant. The focus of this group is to create a safe and confidential space to discuss identities, coming out, navigating life in college, relationships with friends and family, dating, career concerns, and other topics of interest to group members. A pre-group meeting is required. For more information or to schedule a pre-group meeting, contact the leader Vicki Hays at vhays@umich.edu.
Day and Time TBD,Vicki Hays, Ph.D.
Unwanted Sexual Contact
This is a safe and confidential group for women who have experienced unwanted sexual contact as adolescents or adults to join together in support on the journey towards understanding the impacts of sexual trauma and learning to heal. The group provides space to process thoughts and feelings, allowing group members to share as little or as much as they want about their process of recovery with others who have had similar experiences. We will also focus on important topics like developing coping strategies, cultivating support, awakening your inner power, and creating a community of connectedness with other survivors. If you or someone you know may be interested, please contact Natalie Burns at neburns@umich.edu or Liz Schneider-Bateman at elizbate@umich.edu.
Day and Time TBD, Natalie Burns, L.L.M.S.W. and Liz Schneider-Bateman, Post M.S.W. Fellow
