Group Counselling, Semester 2 2021
The Student Counselling Service supports the value of therapeutic and supportive groups in helping students manage distress and improve wellbeing. Groups can be very valuable for sharing one's experience with others who struggle in a similar way and exploring coping mechanisms in a supportive therapeutic environment.
Please see the calendar below for information on our upcoming groups and workshops.
Some groups focus on a particular issue that members of the group share in common. Other groups are open to any and all struggles that members might bring from week to week. Some groups require a commitment to attend, while others operate on a drop-in basis. It is very common for students to feel afraid or reluctant to join a group, but most who join report getting a huge amount from the shared experience with other students.
All groups are free of charge. See all the details below
Weekly Process Group (Drop In)
Date: Wednesdays during term, starting 11th November 2020.
Time: 1 to 2pm
Venue: Zoom
The group offers students a supportive place where they can discuss any challenges they are experiencing in relation to their emotional wellbeing. It will focus on providing a place where students can connect with others in similar situations, gain psychoeducational knowledge and skills which might be useful for the distress they are experiencing and help them to reflect and gain validation and acceptance around their own individual experiences.
https://forms.gle/qZRAibsXqZDgAYN46
Weekly Mindfulness Meditation Drop In (30 mins)
Date: Tuesdays, during term time
Time: 5pm to 5.30pm - please be on time to avoid disruption
Facilitator: Laura Brosnan
This is a short guided meditation practice, open to all - beginners and regular practitioners. This is a drop-in group which means no registration or commitment required.
Learning Outcomes
- Taking a breathing space in your day
- Learn about mindfulness and meditation
- Opportunity to experience a guided meditation practice
- Resource to manage stress
Addictive Behaviours Support and Recovery Group (Drop In)
Date:Tuesdays during term, starting 10th November 2020
Time: Tuesdays 6 -7pm
Venue: Zoom
This Addictive Behaviour Support & Recovery is a safe and confidential space for members to support each other in relation to substance and alcohol misuse and other harmful behaviours. Group participants will respect the confidentiality of others in order to maintain a safe place for members.
https://forms.gle/qZRAibsXqZDgAYN46
Rainbow Group (Drop In)
Date:Wednesdays during term, starting 3rd February 2021
Time: Wedesdays 4 -5pm
Venue: Zoom
This group aims to provide an affirming space for all members of the LGBTQ+ Community to improve their mental health and resilience through providing support to one another as well as receiving support from professional group facilitators and SCS staff. At SCS, we recognize that Trinity students who are members of the LGBTQ+ community might experience inequality, prejudice, or bias during their lives based on their gender identity or sexual orientation, which can cause increased stress during their college careers. Members of this group will have space to process concerns and stressors through a strengths-based, non-pathologizing format. All Trinity students who identify as members of the broader LGBTQ+ community are welcomed and encouraged to join.
https://forms.gle/qZRAibsXqZDgAYN46
Grad Chats (Postgraduate Support Drop-in)
Date: Mondays during term, starting 30th November 2020.
Time: 2 - 3pm.
Venue: Zoom
A support group tailored specifically to postgraduate students (PHDs, Professional Doctorates, Masters, H.Dips.) aiming at equipping students with the skills to manage stress, work-life balance, increase self-care practices, communication and assertiveness skills, and look at how best to negotiate the supervisory relationship. The support group will aim to be both educational and interactive in its delivery.
https://forms.gle/qZRAibsXqZDgAYN46
Mind Body Boost (with TCD Sports)
Mind. Body. Boost. is a free four-week pilot programme for students run by Trinity Sport and the Student Counselling Service which involves 30-minute mental health and wellbeing sessions followed by 30 minutes of exercise. The sessions will take place via Zoom on 23 and 30 November, 7 and 14 December from 6-7pm. You can register your interest here
Living in a Covid World (Drop-in)
Date: Thursdays during term, starting 12th November 2020.
Time: 2:30 - 4pm.
Venue: Zoom
This group is designed for facilitating students living through a world crisis, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in 100 years. The scale of the crisis is enormous, and it is disrupting our personal and working lives. Members have opportunities to explore and share experiences, discuss different topics, engage in various group activities, and learn useful strategies. Additional topics may also include exploring isolation, relationships, uncertainty, loss, self -care and the impact of these issues on their TCD experience by increasing connection, self-empowerment, and resilience as students continue to navigate through this uncertain and difficult time.
https://forms.gle/qZRAibsXqZDgAYN46
International Chats (Drop-in)
Date: Fridays during term, starting 20th November 2020.
Time: 2 - 3:15pm.
Venue: Zoom
This group is designed for facilitating International Students’ adjustment, academic success and personal growth. Members have opportunities to explore and share experiences, discuss different topics, engage in various group activities, and learn useful strategies. Additional topics may also include exploring identity, family relationships, dating, faiths, academic/work/financial stress, immigration, stigma, discrimination, invalidation, exclusion and the impact of these issues on their TCD experience by increasing connection, self-empowerment, and advocacy as students academically advance in a multicultural world.
https://forms.gle/qZRAibsXqZDgAYN46
Ongoing Therapy Group
Date: Every Wednesday
Time: 6.00pm -7.30pm (during term). 2.30pm to 4.00pm (out of term)
Venue: Group Room, SCS, 7/9 South Leinster Street
Facilitator: Mark Robinson
The Ongoing Therapy group at Trinity College SCS involves a group of up to ten students working with a group facilitator (therapist) in weekly therapy sessions. Group Therapy is a respected method of working through a wide range of distressing emotions such as depression, self esteem difficulties or discomfort in relationships. The characteristics of group therapy enable a type of interaction that is not possible in one to one counselling and offer a chance to learn through others, how to manage distress.
Learning Outcomes
- to explore emotional issues and receive support and reassurance from others
- to learn from others about how to manage distress and the chance to be creative about resolving these issues
- to achieve insight into repeated patterns of behaviour
- to increase confidence in group situations
- to improve ability to seek help when encountering problems
Referral is through your counsellor
Group Analytic Therapy
Date: Tuesdays or Wednesdays
Time: 6.00pm -7.30pm (during term) / afternoon (out of term)
Venue: Group Room SCS, 7-9 Sth Leinster Street
Facilitator: Maeve Houlihan, UCD & Patrick Maloney, UCD
Experiential Weekly Group Analytic Therapy
Learning Outcomes
- to explore emotional issues and receive support and reassurance from others
- to learn from others about how to manage distress and the chance to be creative about resolving these issues
- to achieve insight into repeated patterns of behaviour
- to increase confidence in group situations
- to improve ability to seek help when encountering problems
Referral is through your counsellor