In February, the Wellness Center began two new student groups: Expression Through Creativity and the Peer Support Group.
The Wellness Center introduces two new groups per semester, the topics based on students’ needs and referrals to the wellness counselors. In the past, the Wellness Center has covered topics like grief, gender identity and stress management. Groups may be repeated if they are in high demand.
“[A] plus about joining a wellness group is [that] you get to meet new people and have another support system besides friends or people you hang out with at lunch,” said wellness counselor Araceli Cordova.
“[A] plus about joining a wellness group is [that] you get to meet new people and have another support system besides friends or people you hang out with at lunch”
Each semester, the wellness counselors push out a Canvas message to all students and have a slide on the Canvas dashboard providing a description of the groups and what they are looking for in terms of membership.
Both wellness groups are held once a week during different Flex periods. Expression Through Creativity is still open for members as of late February, but may be closed later on if there are space issues.
Wellness counselor Jillian Ma and Cordova run Expression through Creativity, a non-discussion group.
“The purpose of the group is to give students a space to share feelings [and] perspectives on different topics that have to do with coping and emotional health,” said wellness counselor Jillian Ma. “Sometimes writing down your feelings and thoughts can be a good way to reflect on the way that you’re feeling.”
Although the structure of Expression through Creativity is different from past groups as it isn’t discussion-focused, there is sharing time at the end.
“[I joined this group because] I thought it’d be good for me to share with other people, as well as hear from other people,” said senior Osiris Helm. “It gave this experience of, ‘I’m getting this off my chest and I’m making it easier to talk about, while also listening to others and hearing what is going on in their lives.’”
“It gave this experience of, ‘I’m getting this off my chest and I’m making it easier to talk about, while also listening to others and hearing what is going on in their lives’”
In the beginning of the period, students have time to settle in, with snacks available and music playing. After a quick icebreaker and check-in, they are given a range of prompts to choose from and the majority of the period to work on their piece. Students are provided with a notebook, a pen and varying art supplies depending on the activity.
“[At the end], students get to share a little bit about the experience, [but] not necessarily what they wrote,” Cordova said. “It’s confidential; we’re not going to read their journals. They can decide to take them home [or] leave it with us. It’s more so they can have a space to be reflective about certain things that are coming up.”
According to Ma, wellness groups generally leave a positive impression on students.
“It’s a safe space and none of the stuff that anyone says leaves [the room],” Helm said. “It’s one of the ways to relieve yourself of whatever emotional weight you’re carrying. It is a great tool and I absolutely recommend others to join. I just want to thank the wellness counselors for putting it together and just being an open source. I hope others will join and I hope I see new faces.”
Wellness counselor Max Bernstein is in charge of the Peer Support Group.
“There’s a central piece to all of the wellness groups,” said Bernstein. “It’s about peer support. It’s about making sure there’s a space where students can be supportive of one another. Sometimes it helps to have someone not only guiding things, but also identifying important things to consider [and] connecting students to resources as needed. It’s a chance for students to get together and provide support and opinions that could benefit one another.”
The structure of peer support groups may range depending on the students attending and the style of the wellness counselor running it.
“It’s about peer support. It’s about making sure there’s a space where students can be supportive of one another.”
“It’s just a question of identifying what ties the students together, why there’d be a lot of overlap and experience,” Bernstein said. “For all of the groups that I’ve run, we have a specific format that we’ll wind up with, usually involving some levels of checking in and then discussion that is often a topic brought up either by myself or from the students. I do sometimes bring in activities because I like having people get up and interact.”
The groups for next fall have not yet been decided, but it is likely that the Peer Support Group will continue.
