Group Therapy and Workshops

• Drop-in Section I: Tuesdays | January 21 - May 13
• Drop-in Section II: Thursdays | January 21 - May 15 

Are you facing a concern or emotional challenge and need support? This drop-in group is dedicated to those who need quick, practical help and a supportive community. Share your experiences and receive empathy from fellow students who understand what you're going through. In this group, you will learn effective techniques to manage acute stress and emotional turmoil and equip yourself with tools and strategies to handle crises and build resilience.

Group Leader: Michael Raguet MSW, LICSW (he/him), Jessica Talamantes, MSW, LICSW (she/her)

Mondays | February 10 - May 12

Are you interested in becoming healthier? Do you want to learn ways to better manage your emotions, handle stress, and become more calm and more connected? Learn helpful skills to become the person you want to be and connect with others trying to do the same. Each meeting is structured like a class with skills training, discussion, and work you can do outside of sessions. Weekly attendance is required for each 90-minute session.

Group Leader: Derek Otte, LICSW (he/him)

• Section I:  Wednesdays | February 5 - March 12
• Section II: Wednesdays | March 26 - April 30 

Do you struggle to interact with others? Does talking to people involve more anxiety than enjoyment? Join us for this Dungeons & Dragon-themed Narrative and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) social anxiety group. You will learn social and coping skills through an RPG (Role Playing Game) adventure, unearthing ancient mysteries as you create a character that embodies your own strengths and opportunities for improving your social life.

Group leader: Paradise, MS, LPCC (he/him)

• Section I: Wednesdays | February 5 - April 30
• Section II: Tuesdays | February 11 - April 29

Do you have an ADHD diagnosis and want to learn how to cope? Do you struggle with time management, wrangling your attention, staying organized, and being present with others? Me and My ADHD is a group designed to provide training and support for you to do life better with ADHD.

Group Leader: Derek Otte, LICSW (he/him)

Thursdays | February 13 - May 15 

Transitioning, exploring your gender identity, or looking for support as you navigate life and mental health as a trans, nonbinary, or gender nonconforming student? This weekly group is an opportunity to give and receive support, learn skills for emotional regulation, self-advocacy, and stress management, and connect with other TGNC students on campus. Open to students in any stage of gender transition and exploration. Meetings will include space for discussing topics such as coming out, relationships, safety, and healthcare access.

Group Leader: Imogen Page, LGSW (they/them)

Mondays | March 17 - May 12

Balance & Beyond is a supportive and nonjudgmental therapy group designed for college students looking to explore and improve their relationship with substance use. Whether you're re-evaluating your habits, seeking healthier coping strategies, or simply curious about making a change, this group offers a space for open discussions, self-reflection, and peer support. Through guided conversations, mindfulness practices, and harm reduction strategies, we’ll work together to build insight, set personal goals, and create a more balanced and intentional approach to substance use—all without stigma or pressure.

• Feeling stressed about graduate school? Gather insight and skills to better manage the stress of your program. Emotional responses, skills, and strategies for tackling issues like procrastination, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome are all addressed.
• Facilitators: Sarra Beckham-Chasnoff, Jenny Steiner

View the pre-recorded workshop series here. 

This is an interactive group space, tailored to the needs of our group members and open to all students of any identity. We know that a lot of sexual education curriculum is based in cisgender, white, heterosexual, thin, able-bodied, monogamous, vanilla, Allosexual norms, so this group tailors sessions to be inclusive of all folks in the space, and with a sex-positive and trauma-informed lens. 

All participants are asked to keep other participant information confidential: what’s said here stays here; what’s learned here leaves here. Some of the topics we hope to explore include reproductive anatomy, sexually transmitted diseases and how to protect oneself, consent, pleasure, substance use and sex, body image and sex, porn, what healthy sex looks like, and much more!

Presented in collaboration with the Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence (MCAE)

Fridays 1:00 - 2:30 pm PM (virtual) 

Facilitators: Nina Hernandez Beithon (she/her; SCS), Dan Piñon (they/them/elle/elles; SCS), and Mick Castro (he/him; MCAE)

To register, complete this form 

The Attack Anxiety workshop will help you better understand your struggles with anxiety, and learn new ways of pursuing a full and meaningful life. This semi-structured group utilizes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which teaches how to see personal experiences and relationships from different perspectives, and to act in valued ways that allow you to relate differently to anxious feelings, depressed moods, worrying thoughts, and self-defeating behaviors.  Four total sessions, recurring throughout the semester.

Thursdays: 1:00pm - 2:30pm (in-person)  

Facilitators: Jake Loeffler

To register, complete this form 

The inner balance workshop helps you live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, manage your emotions, and improve your relationships with others. This semi-structured group utilizes Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). 

In DBT, the core goal is to balance acceptance and change, so the workshop will review sets of acceptance skills as well as change skills. Skills are further divided into four skills modules: mindfulness, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance. Four total sessions, recurring throughout  the semester.

Mondays: 1:00 - 2:30  (virtual)

Facilitator: Siming Xie

To register, complete this form

An opportunity for students to learn how to implement positive emotions, character strengths, and a sense of meaning into their academic and personal life. We will learn about the mental and physical health benefits of positive psychology and promote the positive, as well as alleviating negative aspects of life.  This workshop includes 6 weekly meetings.

Fridays: 1:00 - 2:30 (in-person)

Facilitator:  Jake Loeffler

To register, complete this sign-up form

Keep Calm and Thrive in Graduate School is a 3-session workshop designed to provide graduate and professional students insights on how to better prepare for academic demands, to overcome common obstacles, and succeed!  We'll cover topics on strategies for academic success, managing expectations, professional relationship building, as well as wellness and self-care.

Fridays 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

• Section 1: 2/14/25, 2/21/25, 2/28/25
• Section 2: 3/21/25, 3/28/25, 4/4/25

Facilitators: Chia-Chen Tu, Eve Sussman

To indicate interest, complete this sign-up form.

This space is designed to provide an affirming and supportive environment for all undergraduate, graduate, and professional students who identify as Black, African American, or African here at the U of M; it is open to all students regardless of identity. In this confidential and courageous community environment, we will talk about topics including, but not limited to: school stress; lived experiences as Black/African American and African students at a PWI; experiences related to our identities; stereotypes; micro/macro aggressions; socio-political climate; racial in/justice; relationships; culture; community; family; and moments that bring victory and joy. Hope to see you there!  

In collaboration with the Care Program and the department of Dr. Rev Martin Luther King, Jr Program

Fridays 10:00 - 11:30  (virtual)    

Facilitators: Greg Sawyer (SCS), Mari Weigel (the Care Program), Cassie Edlund(UMASH), Dom Johnson (MLK)

To register, complete this sign-up form

The Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Collective (MHC) aims to create a radical healing space to foster conversations around the topic of Mental Health and Wellbeing in our communities. We acknowledge that much of the current resources/services at the University of Minnesota fit within traditional white western mental health framework and our collective strives to disrupt that model. 

This is a space for Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Middle Eastern and North African (MENA), Desi, Asian, and/or People of Color voices, experiences, and stories. Mixed race, QTIPOC, and trans-racial adopted folks, we see you and welcome you into the space. Our group is open to students (undergraduate and graduate), staff, and faculty of all identities at the University of Minnesota. 

Every third Thursday  of the month 12:15 - 1:15 PM

To RSVP, please complete this form.

Pláticas: Latinx Connection Space is a virtual weekly group designd for Latina/e/o/x undergraduate and graduate students to come together and discuss specific needs, themes, challenges, joys, and identities in our community; it is open to students of all identities. Some of the themes we may discuss include: colorism, language, belongingness, indigeneity, mestizaje, gender roles, religion and spirituality, immigration, and ongoing events that impact our people and communities. 

We acknowledge that within the Latinx community there are many different identities, experiences, and preferences in how we describe ourselves. We invite this variety in lived experiences and trust that each of our identities and stories will add to our group and discussions. Sometimes we can wonder if we belong and if these spaces are for us. We want to honor how vulnerable it can be to consider joining a community space and hope to affirm your belonging and enough-ness. Come as you are and we hope you will join us and explore these reactions, wonderings, and questions together. 

In collaboration with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Program

Tuesdays 3:30 - 4:30  (Hybrid: in-person or virtual)

Facilitators: Marisela Rodriguez-Gutierrez (she/her/Ella; MLK), Joselin Navarro (she/her/ella; SCS), Nina Hernandez Beithon (she/her; SCS)

To register, complete this sign-up form

This space invites students to gather and support one another in our experiences and identities as Jews. Join us in this confidential connection space to explore topics including but not limited to: our college experience, antisemitism, socio-political climate, culture, and community. This space was designed with Jewish students in mind but is open to UMN students of all identities.

Day/time for Spring 2025: TBD

To indicate interest, complete this sign-up form.

This space invites students at the U of M to gather and support one another in our experiences and identities as Palestinian, Arab, and/or Muslim students. While this group was designed with those identities in mind, it is open to students of all identities.  

Join us in this confidential space to support and share our experiences with events happening in Palestine, the Middle East, and elsewhere. This space is designed to create community and offer support in addressing our emotional and mental health needs, including experiences of Islamophobia and other forms of oppression and injustice.

Spring 2025 Tuesdays 3:00 - 4:00  (in-person)

Starting February 4th-April 1st 2025 on the East Bank (Specific location will be provided upon registration)

Facilitators: A Palestinian Mental Health Counselor and a Muslim Egyptian SCS Staff member.

To register, complete this sign-up form.

These groups meet every other week to provide support and focus on problem-solving strategies for graduate students at the dissertation or thesis stage of their programs, who have passed oral preliminary exams and/or their dissertation/thesis proposals.  These groups fill quickly, and there may be a waiting list for an opening.  Space becomes available as students complete their degrees.

• Section 1:  Wednesdays (bi-weekly) 2:00 - 3:30  (virtual) 
  Facilitator:  Sarra Beckham-Chasnoff
• Section 2: Thursdays (bi-weekly) 3:00 - 4:30 (virtual) 
  Facilitator:  Alexa Fetzer

To join: Contact SCS at [email protected] or 612-624-3323 to schedule a group screening/orientation meeting with group facilitators

An opportunity for students who have lost a parent or sibling in their life to share their stories, while giving and receiving support around the many issues faced during the grieving process. Participants will be able to discuss their loss in a safe and supportive setting with others who have been through similar experiences. We know not all families look alike; some of us were raised by our grandparent or foster parent. Grief Support Group is inclusive of your family's definition of "parent" and "sibling" and can include the loss of any primary caregiver (e.g., parent, grandparent, uncle/aunt) or a peer-aged relative in the same household (e.g. cousins, siblings) whom you were raised with or by.

• Section 1:  Mondays 3:00 - 4:30  (virtual)
  Facilitators:  Siming Xie, Rachel Hughitt
• Section 2:  Tuesdays 3:00 - 4:30  (in-person)   
  Facilitators:  Sarra Beckham-Chasnoff

To join: Contact SCS at [email protected] or 612-624-3323 to schedule a group screening/orientation meeting with group facilitators

Do you want to develop better relationship skills? This group provides an opportunity to learn from each other, while giving and receiving support around the many personal issues that students deal with. Participants will help each other develop greater self-awareness and increased ability to have satisfying relationships. Relationships, self-confidence, balancing demands, and more–this group will address the issues of greatest concern to its members.

• Section 1:  Tuesdays 2:30 - 4:00  (in-person)
  Facilitators:  Ian Evans, Franny Parent
• Section 2:  Wednesdays 2:30 - 4:00  (in-person)
  Facilitators:  Alexa Fetzer, Franny Parent
• Section 3:  Thursdays 3:00 - 4:30  (in-person)
  Facilitators:  Jake Loeffler

To join: Contact SCS at [email protected] or 612-624-3323 to schedule a group screening/orientation meeting with group facilitators

Our groups typically meet for 60 minutes once a week. Some groups meet for most of the semester, while others are short term—four to six sessions. Most groups consist of four to ten members. Process groups provide an environment for students to identify and explore emotions, give and receive support, and practice healthy ways of relating to others. Psychoeducational groups focus on developing skills around a particular concern and often involve discussions and experiential activities to apply the skills you are learning.

The screening gives you a chance to ask questions and determine if the group is a good fit for your needs. Students who are new to the MHC should discuss their interest in group during Brief Consultation. Your consultant will arrange for you to meet with the appropriate group therapist for an Intake Appointment. 

Group therapy is considered to be one of the most effective forms of treatment for many issues that confront undergraduate and graduate students, such as depression, anxiety, grief/loss, low self-esteem and troubled relationships. Students who try group therapy find that it provides a safe and supportive place to explore their concerns and learn new strategies for overcoming challenges.

No. You can decide how much and when to share your feelings with the group and no one will force you to share more than you feel comfortable with. Most students are apprehensive about attending a group for the first time and wonder what it will be like to share with people they do not know. However, most find they become more comfortable over time and value the support and feedback they get from their peers. All group members are expected to maintain the confidentiality of the group so everyone can feel safe sharing.

Contact us at [email protected] or 612-624-1444.