Group Counseling

Men experience tremendous pressures to look, behave, and think in certain ways that limit the ability to find pride and satisfaction in their unique portrayal of masculinity. In this counseling group, we will try to help members explore the messages of masculinity they grew up with and encourage members to develop a sense of masculinity that fits with their sense of self.

This group will be process-oriented and allow members to openly discuss a wide array of concerns including definitions of masculinity, physical and mental health concerns, gender roles, dealing with emotions, and managing the many stressors in life.  This group provides an opportunity to discuss, explore, and receive support for the challenges associated with being a man at FGCU and in the world today.  The group’s aim is to help each other face problematic gender roles and live healthier, more authentic, and fulfilling lives.

This 2-hour group encourages creativity and self-expression using mixed media art, such as paint, clay, colored sand, photos, metals, and other materials.  The physical act of using art promotes healing and emotional well being, which often assists in managing stress, anxiety, and mood.

The Skills Training Class is adapted from DBT to assist individuals who struggle with several different types of issues such as:

• Extreme difficulty controlling or regulating emotional reactions including intense anger and/or depression.
• Intense and unstable relationships with others that tend to feel like “emotional roller coasters” as well as difficulty with “people pleasing” behaviors that lead to built up resentment.
• Inability or extreme difficulty tolerating crisis situations or negative life events without resorting to harmful behaviors which tend to make things worse in the long run.
• Confusion about who I am, identity, and/or dissociative experiences (feeling disconnected or outside of yourself).

The skills training class helps individuals learn to manage and even get rid of these problems by teaching concrete skills that you can begin practicing immediately. Specifically, the class contains four core modules which target the four issues mentioned above. The modules you will learn in skills training class are:

1. Mindfulness Skills: These skills emphasize learning to quiet your mind, controlling what you pay attention to and for how long, and looking within yourself and making decisions that come from your own inner sense of wisdom.
2. Emotion Regulation Skills: These skills focus on learning ways of decreasing negative emotions, increasing both short and long term positive life experiences, as well as ways of decreasing your vulnerability to negative emotions (e.g. anger, depression, etc.).
3. Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills: These skills are meant to help you learn to interact with people in a way that makes them want to give you what you are asking for or accept times when you need to say no. The goal of these skills is to learn to be with others in a way that increases others’ respect for you and your needs as well as your own sense of self respect.
4. Distress Tolerance Skills: These skills are meant to assist you in getting through painful life experiences skillfully, that is, without making things worse by resorting to self-defeating behaviors.

Struggling with feelings of depression, anxiety, or stress? The Emotional Wellness group is designed to assist participants in enhancing skills to better manage mood, emotions, and behavior. Learn from trained professionals and share effective strategies with other students.

Potential benefits of participating in the group include:

• Learning to better manage emotions and stress
• Learning how to cope with unexpected events
• Connecting with others who have similar experiences to your own
• Feeling better and having an improved outlook on life

The F.O.C.U.S. Skills workshop aims to educate students about attentional struggles and teach skills aimed at improving attention/concentration capabilities.  F.O.C.U.S. stands for Firstline Optimal Cognitive Utility Strategies and the workshop covers everything from causes/contributors to attentional difficulties, life structure and patterns of daily living that support improved attention/concentration, classroom and study strategies, and mindfulness skills to promote "tuning in". 

The best outcomes with this workshop may be seen with students who fully engaged, utilizing the tracking and practice tools to fully incorporate the concepts, strategies, and skills presented in the workshop into their everyday lives.

The workshop is being moved to an online format.  Students who are taking or requesting stimulant medication at CAPS may be required to complete this workshop as part of the treatment process.  Students who are not CAPS clients can call to request access to the online workshop.

This group is designed for students who are interested in mindfulness practice.  Whether you have never heard of mindfulness before, are just getting started, or have lots of experience with mindfulness and/or meditation, you might benefit from this group.  The purpose is to educate about mindfulness and provide a space for ongoing practice.  Mindfulness has many benefits including anxiety management, improved ability to relax, improved ability to control one's focus, and improvement in overall sense of wellbeing.  

This group is for students struggling with eating or body image concerns, not specifically for those with diagnosed eating disorders. 

Eating healthy and maintaining positive views of our internal and external selves are crucial aspects of both physical and mental health. This group is designed for anyone who struggles with eating or body image to learn ways of improving our relationship to our own bodies and discuss these aspects of our lives in a supportive and educative environment.

Potential benefits of participating in the group include:

• Connecting with and supporting other students who struggle with similar issues
• Learning how to develop a healthy image of yourself, both inside and out
• Gaining insight into the function of unhealthy eating patterns
• Developing new patterns of relating to food and other people

This group will be a mixture of interpersonal process and education around healthy and unhealthy patterns.

This support group will explore the journey of being a sexual and/or gender minority in college.  We will discuss issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, specifically; coming out, transitioning, connecting with family and friends, and creating relationships.  This confidential group is interactive and welcomes people who are in all stages of identity development. 

Potential benefits of participating in this group include:

• Having a safe space to discuss LGBT-related concerns
• Connecting with others who are supportive of you and your experiences
• Learning about and/or sharing resources available locally in the LGBT community
• Hear about others’ experiences with coming out and gather ideas for your own journey

Romantic relationships can be at times both satisfying/enjoyable and confusing/challenging. The Relationship Group provides you an opportunity to meet with other students who are interested in talking about relationships and developing a better understanding of themselves and others. Learn steps you can take to enjoy healthier relationships in your life and communicate in more effective ways.

Benefits of participation in the group include, but are not limited to:

• Developing a better understanding of yourself and/or others
• Learning and practicing healthy communication strategies
• Learning how to ask for what you need in relationships in an assertive manner
• Learning how to listen to and understand significant others more thoroughly
• Connecting with others who have similar experiences to your own

We can all benefit from learning additional ways to manage stress, cope with anxiety, and increase a sense of peace and wellbeing in our lives. Relax for Wellness is an instructional group facilitated by Ivette Gomez, LMHC and designed to teach participants relaxation strategies including:

• Yoga
• Guided Imagery
• Meditation
• Conscious and Mindful Breathing
• Qi Gong techniques
• Conscious, mindful yogic breathing techniques

Relax for Wellness is a walk-in group that does not require students to be registered with CAPS and does not attempt to address any specific therapeutic concerns during the group. The group will meet on Mondays from 5:00 - 6:00pm in the Cohen Center, room 162

Come As You Are

(a much catchier name than SMART Recovery)

This group promotes self-directed change and self-empowerment and offers support in your efforts to address misuse or abuse of alcohol or other drugs and/or other addictive behaviors. Learn self-reliance as you work to improve the satisfaction and quality of your life. SMART Recovery is an alternative to 12-step recovery programs and draws upon the ever-evolving scientific knowledge about addition and recovery. Group members can learn ways of:

• Building and maintaining motivation
• Coping with urges
• Managing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
• Living a balanced life

The Art Group is designed for creative students who might communicate feelings and emotions better through visual art. It provides for the use of alternative language, the language of symbols and imagination, to access difficult to reach areas of the mind. It is also a relaxing path for achieving results in counseling and it's a gentle way of healing as well. Art is a way of knowing!

The group meets for 2 hours, which includes setting up, drawing or painting, debriefing, and clean up. The facilitator uses exercises to prompt the participants but the group format and philosophy allows for intuitive ideas, including dreams, to be expressed when there is an imperitive need from within. Therefore, sometimes group members will surprise themselves with the unfolding of something unexpected arising in the spirit of the moment. It is a journey of self-discovery!

The Ripple Effect is a group for students who have been impacted by addiction in their families or other close relationships.  This group is a place to explore how you may be affected by addiction and provide you with the tools and knowledge to grow.  Our goal is to learn wellness strategies, develop healthy relationships with others, and support fellow students in similar situations. 

Throwing a small pebble into a pool of water results in expanding ripples that infinitely travel out from the center.  The ripples are far-reaching and continue to grow even when unseen.  In our individual lives, this Ripple Effect can make changes that lead to an enormous impact. 

You "survived" the traumatic event(s) of your past.  Are you ready to move from merely surviving to thriving?

TREE group members will process trauma memories at their own pace in a supportive environment.  Mixed media will be utilized for create self-expression to assist with developing and achieving personal, behavioral, and emotional goals related to trauma experiences.  This group promotes healing, empowerment, and change. 

No previous art or creative expression experience necessary. 

Understanding Self and Others is a co-ed process group that gives members the opportunity to connect with others and talk about whatever concerns are most salient.  The group also gives members and opportunity to share perspectives and offer support to each other throughout the semester or year. 

This group is designed especially for women and utilizes a supportive and interactive environment to help you grow and reach your goals. This group may help to:

• build communication and assertiveness skills
• increase self-esteem
• improve body image
• improve the quality of relationships
• help make room for more balance and authenticity in your life

This group is co-facilitated by female counselors. The group will be a mixture of discussing specific skills and exploring topics raised by group members.

This group is for students experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.  This group will be interactive and experiential in nature, meaning students will practice in-session different strategies to better-manage difficulties such as racing thoughts, low motivation, nervousness, irritability, sleep difficulties, sad mood, panic, and other common issues associated with anxiety and depression.  Group meets for one hour per week for three weeks. Multiple sections of this group run each semester.