Group Counselling & Peer-Led Mental Health and Wellness Groups

Are you interested in learning about mindfulness, self-reflection, and personal
growth?

Mindfully Me is a structured therapeutic program that combines perspectives of mindfulness with the internal awareness that many parts of us want to experience personal growth and healing. Mindfulness helps us become more present for pleasant moments in life and helps us learn to respond with awareness when experiencing difficulties rather than automatically responding.

• Meetings will take place on Tuesdays from 10 am to 11:30 am, between February 18 and March 18.
• You must be able to attend for the full 5 weeks (1 time per week).
• All students (part-time, online, full-time) are welcome to reach out to see if this group is a good fit for you. There will be a screening process.
• This group is free.
• This is a free and virtual group that meets via Zoom.

This group explores the link between personality types (based on the MBTI) and stress responses. Through guided sessions, participants will gain insight into their unique stress triggers, learn personalized coping strategies, and develop actionable steps to manage stress more effectively. Join us to unlock a deeper understanding of how your personality influences your stress and discover ways to achieve balance and resilience. Participants will take the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and receive a free copy of In the Grip: Understanding Type, Stress and the Inferior Function.

Program details:

• Meetings will take place on Tuesdays between 4 pm and 5 pm, from January 21 to February 4.
• This is an in-person group and takes place in Room E350 (3rd Floor, E Building).
• This group is free.
• Space is limited.
• Students must be willing to commit to all 3 sessions.

Registration is required.

Click here to register! 

Looking to improve as a student? Register today for Thriving in Action, an 11-week program designed to help you reach your goals. Thriving in Action is a program that will help you learn to thrive in both your academic and personal life. In this group session, students will meet weekly to learn key skills to increase motivation, optimism, and resilience.

What you need to know:

• This is a holistic 11-week program (running over Reading Week) that students can attend in person or virtually. Sessions times:
  • In-person: Wednesdays between 11 am and 1 pm, from January 22 to April 2
  • Virtual: Wednesdays between 4 pm and 5:30 pm, from January 22 to April 2
• Personal commitment to the program is the strongest predictor of successful outcomes! Be prepared to attend all weeks to get the most out of this meaningful initiative.
• Thriving in Action welcomes all students with a variety of life experiences. This includes (but isn’t limited to):
  • Students accessing Counselling Services
  • Students registered with the Centre for Accessible Learning
  • Students on academic probation
  • Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, racialized, and minority students
  • Mature students
  • International students
  • Working students
  • Students raising or caring for families

You will also be introduced to learning strategies that will improve your time management and study skills. It’s not too late to turn things around and it’s never too late to learn how to flourish!

Click here to register! 

In-person space is limited, virtual space is unlimited.

Presented by Counselling Services and the Centre for Accessible Learning. This program has been adapted with permission from Toronto Metropolitan University’s ThriveRU.

Notice: We’re hosting Lust & Learn: Deep Dive into Non-Monogamous Relationships on March 27, from 5 pm to 7:30 pm in the Library Learning Lab (Room C263). Click here to learn more and register!

Join Counselling Services and Project Lighthouse virtually every Monday from 12 pm to 1 pm, for Lust & Learn!

Are you ready to embark on a journey toward fulfilling and satisfying connections? At these drop-in sessions, you will learn about the essential practical skills that contribute to a healthy and vibrant sexual life and meaningful relationships.

Our facilitators will guide you through a series of interactive sessions, providing you with the tools and knowledge needed to navigate the complexities of intimacy and strengthen your relationships. Whether you’re single or in a partnership(s), this workshop is for everyone seeking to deepen their understanding of healthy sexuality and cultivate fulfilling connections. Come ready to learn and ask questions.  Drop in for any topic that interests you.

Session Schedule:

• Mar. 24: Long Distance Relationships: How to Enhance Relationships Even at a Distance
• Mar. 31: Sex and Mental Health: Recognizing the Impact of Stress and Anxiety
• Apr. 7: Healthy Boundaries in Relationships: Setting Limits in Romantic and Casual Connections

Our sessions are a safe and inclusive space, fostering a supportive environment for learning and growth. You’ll have the opportunity to engage in thought-provoking discussions, participate in hands-on exercises, and receive guidance from our knowledgeable facilitators. We believe that by combining knowledge, practical skills, and a dash of curiosity, you can unlock the full potential of healthy sexuality and relationships.

Open to all Algonquin College students. No registration is required. Feel free to attend only one session or all of them! Having your camera on is required for this event and you must log in using an Algonquin College email address.

Click here to join the virtual session now!

• Build and maintain motivation
• Cope with urges
• Manage thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
• Live a balanced life

• Meetings will take place on Mondays, from 2 pm to 3 pm, from March 17 until April 14.
• This is a hybrid group, offering both an in-person option and a virtual option. The virtual option will be hosted on Microsoft Teams. To access the Teams meeting, please click here.
• If you are interested in attending this group in-person, please check in at the Welcome Centre (3^rd Floor, E Building) 10 minutes before the group. 
• There are a limited number of spots available each week, filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. The maximum number of participants for each session is 7.

Open to all Algonquin College students. No registration is required. Feel free to attend only one session or all of them!

During Snack Chats, you can connect with the Health & Wellness Zone Student Peers. The Peers will give out yummy snacks and chat about any topics that you as a student might be interested in.

Group details:

• Meetings will take place on Mondays and Fridays, between 11 am and 12 pm, from January 13 to April 14.
• This group does not meet during the Mid-Term Break (February 24 and February 28) or on holidays (February 17 and April 18).
• This is an in-person group.
• This group is free and drop-in.

This group takes place beside the Welcome Centre in the Student Health & Wellness Zone (3rd Floor, E Building). Attendees will receive free tea and coffee and a variety of snacks.

Brought to you by Student Health and Wellness Zone.

Spill the Tea is a peer-led group where students can participate in frank discussions and find answers to questions related to sexuality, sexual health, consent, kink, and dating while engaging with their fellow students.

This group requires no registration and is brought to you by Project Lighthouse, the College’s initiative aimed at shining a light on and reducing sexual violence, supporting survivors, and navigating healthy sexual relationships. Get ready to spill the piping hot tea on sexuality this Winter!

Group details:

• Meetings will take place on Tuesdays, between 11 am and 12 pm, from January 14 to April 15.
• This group does not meet during the Mid-Term Break (February 25).
• This is an in-person, drop-in group.
• This group is free.
• This group is open to all Algonquin College students and alumni.
• This group takes place beside the Welcome Centre in the Student Health & Wellness Zone (3^rd Floor, E Building).
• Attendees will receive a reusable ceramic mug and free tea and coffee.

Brought to you by Project Lighthouse.

Project Lighthouse: Shining a light on sexual violence and navigating healthy sexual relationships.

This drop-in group is a blend of a drop-in time and discussion-based group time. Queer Support is a safe and inclusive space on campus dedicated to fostering support, understanding, and empowerment for queer college students.

Our group is committed to creating a supportive environment that celebrates diversity and encourages open dialogue. Whether you identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, or anywhere else on the spectrum, Queer Support is a space where you can be your authentic self without judgment. We welcome students from all walks of life and backgrounds.

Details:

• Meetings will take place from January 14 to April 15 on:
  • Tuesdays, between 1:30 pm and 3 pm in the Student Health and Wellness Zone (Room E350)
  • Fridays, between 11:30 am and 1 pm in the Library Learning Lab (Room C263).
• This group does not meet during Mid-term break (February 25 and February 28).
• This is an in-person group.
• This group is free.

Just drop in!

During Glitter & Gab, you can connect with the Student Health and Wellness Zone Student Peers while making a new craft each week! Come by to make a different weekly craft to take home, learn some new crafty skills, and chat with your peers.

Group details:

• Meetings will take place on Wednesdays between 1 pm and 2 pm, from January 15 to April 16.
• This group does not meet on January 22 or during the Mid-Term Break (February 26).
• This is an in-person, drop-in.
• This group is free.

On March 12, join us for a special edition of Glitter & Gab hosted at the Harm Reduction Fair (1st Floor, C Building). Come by to see us and chat with us and organizations in our community!

This group takes place beside the Welcome Centre in the Student Health & Wellness Zone (3rd Floor, E Building). Attendees will receive free tea and coffee and a craft to take home.

Brought to you by the Student Health & Wellness Zone.

Getting Started and Avoiding Procrastination – From To Do to Done: “If I’d just started earlier, I could have done so much better.” Although many students claim to work better under the pressure of deadlines, not having enough time to complete assignments can mean that you are not reaching your potential as a student. Learn to maximize your marks by starting early and breaking down your assignments into manageable parts using an “assignment tracker.” This workshop is also about sharing techniques that will help you break the habit of putting off work and learn strategies to avoid procrastination.

Creating Meaningful Connections – Building Healthy Friendships and Relationships: Having close friendships and relationships is seen as one way to improve mental and physical well being but creating and maintaining relationships is tough. Join us for this session to learn about the benefits of creating meaningful connections and start to learn some basics on how to create them and measure for yourself if they are healthy relationships.

Say Yes to Less Stress: Balancing your course-load and personal commitments can be a stressful experience for many college students. This workshop, led by an Algonquin College counsellor, will help students learn more about stress. It will also introduce practical strategies to help with stress management so that you can focus better on your learning!

Communicating Effectively for College/Workplace Success: Communication and interpersonal skills are fundamental to success, inside or outside of school or the workplace. This workshop will look at communication techniques to improve relationships, improve interpersonal skills for work and school success and help us examine ways to improve our current communication skills.

Resilience: Our current reality is an unusual and difficult time for everyone. In your studies, you may be experiencing some additional stress or setbacks, which could be impacting your wellness. Join this session for a discussion on building your resiliency in times of difficulty so that you can bounce back from challenges and overcome obstacles.

Learning to Learn Online: While learning online has many advantages, it poses unique challenges for many people.  Come to this workshop to learn more about the ins and outs of learning in an online environment, including your responsibilities as student.  Learn tips and tricks that can help you optimize your time and learn more effectively.  Feeling lost in cyber-space? — discover on-campus resources that may be able to help.

Study Smart: Practice makes perfect! If you want to feel more comfortable with new material, you need to review regularly and actively! Trade in straight reading for techniques that will allow you to rehearse material, test yourself, and come up with memory devices. Learn how to prioritize your studying and focus on the material that really matters. The techniques introduced in this session will help throughout the semester, as well as leading up to exams.

Make it Stick: It can be challenging to listen to your professors while also writing class notes . . . and how do you balance all of the readings that you need to get through, anyway? Come to this workshop to learn more about different note-taking systems, and figure which one best fits your courses and your own learning style.

Perfectionism – Taming Your Inner Critic:  Perfectionism is a trait that is often associated with achievement and success. It’s OK to want to work hard and achieve a goal, but the question is “at what cost?”. If you are picky and have too high of standards and want to feel better, reduce stress and enjoy your life more, then this workshop will cover ways to tame the inner critic to allow you to live the life you want.

Ace that Test, Part 1: This workshop will help you to plan out your time in the weeks leading up to exams so that you have enough time to study each subject. It will also introduce the “Stoplight Study Technique” to help you determine what material you need to cover. Other strategies will include active study techniques and memory tools that can improve your exam results.

Ace that Test: For many students, exam time can be filled with stress, anxiety, and worry. This workshop will help you to better access the material that you have learned while studying so that you can demonstrate all that you have learned during the semester.  There will be a focus on strategies to reduce anxiety in testing situations.

Have your final exams been switched to open book?  Never had an open book exam and wonder what it might look like?  . . . before you celebrate and decide that you don’t even need to study, come to our “Preparing for and Writing Open Book Exams” Workshop offered online through Zoom.

This 30-minute workshop will tell you more about what to expect from an open book exam and how to best prepare, depending on the type of exam.  The facilitator will give practical tips on how to set up your workspace, how to avoid possible academic offences (such as sharing information with classmates or plagiarism), and how to minimize issues with technology.  Be informed about this type of exam so that you can do your best on your upcoming exams!

Secrets to Creating Great Group Projects: Do you cringe when your professors assign group projects? Do you dread completing these projects because you know it’s going to be difficult to get everyone on board to get the job done? This workshop will teach you how to set expectations, assign roles and responsibilities, create standards for your group to follow, facilitate communication, and increase motivation in your group so that your group can work together to successfully complete your project.

Tame Your Temper – Emotion Regulation Strategies:  As hard as we may try to stay calm, situations always arise that push our buttons. While feeling anger isn’t a bad thing, it is important to constructively express that anger. This workshop helps us recognize our emotions related to anger and how we can constructively express our needs and manage outbursts.

Email communication is one of the easiest ways to reach out to professors, staff, and other students to share information or ask quéstions in a college setting. But how can you make sure that you are communicating clearly and effectively using email? And when should you use another form of communication instead? This session will explore the pros and cons of relying on email communication and share tips to make your emails professional and easy to read. There will be a focus on communicating with college professionals, especially professors. Several templates and examples will be provided to help you with emails regarding common requests.

Whether you are concerned about time management, organization, studying, or finding balance in your life, being a truly effective student really comes down to the habits that you cultivate every day. Learn about the basics of habit formation, including tips for making new habits easy and manageable by using the “Four Laws of Behavior Change.” Discover how these laws can be used to both build positive habits and eliminate negative ones. By the end of the session, participants will have the chance to create an “ABC Recipe Card” and commit to a new academic habit. Who knows? Maybe this habit will change your life as a student!