Group Therapy
Group Therapy Heading link
What is group therapy?
You might imagine group therapy as individual therapy in a circle, or that it’s only an good option when individual therapy isn’t available. The truth is, group therapy is an empirically supported treatment for a wide range of mental health concerns, and group therapy has its own unique process that is intended to be different from individual therapy.
Group therapy is widely regarded as the best option for students whose distress involves difficulties in relationships with others. Rather than talking one on one with a therapist, the shared space of group allows for greater experiencing of relational dynamics between members, and the processing of these dynamics facilitates healing.
Groups do not have a session limit, making them a wonderful place to take on long-term goals (an exception to this is the time-limited Conquering Anxiety Group). Our groups are currently virtual, generally meet once a week, have 5-8 members and 1-2 trained group therapists. They meet throughout the school year and sometimes over the summer, and many groups have rolling admission, meaning you can join at any time of year.
Group therapy can be an ideal place to:
- Explore personal concerns and connect with others, who may have similar experiences, in a trusting, confidential environment.
- Understand your interpersonal style, patterns, and reactions and their potential impact on your relationships with others and on your mental health.
- Empower yourself to change relationship patterns that are not working for you and practice these changes in your relationships with group members.
- Practice openness and vulnerability with trusted others in a way that reflects your values, honors your cultural identities, and facilitates healthy relationships and outcomes.
- Experience healing in relationships and translate this into relationships outside of group.
If your distress involves concerns in your relationship with a friend, family member, romantic partner, professor, advisor, boss, etc., or if you have concerns about how you function in relationships more generally (loneliness, people-pleasing behavior, feeling like an outsider, difficulty prioritizing or communicating your needs, etc.), then group therapy might be for you! Keep scrolling to learn more about which groups are available and how to take the next step.
Current Group Therapy Offerings Heading link
Check out each tab below to learn more about our therapy groups!
CAG
Fridays 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m, next session starting January 26, 2024
This six-week group will help you address anxiety using the evidence-based approach behind Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The aim of ACT is to bring an open and willing attitude toward all internal experiences and actively working on what you truly care about, even when pain is present. The goal of this group is to help you relate differently to your anxious feelings, depressed moods, worrying mind, and self-defeating behaviors. Sessions will include skill-building, mindfulness activities, group discussion, and experiential exercises.
General IPG
Mondays 3:05 p.m – 4:30 p.m.
An interpersonal process group is a space for students who may benefit from exploring their personal and interpersonal growth, as well as exploring interpersonal reasons for their distress in a safe, supportive environment with others who may have similar experiences.
Grad Groups
Tuesdays 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., meeting in-person every-other week!
Thursdays 3:05 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
These interpersonal process groups are spaces for graduate students who may benefit from exploring personal and interpersonal growth, as well as exploring interpersonal reasons for their distress in a safe, supportive environment with other graduate students who may have similar experiences.
LGBTQ+
Tuesdays 3:30 p.m – 5:00 p.m.
This interpersonal process therapy group is for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or other gender or sexual minority identities to explore issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and interpersonal experiences. The group is also open to students who are questioning their gender or sexual orientation.
Men's
Wednesdays 3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
This interpersonal process group is for students who identify as men and want to better understand themselves and others in relationships. This group addresses masculinity, emotional expression, relationship building, and exploration of roles commonly assumed by men.
TNBGE Group
Mondays 4:00 p.m – 5:30 p.m.
This interpersonal process therapy group is for students who identify as transgender or gender expansive to explore issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and interpersonal experiences. This interpersonal process group offers a space for group members to gain support in integrating their identities with other areas of their lives.
New Groups Coming Spring 2024! Heading link
Interested in any of the groups below? Contact Caroline Lavelock at laveloc2@uic.edu to be added to the contact list!
First Gen Process Group
Fridays 1:00 p.m – 2:30 p.m.
This group is open to students who identify as a first-generation student, including those who are the first within their family to attend college (regardless of U.S. generation status) and students who are navigating the U.S. culture/education system for the first time (such as international students).
This group will provide these students with a supportive space where they may process how navigating new spaces or roles for the first time may influence their relationships, as well as explore with other group members how to navigate such struggles.
Healing en Comunidad
Thursdays 1:00 p.m – 2:15 p.m.
A therapeutic process group for Latine students who are looking to build community and connect to others as a form of healing. The Healing en Comunidad [community] group hopes to create a non-judgmental space aimed at validating and affirming all aspects of who you are, while providing the space to explore and understand yourself in relationship with others. Connecting to others who validate your experience and humanity can be a powerful way of creating your own healing and developing the best version of yourself. The group centralizes your unique experience and honors a rich legacy of cultural values, wisdom, practices, and psychological strengths (see “The Seven Psychological Strengths of Latinx” in Adames & Chávez-Dueñas, 2017) that stem from the Latine community and are within you. The group welcomes conversations in Spanish, English, or Spanglish.
Women's Group
Mondays 3:05 p.m – 4:30 p.m.
This interpersonal process therapy group is for students who identify as a women (cis or trans) to explore issues related to their experiences as women and with forming and maintaining relationships with others.
Getting Started with a Group Heading link
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Get started by scheduling an initial consultation (312-996-3490), or talk to your current UIC therapist about your interest in group.
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If it seems like a good fit, you can then schedule a 30-minute "pre-group meeting" with the co-facilitators of the group. During this meeting, the group leaders will help you determine whether that particular group is a good fit for your clinical and interpersonal needs.
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An exception to this is the Conquering Anxiety group, which requires you to attend an initial consultation but does not require a pre-group meeting.
