Workshops & Groups

Workshops 

A range of workshops and groups are available to help you build skills to respond to the demands of life at university. The topics change per term, so keep checking this page for updates.

Current workshops

The workshops are generally short-term, structured psycho-educational and agenda led. Most come from a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) perspective. The workshops are open to between four and 20 participants at a time.

Workshops can be interactive, so please be prepared to participate (asking questions, doing the exercises, making sense of how the information might apply to you), however, they are not therapeutic groups, and you will not be expected to share anything too personal with others in the workshops. Workshops range from a single session to a workshop series, attending all sessions in a series is advisable as they relate to one another.

Self referral workshops:

An Introduction to Mindfulness

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next date: Wednesday 20 November (Week 6), 14:30-16:00
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

Considerable research has demonstrated that mindfulness is effective for reducing stress, alleviating anxiety, and improving emotional well-being. If you would like to learn more about mindfulness and how it might benefit you, then come along to this introductory 90-minute workshop. As well as providing an overview of mindfulness in theory, practice and research, there will also be an opportunity to experience some key mindfulness practices that will help you to feel grounded and steady in the midst of a busy term. 

Bereavement Support Group - Not taking place this term

• To join: Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form for further information and to check availability.
• Next dates:
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

This is a new group for anyone who finds themselves in an active grieving process and needs support. The group will think together about the lived experience of managing grief while studying in Oxford.

The group will meet fortnightly and we would encourage you to attend all four sessions if possible. There will be a short meeting with the convener prior to the group to work out whether this is a suitable space for you and for you to ask any questions.

Can't Work - Not taking place this term

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. 
• Next dates: 
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

This is a small one-off group session (up to six people) for any student who is finding themselves blocked in their work. You might be lacking motivation or finding it difficult to get beyond imagining criticism and judgements. You might think of yourself as a 'perfectionist' or as someone who tends to put things off. You might be having trouble getting into your work or finishing it off and handing it in. 

You will work together collaboratively with a facilitator to understand why you might be blocked and to find strategies which will help you to get working again. Although you are welcome to come back for another workshop session, most people find that coming once is enough to help get them started.

You may like to listen to the Can't work podcasts, and others in the Student Life at Oxford series. 

Due to the nature and small size of the group, you may not be offered a place right away. 

DPhil Workshops

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next dates: Workshop 1: Thursday 14 November (Week 5), 11:45-12:45. Workshop 2: Thursday 28 November (Week 7), 11:45-12:45. Workshop 3: Thursday 12 December (Week 9), 12:15-13:15
• Commitment: 60 minute workshop
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

These workshops can be attended individually or as a series. The workshops aim to provide a space for DPhil students who would like to find out about others’ experiences of doing a DPhil and to share their own. There will also be some input from the facilitator on common emotional issues and problems in doing a DPhil and ways of reflecting on and thinking about them.

The workshops are suitable for students who have the usual concerns about doing a DPhil rather than for DPhil students with more complex emotional or psychological difficulties, who might wish to apply for individual counselling in the first instance.

Workshop 1: Getting started: beginning your DPhil life in Oxford as you mean to go on – finding a work life balance and looking after your emotions
Workshop 2: Getting on: managing professional relationships (supervisors, lab, peers), preparing emotionally for transfer of status, and dealing with DPhil crises along the way
Workshop 3: Getting finished – preparing emotionally for submission, your viva, and life after the DPhil

Finding your Voice (Social Anxiety)

• To join: Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form for further information and to check availability.
• Next date: Friday 15 November (Week 5), 15:00-16:30
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

This workshop aims to create a safe space to understand more about how Social Anxiety manifests itself and the debilitating impact it can have on people’s lives. You might have struggled with Social Anxiety for a long time, or this might be something new you are experiencing. You might feel anxious in social interactions, struggle going out in public, find it hard to speak with strangers/connect with new people, or speaking up in seminars or groups.

The workshop will mostly be psychoeducational, whilst also providing some strategies and coping mechanisms in being able to overcome this anxiety. The workshop will deliver evidenced based information drawn from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. 

This workshop has space for up to 20 students. Participation is welcomed but is optional. You are welcome to just come along to listen, and hopefully take something away to implement to begin or continue on your journey in finding your voice again.

Forest Bathing - Not taking place this term

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. 
• Next date:
• Venue:

Middle of a busy term! Join us in the safety and structure of a group of fellow students to try an introduction to 'Forest Bathing': a way of immersing yourself in nature in a mindful way. The group will be facilitated by experienced counsellors who work at Oxford University Counselling Service.  The 90-minute group will run in the beautiful grounds of the Oxford Botanic Garden and Lady Margaret Hall.

Dress for the outside taking into account local weather on the day, and wear suitable shoes.

How to Find Your People: Making Friends and Building Successful Personal Relationships

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next date: Thursday 31 October (Week 3), 11:45-12:45 
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

New to Oxford and haven’t yet found your people? Spent your first year here working hard and now finding it difficult to establish a friendship group? Feel you’ve been here a while and not yet found your feet socially? Or maybe just wondering how to make friends in this particular setting?

This interactive group session aims to help you to:

- reflect on what you want from a friendship and what you can bring to one
- devise a strategy for bumping into people you’ll get along with
- break the ice in social situations
- develop your social skills by practising with other group participants, and
- cultivate warm and enduring friendships at Oxford with increased confidence and charm.

The group will comprise 6-8 students and is for those who want to develop skills in meeting and making new friends. Students who struggle with social anxiety may prefer attending the ‘Finding Your Voice’ workshop before signing up for a subsequent ‘How to Find Your People’ workshop.

Managing Sleep & Insomnia

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next date: Friday 1 November (Week 3), 14:30-15:30 
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

Sleep is vital for good mental and physical health and something many of us take for granted. However, lack of sleep, or insomnia, is a common and distressing problem. This psycho-educational workshop will explore some of the everyday difficulties people have with sleep, the nature of sleep and the common habits and behaviours that can interfere with good sleep. Using a cognitive behavioural approach, you will learn strategies and techniques that are helpful for overcoming common sleep problems and increasing the potential for a good night’s sleep.

Managing Panic

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next date: Friday 15 November (Week 5), 14:30-15:30
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

A panic attack is an extreme episode of anxiety triggering physical and emotional symptoms that are unpleasant and distressing. This one-hour psychoeducational workshop will overview the psychobiology of panic attacks and present evidence-based strategies and techniques for overcoming panic using a Cognitive Behavioural approach.

Managing Trauma Symptoms

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next date: Thursday 7 November (Week 4), 10:30-11:30
• Venue: Online with Zoom

This new workshop is for anyone who is feeling ongoing disturbance and the after effects of a distressing event.  The workshop is designed to take into consideration the symptoms of PTSD. A formal diagnosis of PTSD is not a requirement for participation.

The workshop does not require participation and students are not asked to disclose personal information. The workshop is instructional and experiential, providing tools to manage:

• Intrusive distressing memories
• Recurring distressing dreams
• Flashbacks
• Emotional response after experiencing distressing reminders
• Physical reactivity after exposure to distressing reminders

If you are experiencing the majority of these symptoms on a regular basis, you may benefit from individual counselling.

Mindfulness at the Museum

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next date: Friday 8 November (Week 4), 14:30-15:30
• Venue: In-person at the Ashmolean Museum

Mindfulness is a state of mind characterised by an intentional focus on present moment awareness with an attitude of gentle curiosity. Cultivating awareness of our moment-to-moment experience when viewing art opens the possibility for a richer, more vivid engagement with the object being viewed. Ruth Collins, Counsellor and Mindfulness Teacher, will begin this workshop with a short mindfulness practice which will be followed by a guided 'Mindful Viewing' exercise bringing focus to an art object selected by the Collections Manager from the Department of Eastern Art at the Ashmolean Museum.

Navigating persistent pain and illness

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next dates: Monday 2 December (Week 8) with a follow-up TBC, 09:30-11:00
• Venue: Online with Zoom

Do you experience persistent headaches or body pain? Are you recovering from an injury, virus, surgery, or chemotherapy? Perhaps you have a condition that is not expected to improve and you are wondering how to deal with that?

Whether your symptoms are unexplained or you have a formal diagnosis, if you’ve been experiencing these symptoms for more than ~3 months and you’ve accessed support from a medical health professional, read on and see if this appeals to you…

You’d like to feel a little (or a lot) better in your body and mind

You’re interested to understand more about the nature of persistent pain and illness and how to deal with it

You’d like to meet others with experiences that resonate with yours – people who ‘get it’, and learn alongside one another

You’re open to discovering lots of ideas, tools and techniques to help you navigate persistent pain and illness

If this sounds like you, please sign up to our small-group, 2-part workshop here: Self-Referral Workshop Request Form

Running Monday 18 November (6th week) with a follow-up on 2 December (8th week) at 09:30 for 1.5 hours online via Zoom, from the comfort of your room.

Places are limited to 8 students so if you sign-up and cannot attend, please let us know so somebody from the waitlist might join instead.

If you have any requirements for the workshop, or questions for the facilitator, please include those and we’ll come back to you.

Perfectionism - understanding it and strategies to manage it

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next date: Thursday 7 November (Week 4), 15:30-17:00
• Venue: In-person at the Museum of Natural History, Seminar Room

Many students value high standards in their academic, extra-curricular and personal activities. For some, however, the relentless pursuit of excessively high standards can become self-defeating. In those instances, the pursuit of perfection rather than excellence can contribute to high levels of anxiety, stress and low mood. 

This workshop will provide a thoughtful space to think about how perfectionism can develop and offer ideas and strategies to support alternative, more effective approaches. 

Reducing Digital Distraction with Dr Ulrik Lyngs

Are you easily distracted on your smartphone or laptop? Are there too many tabs open in your brain? The ReDD Workshop provides actionable steps to take back control of your digital life.

The workshops are open to all students and take place in person or online.

"Your workshop has changed my life", "the most useful webinar I have ever attended in my career" - Previous workshop participants

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary, click on the link to book a place https://redd-project.org/oxford/ 
  
• Venue: Online with Zoom, In-person at Somerville College & Student Welfare & Support Services

 Relaxation

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next date: Tuesday 29 October (Week 3), 17:15-18:30
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

This is a one-off, self-referral workshop, which is guided and psycho-educational in nature, exploring basic physiological relaxation and meditation techniques, including some gentle yoga therapy. 

The workshop covers mindful, diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, body-scanning, visualisation and mindfulness based meditation exercises. Participants are advised to secure a quiet, uninterrupted space where they can lie down on a yoga mat or sit on a comfortable chair. No prior yoga or meditation experience is required. Copies of the exercises and scripts will be emailed out to all participants after the workshop. 

Students of Colour Workshops

New Beginnings

• To join:  No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next Date: Wednesday 23 October (Week 2), 17:00-18:30
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

This confidential one-off workshop is an opportunity to check-in, connect and reflect with others as you begin your academic journey at Oxford. This is a chance to explore your inner resources and look at ways to establish a sense of belonging in your new environment.

Me and My Mental Health

• To join:  No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next Date: Wednesday 30 October (Week 3), 17:00-18:30
• Venue: Online with Zoom

This workshop is a chance explore what your mental health means to you. This is an opportunity to consider your mental wellbeing in this academic setting. Whether you have had historic experiences or have current questions, join us to shine a light on your mental health in a confidential and non-judgemental space.

Tea and Talk

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete the online self-referral form. Once completed, a Specialist Caseworker will be in touch to talk you through the next steps. 
• Next date: Friday 11 October-Friday 13 December (Week 0-9 inclusive), 15:00-16:30
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

Tea and Talk is a welcoming, informal, peer support space for survivors of sexual violence, domestic abuse and stalking. In this non-judgmental environment, you can explore what it means to navigate daily life with the impact of your experiences and discuss ways to support your wellbeing. We understand the unique challenges survivors face, especially those going through a criminal justice process, and aim to build a caring community during what can be a lonely and isolating time. 

Sessions are free and facilitated by members of the Sexual Harassment and Violence Support Service and the University Counselling Service.

Group Counselling

These groups are a more effective form of help than individual counselling for many people. Our undergraduate and postgraduate groups can provide an opportunity to explore how you relate to others, to see yourself through their eyes, and to benefit from their experiences and support while offering them your own. Other groups focus on specific themes and may involve learning new ideas or experimenting with therapeutic exercises within a safe and supportive group environment. Please see below for further information about the different groups on offer in the service.

What should I expect?

All group members commit to keeping personal knowledge about each other confidential within the group and the Counselling Service aims to set up groups so that you are unlikely to encounter anyone you already know. It is also suggested that group members do not socialise outside the group while it is running. This creates a group which feels safe and can attend to each member equally.

You are free to choose how much or little to say. Groups are most helpful when members are willing to talk openly and make use of the opportunity to share together, by giving and receiving support, feedback and insight. At times this can feel like taking a risk, but you are always in control of how much you want to challenge yourself in this way.

You are asked to commit to regular attendance, but if it turns out that the experience becomes counterproductive for you, speak to the group facilitator so that you can decide together how best to respond.

Can I join the group after it has started?

Groups normally consist of the same members throughout their lifecycle, enabling a secure and cohesive group to develop. If you become interested in a group after it has already started, let your counsellor know so that you can be considered for the next intake.

What time commitment do I need to make?

Please see below for information about group timings, session length and frequency. In order for the group to work well and feel secure, groups work best when members are in a position to commit to regular attendance, and to prioritise this commitment over other things which may crop up in their lives. This does vary between different groups though, so talk with your referring counsellor or the group facilitator about how this applies to the particular group you are joining.

Groups by counsellor referral:

Anxiety Group

• To join: Please make an appointment for individual counselling and let your counsellor know that you would like to explore the possibility of joining this workshop.
• Next dates: Tuesday 12 November and Tuesday 26 November (Week 5 & 7), 17:30-19:30
• Commitment: 2 sessions, each lasting 2 hours and an invitation to try some things out in between the sessions.
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

This 2 session course is for students who are finding they become anxious in a variety of settings and ways. This might be impacting on a range of things such as sleep, appetite, academic work, participation in seminars or other social activities, maintaining friendships and enjoying day to day activities.

The group will work collaboratively, with the facilitators, to understand why we sometimes experience anxious feelings and to identify what may be keeping the anxiety going, sometimes referred to as identifying a vicious cycle of anxiety. With this understanding, we will consider some ways to break the cycle and you will be invited to choose one or more of the strategies we discuss to have a go with between the sessions. There will then be a chance to report back at the second session and troubleshoot any difficulties.

The group will consist of 14 - 16 students and there will be a mixture of paired, small group and larger group discussion to ensure everyone is able to find a way to participate.

Courage to Connect - healing from unhealthy/abusive relationships 

• To join: Please make an appointment for individual counselling and let your counsellor know that you would like to explore the possibility of joining this group. You can also meet with a Specialist Caseworker in the Sexual Harassment and Violence Support Service who can refer you: www.ox.ac.uk/self-refer
• Next dates: Monday 11 November-Monday 2 December (Week 5-8 Michaelmas Term inclusive) and Monday 20 January-Monday 10 February (Week 1-4 Hilary Term inclusive), 11:45-12:45
• Commitment: 60 minutes, weekly - participants are asked to commit to all sessions 
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services 

Courage to Connect is a safe, confidential and structured group for students who have previously experienced any form of coercive control, relationship abuse or domestic abuse. The group is also suitable for students who have grown up in a household where they have witnessed, or been affected by, domestic abuse. The group aims to empower you to better understand your experiences, through connection and education, reducing self-blame, shame and isolation. We will explore topics such as re-building identity, understanding victim behaviour, and addressing power and control. This group is open to Undergraduate and Postgraduate students. 

Groups are kept to 6 students maximum and are facilitated by a member of the Sexual Harassment and Violence Support Service, and a member of the Counselling Service, both with training and experience working with survivors of domestic abuse. 

DPhil Therapy Group

• To join: Please make an appointment for individual counselling and let your counsellor know that you would like to explore the possibility of joining this group.
• Next dates: Thursdays Week 0-9 inclusive, 17:15-18:45 each term (Thursday 10 October-Thursday 12 December for Michaelmas Term)
• Commitment: 90 minutes weekly for a minimum of one term and a maximum of three terms
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

This weekly group is for DPhil students who have a minimum of a term’s experience of Oxford (whether as an undergraduate or post-graduate), and who are experiencing emotional or psychological difficulties which are impacting on DPhil work or identities as a DPhil student, especially where earlier experiences are potentially being repeated in current relationships or situations e.g. with peers, friends, or supervisors. Students who are completely new to Oxford might want to have a look at the DPhil Workshop programme above and consider asking their counsellor for a referral to the DPhil Therapy Group towards the middle of their first term.

The DPhil Therapy group aims to help you to develop a better understanding of your individual identities and functioning in a group context, to give and receive support within a group, to share common experiences of undertaking a DPhil at Oxford, to process emotional difficulties often encountered at this stage of life, e.g. more committed sexual relationships, difficulties in maintaining long distance relationships, more established peer group relations, assuming more responsibility, the challenges of adult functioning and/or past or current personal difficulties, and to provide you with a unique space to explore your own vulnerabilities and parts of yourself that might usually remain hidden from others in the otherwise often highly competitive environment of the University of Oxford.

Healing from Childhood Trauma

• To join: Please make an appointment for individual counselling and let your counsellor know that you would like to explore the possibility of joining this group.
• Next dates: Thursday 7 November-Thursday 5 December (Week 4-8 inclusive Michaelmas Term), 15:15-16:15 then Thursdays from 15:15-16.15 Weeks 1-8 in Hilary and Trinity.
• Commitment: 60 minutes weekly, for a minimum of one term, up to a maximum of three terms.
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

As psychoanalyst Adam Phillips points out, ‘The past influences everything but dictates nothing’, yet where students have experienced childhood trauma, making the most of Oxford can feel like an uphill struggle.

This weekly group is for students aged 18+ who have experienced childhood complex trauma (i.e. ongoing trauma which was experienced before the age of 18 and which had longer term consequences rather than being a single event with short-term or limited consequences), where this is impacting your current relationships with others, your identities as a student, or your day to day functioning at Oxford.

Examples of complex trauma during childhood might include the death of a parent, parental separation or divorce, severe parental mental or physical health difficulties, witnessing domestic violence, the death of a sibling, having a sibling with a moderate to severe disability or physical or mental health problem, experiencing neglect or physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, a member of the household being in prison, parental alcohol abuse, parental drug abuse, severe economic hardship, severe bullying at school, or an early experience of boarding school (i.e. before the age of 11) where any of these were experienced as being traumatic. The impacts might include low self-esteem, low mood, imposter syndrome, difficulties with trust and intimacy, insecure, anxious, or disorganised attachment, difficulty recognising or containing your own emotions, feeling unsupported by others, estrangement from family members, complex relationship with tutors, supervisors, or others. You do not need to have a formal diagnosis.

The group aims to provide a boundaried space with no set agenda where you can explore your emotions and reflect on the ways in which the childhood trauma you have experienced might be impacting how you currently feel about, and relate to, yourself and others and your experiences of Oxford. The group also aims to help you to begin to break the vicious circle of consciously or unconsciously repeating situations and/or feelings related to the trauma you experienced during childhood and to help you to come to terms with, and to start to move on from, what you have experienced.

LGBTQ+ Supportive Group - Not taking place this term

• To join: Please make an appointment for individual counselling and let your counsellor know that you would like to explore the possibility of joining this group. 
• Next dates: 
• Commitment: 60 minutes for 5 sessions
• Venue: Online with Teams

Low Mood Group

• To join: Please make an appointment for individual counselling and let your counsellor know that you would like to explore the possibility of joining this group. 
• Next dates: Friday 8 November-Friday 6 December (Week 4-8 inclusive Michaelmas Term) and Friday 24 January-Friday 7 February (Week 1-3 inclusive Hilary Term); 15:00-16:15
• Commitment: 75 minutes for 6 sessions

This is an in-person group for students who are experiencing persistent low mood, lacking in motivation, or maybe finding the winter/Christmas break difficult.

The group draws on the Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) approach to provide a framework within which we could work with low mood and depression. In the support of each other, we will try to understand our difficult feelings or critical voices, learn different ways of being with them, and create space for the people and things that matter to us. This is an interactive and experiential group, in which you’ll be invited to try out ideas and exercises and share your experiences within a safe and supportive atmosphere.

We ask that students first discuss this course with their counsellor, then fill out and return a short self-referral form. There will then be a brief individual meeting with the facilitator in order to make sure the group is right for you.

Managing Strong Emotions Group - Not taking place this term

• To join: Please make an appointment for individual counselling and let your counsellor know that you would like to explore the possibility of joining this group.
• Next dates: 
• Commitment: 2 hours each for 2 weekly sessions
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

This is a 2-week workshop for students (approximately 6 - 8) who are experiencing difficulty regulating, understanding, expressing, and stabilising strong or uncomfortable emotions.

The workshop will introduce and utilise the Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) model to understand the rational mind, emotional mind, and how to balance them together effectively. We will investigate intense emotional reactions to situations and events; the cause of the emotions, how to process them, and how to calm them. This is an interactive group, in which you’ll be invited to try out ideas and exercises, and share your experiences within a safe and supportive atmosphere.
We ask that students first discuss this group with their counsellor, then fill out and return a short self-referral form. There will then be a brief individual meeting with one of the facilitators in order to make sure the group is right for you.

Mindfulness Course - Not taking place this term

• To join: Please make an appointment for individual counselling and let your counsellor know that you would like to explore the possibility of joining this group.
• Next dates: 
• Commitment: 90 minutes for 6 sessions and home practice in between
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

This practical six-week course is based on the curriculum developed to accompany the book Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World by Professor Mark Williams and Dr Danny Penman and developed by staff at the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation. It is a curriculum that is particularly well-suited to students as it places emphasis on developing the skills needed for managing the demands of university life, as well as techniques for building resilience and developing healthy relationships, that everyone can fit into their busy daily lives.

The aim of the course is to encourage movement away from automatic pilot towards a more developed awareness, clarity and acceptance of present-moment reality. The course includes the introduction to and practice of meditation techniques which help to develop a more heightened awareness of present moment experience, non-judgementally and with a spirit of inquiry. As well as the meditations the course includes psychoeducation about rumination, anxiety and depression through the utilization of a number of exercises drawn from cognitive therapy that demonstrate the links between thinking and feeling.

In order to fully benefit from the course, it is important that you commit to attending every session as each class builds on the learning and meditation practises from the week before. It is also important that you are able to engage with the home practice, which means being able to set aside up to 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week, for the duration of the course.

Oxford University Counselling Service has been running mindfulness courses for students since 2009 – one of the first counselling services in the country to do so. The courses are run by Dr Ruth Collins an experienced mindfulness teacher who trained with Professor Mark Williams and his team at the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation (University of Oxford).

Self-Compassion Group

• To join: Please make an appointment for individual counselling and let your counsellor know that you would like to explore the possibility of joining this group.
• Next dates: Friday 22 November-Friday 6 December (Week 6-8 inclusive Michaelmas Term) and Friday 24 January-Friday 31 January (Week 1-2 inclusive Hilary Term), 10:00-11:30
• Commitment: 90 minutes for 5 weekly sessions
• Venue: Online with Zoom

The Self-Compassion Workshop takes a biopsychosocial approach to compassion, and this forms the basis of Compassion Focused Therapy and Compassionate Mind Training, founded by Professor Paul Gilbert. 

We’ll be learning what compassion is and isn’t, and getting to know your relationship with it… 

Does the very mention of compassion make you feel uncomfortable?  
Is it all about being nice to yourself and sleeping-in? 
Isn’t your inner critic and perfectionist the reason for your success to date?  
Do you deserve compassion? 

We’ll be addressing such questions and concerns, and many more.

We’ll be learning why and how compassion helps us to thrive and to bear the difficulties posed by being human, and specifically in your life context.   

We’ll be getting to know and understand our inner critic. 

And every week, you’ll be learning how to cultivate compassion and tame your inner critic, through a range of techniques, drawing in part, upon mindfulness.  

This psycho-educational workshop series will invite you to explore your relationship with compassion and your inner critic.  You will be encouraged to discuss your experiences and ideas from the workshop in pairs, small groups, and within the main group. However, you won’t ever be singled out to answer a question or disclose personal information. All exercises are voluntary. 

If you are interested in attending this course, please speak to your individual counsellor. There will be a 10-minute assessment with the course facilitator to check that the course is a good fit for you at this time.  

To get an idea of whether compassion work is for you, students can listen to the following podcasts on the Counselling Service podcast page: 

https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare/counselling/self-help/podcasts

Self-Compassion Parts 1 and 2 

Self-Criticism (via CBT for low mood)

Students of Colour Group

• To Join: Please email the Counselling Service for a self-referral form and any questions you may have about this group.
• Next dates: Wednesday 6 November-Wednesday 4 December (Week 4-8 inclusive), 17:00-18:30
• Commitment: You will need to commit to attending 4 sessions on the above dates, each lasting 90 minutes. 
• Venue: Online

This group provides a unique place of refuge and safety for students to reflect on issues that may impact their academic and social experience at Oxford.  Any issue may be explored in this confidential and supportive group setting, which may include academic pressure, racism, relationship problems, and so on. Attending this group will provide opportunities to learn from and develop with your peers.

Graduate and undergraduate students of colour are welcome. The group will consist of twelve participants.

The group will be facilitated by two members of staff from the Counselling Service who are also persons of colour.

Survivor Support Group

• To Join: Please email the Counselling Service for a self-referral form and any questions you may have about this group.
• Next dates: Monday 14 October-Monday 2 December (Week 1-8 inclusive), 17:30-19:00
• Commitment: Weekly 1.5hr sessions - participants are asked to commit to all sessions.
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

A safe space for survivors of sexual abuse and violence, whether historic or recent, to find support whilst navigating life at Oxford University. There will be no expectation for participants to share the details of their experiences, however, sharing the impact and your current thoughts, feelings and responses is encouraged. This group is open to Undergraduate and Post Graduate students.

Groups are kept small and confidential and facilitated by a member of the Counselling Service, experienced and trained in working with survivors of sexual violence and abuse.

Undergraduate Students Group

• To join: Please make an appointment for individual counselling and let your counsellor know that you would like to explore the possibility of joining this group.
• Next dates: Thursday 17 October-Thursday 5 December (Week 1-8 inclusive), 18:00-19:30
• Commitment: Weekly for 90 minutes
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

This weekly group works in much the same way as individual sessions. There’s no agenda, people simply bring whatever is on their minds – this can be something very immediate like an essay crisis or relationship breakdown or something to do with life outside/before Oxford. Facilitated by two experienced counsellors, the group provides an opportunity for participants to be a bit more open and, in doing so, find not only that they are not alone but also that their peers can be a real source of encouragement and support. This group is most suitable for those in their second year and upwards. There will usually be 6-8 participants.