Workshops and Groups

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 & groups:

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

• To join: Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form for further information and to check availability.
• Next dates: Wednesday 23 October, 6 November, 20 November and 4 December (Week 2, 4, 6 and 8), 17:15-18:30
• 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

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next dates: TBC for Michaelmas Term
• 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), 11:45-12:45
• 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

Forest Bathing

• To join: No pre-group consultation is necessary. Complete our Self-Referral Workshop Request Form to check availability and reserve a place.
• Next date: TBC for Michaelmas Term
• Venue: Lady Margaret Hall, College Main Gate, Norham Gardens, Oxford, OX2 6QA 
• Next date: TBC for Michaelmas Term
• Venue: Oxford Botanic Garden, Rose Lane, Oxford, OX1 4AZ

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

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.

• 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

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, TBC for Michaelmas Term 2024
  
• 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

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

All of our groups are intentionally kept small, and we welcome all students, both Postgraduates and Undergraduates.

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.
• 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 Undergraduate and Master’s 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

• 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: Wednesday 23 October-Wednesday 20 November (Week 2-6 inclusive), 17:00-18:00
• 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), 15:00-16:15
• Commitment: 75 minutes for 5 weekly sessions.
• Venue: In-person at Student Welfare & Support Services

This is a 5-week group for students (approximately 6 - 8) who are experiencing persistent low mood and related difficulties.

The group is developed based on Humanistic approach and the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) model. This is an opportunity for you to understand your low mood and how you experience it, to challenge some of the beliefs that might have kept you stuck, and to learn and experiment with different ways of existing with difficult feelings but still being able to do what matters to you. 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 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

• 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: Monday 11 November-Monday 18 November (Week 5-6 inclusive), 13:30-15:30
• 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

• 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: Monday 21 October-Monday 25 November (Week 2-7 inclusive), 14:30-16:00
• 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 8 November-Friday 6 December (Week 4-8 inclusive), 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.