Programs - Student Wellness Centre

GradChats: Drop-in for Graduate Students

6:00-6:50pm

Location: Virtual

GradChats is a casual, virtual space for graduate students to connect across shared experiences of a general theme each week. This is not a formal therapy group! A graduate student from the SWC’s Graduate Wellness Team will be co-facilitating the drop-in each week, alongside Sheila Ortlieb from the counselling team. Students who join will be…

International Students: Meet Your Neighbours (DROP-IN)

Location: PGCLL 201, the Wellness Lounge

Meeting new people can be difficult as an International student. Come get to know other International students at McMaster in an informal, small-group setting. We speak in English, but all levels of fluency are welcome! Chat with us about adjusting to Canada, your favourite memories from home, where to eat in Hamilton, and everything in…

ACT on Anxiety

Wednesdays 1:30 PM-3:30 PM

Location: In Person (PGCLL 207)

Participants will learn Acceptance & Commitment Therapy strategies to decrease the impact of anxious thoughts, feelings, sensations and memories on living a valued life. To register, contact Kerri-Ann Fitzgerald at fitzka@mcmaster.ca

DBT: Interpersonal Effectiveness

Thursdays 3:30-5:30pm

Location: In Person - PGCLL Room 207

DBT- Interpersonal Effectiveness: Learning strategies to help navigate all relationships; by asking for what you need, saying no and yes in line with your boundaries and negotiating conflict. This group will include learning and using a few distress tolerance and emotion regulation skills to help manage the emotional intensity that can arise when facing interpersonal difficulties as…

Managing Your Worry and Anxiety

Fridays 10:30am - 12:00pm

Location: In Person

The Managing Your Worries and Anxiety group is a 4 session in-person therapy group with about 10-12 participants. In this group, participants learn tips and tricks to manage anxiety/stress as well as some Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) concepts. CBT is an evidence-based treatment for anxiety as well as other difficulties with mood. The group is…

Mend Your Mood

Fridays 12:30 PM-2:30 PM EST

Location: In Person (PGCLL 207)

This group will focus on developing a better understanding of depression while learning evidence-based skills to change patterns that trigger depression symptoms. Pre-group meeting required. To register for for more information, email Michelle Charles (MSW, RSW) at charles2@mcmaster.ca.

ADHD - Drop-in

Thursdays, 3:30pm - 4:45pm

Location: In Person: PGCLL Room 207

What is ADHD? How does it affect you? What are some strategies to help you manage better? Meet, support, and learn from other students who have similar issues. For more information, contact Heather Cholack at cholackh@mcmaster.ca

Food for Thought

Various Times

Location: In-person Cooking Sessions and Online Newsletter

Cooking Classes Learn cooking skills in a relaxed and interactive environment. This introductory group will provide the opportunity to explore and practice topics related to cooking skills, meal planning, nutrition, and food safety. Light meal included each week. All skill levels encouraged to join. We encourage sharing of skills and cooking ideas throughout the session.…

StressLess - Drop In

Tuesdays, 3:30-4:20pm

Location: Virtual

The StressLess drop-in session is an opportunity to explore not just how to manage your stress, but also why you might get so stressed out in the first place. Using an anti-colonial framework, we informally discuss themes such as motivation, rest, pressure, fear of failure, and anxiety. We will explore nervous system regulation and stress…

Grief Support Circle Drop-In

Thursdays, 2:30PM to 4:00PM

Location: In Person - PGCLL 206

A mutual support group for students who are experiencing loss or anticipatory grief due to the death of a loved one. Find support through: facilitated reflective exercises, education about grief and loss, peer sharing and support, creative exercises, mindfulness and self-compassion based exercises. You are welcome to attend on any month. Winter 2023 Monthly Dates:…

Caring Communities Network

Self-paced

Location: Online

Promote wellness within your community (MSU Club or other student group) through the designation of a Wellness Liaison. A Wellness Liaison is someone in your community that can share experiences, resources, and opportunities surrounding health promotion and how to care for your community. They’ll be connected with the Student Wellness Centre as we share learning…

Did You Know? HPV

Location: Online

The Did You Know? HPV webinar is designed to give students knowledge about what HPV is and how the vaccine can prevent at least six types of cancers from forming. While HPV and other sexually transmitted infections can be tough to comprehend, this webinar makes HPV easy to understand, provide key Canadian statistics, and a…

Love Better - A Healthy Relationships Group

Wednesdays, 10:00am to 12:00pm

Location: In Person

In this 5-week group, participants will learn to identify the differences between healthy and unhealthy romantic relationships. Group topics will cover the following: the qualities of healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, red flags to watch for in dating relationships, how the past affects dating relationships, strategies to make relationships last, and the importance of self-reflection to…

Mindfulness Approach to Food and Eating

Mondays, 2:30pm - 4:00pm

Location: In Person

This group will use a mindfulness and acceptance approach to address issues around food and eating. There will also be a look at what has influenced and affected our relationship with food. Please send an e-mail to Debbie Nifakis to nifakis@mcmaster.ca for more information or to register.

Building Self-Esteem

Thursdays, 1:30pm-3:30pm

Location: In Person

Learn about low self-esteem – how it develops, how it’s maintained, and how to address this problem. In this 9 week group, we’ll use cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to change your unhelpful thinking patterns and beliefs, as well as any unhelpful style of behaving to bring about a change in how you see yourself and…

Trauma Informed Yoga

Mondays -6:30-7:30pm & Fridays - 2:30-3:30

Location: Virtual (Mondays) & In-Person (Fridays)

In this yoga class, participants will learn emotional regulation skills through breath and mind-body awareness. Participants will be encouraged to find balance in the nervous system and learn tools to draw attention to mindfulness. Participants will be guided through grounding exercises and will learn coping skills to find individual safety and security through asana (body…

Sleep & The Anxious Mind

Tuesdays, 1:30-3:00pm

Location: Virtual

In this group, participants will learn connections between sleep, the brain, and mood regulation. Group members will learn strategies to improve sleep hygiene, calm the anxious mind, and create daily routines that allow for improved wellness. Group members will have the opportunity to share their own experiences to help break the feelings of isolation that…

Perfectionism in Perspective

Tuesdays, 10:30-12:30PM

Location: Virtual

The Perfectionism group is a 5-week, online psychoeducational group. Participants will learn to define perfectionism as it applies to their lives, and learn practical strategies to cope with perfectionistic behaviours. Group topics will cover the following: 1) What is perfectionism? 2) What keeps perfectionism going? 3) Reducing perfectionistic behaviour and challenging perfectionistic thinking 4) Adjusting…

Embracing Gender Diversity

Mondays, 5:30-7:00pm (Bi-Weekly)

Location: In Person - PGCLL 207 (located inside Student Wellness Lounge)

This in person drop-in group is for gender-diverse and gender-questioning students to connect with other like-minded students and explore gender identity. The group is co-facilitated by Zeinab Khawaja, a health promoter who is currently exploring and questioning their own gender identity, and Michael Morton, a counselling intern who is a part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and…

The Black X-Scape

Thursdays (Bi-Weekly), 10:30am - 12:30pm

Location: In Person

The Black X-Scape is a student led mental health peer support group that offers space for Black students to have safe and liberating discussions about mental health and healing. Black students can freely express themselves, have conversations on the nuances of mental health, wellness, stigma, and more. Sharing resources, support, coping skills and collective healing,…

Pet Loss Support: Drop–In Program

Thursdays, 2:30pm to 4:00pm (Monthly)

Location: In Person - PGCLL 206 (Inside the Wellness Lounge)

This drop-in program is for students experiencing grief and loss due to the death of a beloved pet. Dates: January 26th, February 16th, March 9th, and March 30th For more information regarding the drop-in session, please contact Simone Gomes (gomessf@mcmaster.ca).

MacSecrets 2022

Read Now: MacSecrets Booklet MacSecrets is an annual campaign that allows students to share their emotions, struggles, and advice. The goal of this initiative is to show students that they are not alone and give them a place to safely (and anonymously) share their feelings. This year, we asked you to tell us about your experiences…

Real Men Talk: Entering the Discomfort Zone

This past March, the SWC hosted Real Men Talk: Entering The Discomfort Zone' - a panel event focused on destigmatizing men's mental health and being vulnerable as a man. Co-moderated by Zeinab Khawaja and Patrick Ang from the SWC, our panel featured Simoni Lawrence and Dane Evans who are both players for the Hamilton Tiger-cats,…

WOW SAME - Pride Month Edition

The “Wow, Same” initiative was an opportunity for the McMaster & 2SLGBTQIA+ community to help break down feelings of isolation tied to sexualities and gender identities. Students anonymously shared their stories to help normalize sexual experiences. READ THE STORIES NOW.... Prompt 1: Tell us about an awkward, embarrassing, or funny intimate experience of yours. Prompt…

WOW, SAME.

Read the submissions of your peers to our sexual health initiative, "Wow, same". This is a set of booklets aiming to normalize funny sexual experiences, body insecurities, and the changes that COVID-19 have brought to our sex lives. Booklet 1: Wow, same. Funny Stories Booklet 2: Wow, Same. Insecurities Booklet 3: Wow, Same. COVID Changes.

Daily Mindfulness Practice Group

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday,9:00-9:20am

Location: Virtual

Are you struggling to practice mindfulness because you don’t enjoy doing this practice alone? Join a counsellor from the Student Wellness Centre, as well as fellow McMaster Students, online each week for 8 weeks, where you will be guided through a different, live, mindfulness practice each session. For the link to this group, please contact…

Unearthing Resilience

Tuesdays 1:30-3:30pm

Location: Virtual

Unearthing Resilience is a five-week group focused on building resilience skills. Participants will learn tools to persevere through challenges and more effectively manage stressful events. To register contact Mallory Kohn-Wolter at kohnwolm@mcmaster.ca

We Art: Drop-In

Tuesdays 1:30-3:30pm

Location: In Person - PGCLL 207

An art-based drop-in group for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour who are interested in exploring and expressing the impact of racism on their self-concept using art as the medium. This group is intended to create opportunities to share your voice and uplift one another while discussing personal, social, political, and academic challenges and pressures…

Mactivate Your Mind, Body, & Spirit

Location: The Pulse

Mactivate Your Mind, Body, & Spirit is an Exercise and Wellness Referral Program Mactivate is a program that features a proactive approach to mental health. It is a partnership between Athletics & Recreation, Student Wellness, and other student service areas, to support McMaster students by providing them with opportunities and access to consistent and regular…

Resilience and Connection: Artistic explorations of mental health

Location: L.R. Wilson Hall (Lobby)

Resilience and Connection: Artistic explorations of mental health is a showcase of student art, brought to you by the Student Wellness Centre, the McMaster Museum of Art, and the Advanced Research on Mental Health and Society (ARMS) initiative, in collaboration with the Canadian Mental Health Association - Hamilton Branch. Visit the lobby of the LR…

Home Cooked at Mac

The McMaster Student Wellness Centre is extremely excited to be introducing Home-cooked at Mac in the Fall 2022 and Winter 2023 terms this upcoming year. Thank you to the McMaster Okanagan Committee for funding this program, supporting its development, and maintaining their endearing commitment to our community’s health and well-being. What is Home-cooked at Mac? …

McMaster Community Fridge

Location: Behind Mills Library

The McMaster Community Fridge is a 24/7 accessible outdoor fridge, freezer, and pantry complex located behind Mills library, facing the parking lot. The food and toiletries found inside are stocked by the community, for the community to address the growing concern of food insecurity facing those at McMaster and the surrounding neighbourhoods. Our core value…

DBT: Skills Group

Mondays 3:30-5:15pm

Location: In Person

The DBT Skills group is focused on providing 10-12 participants the opportunity to learn new strategies and skills to help manage intense emotions. Dialectical behaviour therapy teaches us how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate emotions and improve relationships with others. Participants will engage in mindfulness practices…

ADHD Support

Tuesdays, 5:30pm-6:30pm

Location: In Person

Calming the Anxious Mind

Fridays 10:30am - 12:15pm

Location: In Person

Visit with Biscuit: McMaster's Therapy Dog

1:00pm-2:30pm (Monthly)

Location: PGCLL 201

Do you miss your dog back home? Are you grieving your dog? Did you always want a dog but never got one? Are you feeling stressed, depressed, or overtired? Biscuit is here to help with all of that and more!! Biscuit and her wonderful therapy partner Rev. Allison Barrett will be visiting the Student Wellness…

Black History Month 2023

Location: PGCLL 201

February is Black History Month (BHM) – a time to celebrate the contributions and achievements of Black and African diasporic peoples. The Student Wellness Centre is excited to announce the following initiatives: Door Decorating with Wellness Tuesday, January 31 @ 4pm in the Wellness Lounge Lead by wellness counsellor Glenda van der Leeuw and Black…

I'm Ready: HIV Self-Testing Program

Mondays & Wednesdays, 9am-4pm

Location: PGCLL 203 (Inside PGCLL 201)

I’m Ready to Know is about ending HIV in Canada with low-barrier access to self-testing and connections to care. I’m Ready to Know is a national program that is implementing, scaling-up and evaluating low-barrier options for access to HIV self-testing. The goal is to reach the undiagnosed and give people choices about how to connect…