Programs - Student Wellness Centre

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. SESSION FULL. REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED. For more information contact Kerri-Ann Fitzgerald at fitzka@mcmaster.ca

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. SESSION FULL / REGISTRATION CLOSED. For more information, email Michelle Charles (MSW, RSW) at charles2@mcmaster.ca.

ADHD - Drop-in

Thursdays, 3:30pm - 5:00pm

Location: In Person: PGCLL 201

A safe space for students to listen, share and support one another while navigating university life dealing with similar challenges and strengths related to ADHD wiring. It’s an opportunity to discuss strategies that can help you grow and feel more confident in your abilities and who you are. It is set up as a drop-in…

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.…

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

Thursdays, 2:30pm-4:30pm

Location: In Person PGCLL 207

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.

Calm Yoga & Mindfulness Skills

Tuesdays, 5:00 - 6:30pm

Location: PGCLL 207

The focus of this gentle Mindful Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga group is to tune into breath, body, sensations, thoughts and emotions, and practice in a way that promotes stress-relief. Learn skills to aid in self-awareness and to make supportive choices that can have a calming effect on the mind and body. These skills can help…

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…

Embracing Gender Diversity

Thursdays, 3pm-4:30pm (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. Kicking off pride month at the SWC, Embracing Gender Diversity will be returning on June 1st. Topics for the summer will be decided during the June 1st session. Dates: June 1st June 15th June 29th…

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,…

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.

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 3:30-5:30pm

Location: In Person: PGCLL 207

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…

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…