Programs - Student Wellness Centre

GradChats: Drop-in for Graduate Students

5:30-6:30pm

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)

Mondays Bi-Weekly, 2:30-3:20pm

Location: PGCLL 207 (in 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: TBD

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 Carla Glanville at glanvic@mcmaster.ca or Kerri-Ann Fitzgerald at fitzka@mcmaster.ca

DBT: Distress Tolerance & Emotion Regulation

Thursdays 3:30-5:30pm

Location: In Person

DBT- Distress Tolerance and Emotion Regulation Skills Group: This group will focus on learning strategies to help you better ride the wave of emotional intensity and learn ways to help better understand and manage your emotions, decreasing how often they feel out of control. This group will include mindfulness practice, to increase your awareness in…

Managing Your Worry and Anxiety

Fridays 10:30am - 12:15pm

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

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. REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. To be added to the waitlist, email Michelle Charles (MSW, RSW) at charles2@mcmaster.ca.

ADHD - Drop-in

Fridays 11:30am - 12:30pm

Location: In Person: PGCLL 206

This group provides a supportive space for students to develop new skills and approaches to help minimize the effects of ADHD on daily life. Contact nifakis@mcmaster.ca for more info.

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 & Thursdays, 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

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. Fall 2022 Monthly Dates: Thursday 2:30…

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…

Exploring the Procrastinating Mind

Tuesdays, 10:30-12:30PM

Location: Virtual

Did you know that procrastination has neurobiological roots? This 5-week group is structured to review skills and strategies to increase efficiency and focus when completing tasks. Additionally, this group will explore how to create and maintain new habits. To register for this group, please e-mail Aklima at sarkaraa@mcmaster.ca

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 10:30am - 12:30pm

Location: In Person

This group will use a mindfulness and acceptance approach to address issues surrounding food and eating. Please send an e-mail to nifakis@mcmaster.ca for more information or to register.

You Belong in the Room

Tuesdays, 4:30-6:00pm

Location: In Person

Why do feelings of inadequacy follow me? Let’s explore the imposter syndrome phenomenon from a unique Black perspective that is internalized through structural anti-Blackness. In this 5-week group session, Black students will reflect on lived experiences to identify, understand feelings of impostering and learn its impact with mental distress. We will discuss what’s harming your…

Stepping Out of Social Anxiety

Wednesdays, 3:30 - 5:30pm

Location: Virtual

In a small group setting, participants will learn to define social anxiety and talk more effectively about it with others. Using CBT and narrative therapy skills, participants will learn practical ways to cope with the socially anxious thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. To register email Morgan Lucas, lucasm10@mcmaster.ca

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…

Calm Yoga & Mindfulness Skills

Tuesdays, 5:00 - 6:15pm

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 2:30-3:30pm

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…

Embracing Gender Diversity

Mondays, 5:30-7:00pm

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 and explore gender identity. The group is co-facilitated by Simone Gomes, a counsellor specializing in gender-affirming care, and Zeinab Khawaja, a health promoter who is currently exploring and questioning their own gender identity. Dates & Topics: September 19th - Labels & Pronouns…

The Black X-Scape

Thursdays (Bi-Weekly), 4:30pm - 6:00pm

Location: In Person

The student led Black X-Scape 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, in addition to exploring and expanding on meaningful Blackness.…

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…

Mental Health 101: Distress Tolerance Strategies

Mondays 3:30-5:30pm

Location: In Person

In this 4- week in-person group, 10-12 participants will learn strategies to manage and cope with distress based on concepts from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). Group topics will include the window of tolerance, self-care and self- soothing, responding versus reacting, and boundary setting. To register email Sacha Unkerskov at unkersks@mcmaster.ca

Unearthing Resilience

Tuesdays 1:30-3:00pm

Location: Virtual

Unearthing Resilience is a 5-week group focused on building resilience. 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: MUSC Room 224

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 faced…

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

11:59pm

Location: L.R.W Hall

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. Undergraduate and graduate students are invited…

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…