Center for Health and Wellbeing
Group therapy provides a safe and trusting environment where you can gain support, share experiences, get feedback from others, and try out new skills. Research consistently shows that group therapy is an effective treatment choice for many people. CAPS offers a variety of groups to fit a range of needs.

If you are interested in joining a group call: 802-656-3340. 

Please note that groups are not drop-in and that you will need to complete a screening with a counselor prior to attending a group.

Fall 2026 Groups Schedule

Family Stress and Support

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This group is a safe place for you to explore how stressors from home including but not limited to substance use and abuse, family conflict, divorce, persistent illness, etc. impact your college experience and evolving identity. Meetings will vary widely and include managing stress, general adjustment to university life, and relating to others and to oneself. Focus is on undergraduate experience but at times the group has had graduate students participate. 

Stefan Nickum

Wednesdays: 5:00 – 6:30 pm 

Start date: September 30th

Group participation criteria: This group requires a screening appointment with the group facilitator. Please call CAPS at 802-656-3340 to schedule this appointment.  

Grief and Loss

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Students who have experienced the loss of a loved one recently or in the past, have the opportunity to share their experiences with each other in this group.

Walter Brownsword

Tuesdays: 4:30 - 6:00pm 

Start date: as soon as there are enough participants

Group participation criteria: This group requires a screening appointment with the group facilitator. Please call CAPS at 802-656-3340 to schedule this appointment.  

Recovery

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This group is geared towards people who are substance free for at least 30 days and are interested in exploring issues that arise as part of living a substance free life.

Walter Brownsword 

Thursdays: 5:00 – 6:30 pm 

Start date: September 3rd

Group participation criteria: This group requires a screening appointment with the group facilitator. Please call CAPS at 802-656-3340 to schedule this appointment.  

Healing from Harm: Re-building Trust in Relationships

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Emotional and narcissistic abuse consists of death by a thousand cuts - lots of little injustices and mistreatments that add up to a larger pattern of inflicting harm. Participants in this group will have similar experiences of dealing with people exhibiting narcissistic behaviors, whether parents, other family members, friends, or intimate partners. People who are unaware of, unaffected by, or in denial about narcissistic abuse in their lives often minimize these harmful patterns or dismiss the harms survivors endure. Participants in this group will be able to empathize with one another without the need to exhaust themselves with efforts to explain their experiences. Skills for early identification of red flags in relationships, reality testing and reality checking, setting and holding healthy relationship boundaries, disengaging from bids for conflict, noticing projections of blame, and carefully crafting succinct communications to protect oneself from further harm will be covered.

Miki Beach 

Thursdays: 4:45 - 6:15 pm

Start Date: September 17th

Group participation criteria: This group requires a screening appointment with the group facilitator. Please call CAPS at 802-656-3340 to schedule this appointment. 

The Body Positive

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The Body Positive is a group where participants will focus on healing their relationships to their bodies through exploring topics such as community, self-care, and self-compassion. As a group, we will build concrete skills that support self-love, self-regulation, and social connectedness through activities as well as ongoing discussion. All body types, genders, and identities are welcome.

Amy Sercel, Micaela Young, and Kelly Boardman

Day and time TBD

Start date: as soon as there are enough participants 

Group participation criteria: This group requires a screening appointment with one of the group facilitators. Please call CAPS at 802-656-3340 to schedule this appointment. 

Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide on Mental Health

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Calling Vermont’s Upper Valley home, folk-pop singer-songwriter Noah Kahan released his newest album, The Great Divide, in late April 2026, addressing mental health issues and relationship dynamics in a way that is resonating with both prior and new fans of his music. Kahan began a sold-out stadium tour in mid-June with fans attesting to the healing power of screaming his lyrics together with tens of thousands of other people. This group will harness the cathartic experience of Noah Kahan’s music and lyrics, discussing mental health and relationship themes and topics through select songs from The Great Divide.  

Miki Beach

Day and time TBD, as schedule determined based on group participant availability. 

Dates: TBD 

Group participation criteria: This group requires a screening appointment with the group facilitator. Please call CAPS at 802-656-3340 to schedule this appointment.  

Connecting and Belonging

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This group is for students who want to talk honestly about connection - connection with others, themselves, and the world around them. Each week participants will share their experiences with relationships, loneliness, belonging, and whatever connection (or disconnection) means to them. In an era where we are hyper-connected, why are rates of social anxiety and loneliness higher than they’ve ever been? We may not find the solution, but we’ll get real with each other in ways that are increasingly hard to find.    

Lindsay Foreman and Stefan Nickum

Mondays: 2:30 – 4:00pm @ Jacobs House 

Start date: as soon as enough participants  

Group participation criteria: This group requires a screening appointment with one of the group facilitators. Please call CAPS at 802-656-3340 to schedule this appointment.   

Exploring Development in Community (for Catamount Recovery Program Members)

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This group counts as a one-credit academic course where participants will have the opportunity to explore how we build community while within a community together. This course is for members of the Catamount Recovery Program (CRP), and some topics that will be covered include trust and vulnerability, self-care, conflict resolution, and restorative practices. Participants will complete three (3) assignments, including the final, which integrate course material practically and encourage participants to consider protective factors for their personal recovery. 

Rae Kosac

Wednesdays: 3:00 – 4:00pm 

Start Date: September 2nd (15-week course for 1 credit hour) 

Group Participation Criteria: Interested students should contact CAPS at 802-656-3340 or reach out to Rae Kosac directly via Teams or email (recovery@uvm.edu) to express interest in joining the Catamount Recovery Program (CRP) and this course.