Group Counseling & Support Spaces
Led by our licensed clinicians, our groups and support spaces help you improve your relationships, learn about yourself and others, enhance your communication skills, and reduce isolation within a supportive, normalizing environment of peers.
Group Counseling
At CAPS, we offer group therapy as a valuable opportunity for self-discovery and addressing concerns in a supportive and collaborative environment. Our group sessions typically consist of 4-10 students who meet weekly throughout the semester, all under the expert guidance of our CAPS clinicians. Joining a group allows you to gain valuable insights into yourself and others, fostering personal growth and understanding in a nurturing setting.
For more information or questions, please email capsoutreach
gwu [dot] edu (capsoutreach[at]gwu[dot]edu)
- Living with ADHD: Finding Community, Understanding Common Challenges, and Finding Tools that Work for You
This weekly group is for students who have ADHD. Connect with other students, explore common challenges, and share strategies in a welcoming environment. Participants will explore a number of different practical tools and learn which ones work best for them (in areas such as organization, focus, time management, motivation, and self-advocacy).
Please sign-up at this link if you are interested in this group. Sarah Zoogman, PhD or Jeremy Smith, LGSW will contact you after you sign up.
Facilitated by: Sarah Zoogman, Ph.D. and Jeremy Smith, LGSW
Initial Meeting: Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 12 PM
Weekly Meeting Time: Every Wednesday from September 23 to November 18, 2026 at 12 PM
Location: Student Health Center. Please check in at the front desk upon arrival.
- Healthy Relationships
Healthy Relationships is a semi-structured processing space that helps students gain insight and tools to improve any kind of relationship. This weekly group is for students who want to better understand their relationship patterns—whether with partners, friends, family, or roommates—and learn practical tools to build healthier, more fulfilling connections.
Please sign-up at this link if you are interested in this group.
Facilitated by: Dr. Laura Finkelstein
Initial Meeting: Wednesday, September 16, 2026 | 4 PM
Weekly Meeting Time: Every Wednesday from September 16 to December 2, 2026 at 4 PM
Location: Student Health Center. Please check in at the front desk upon arrival.
- Pitfalls of Perfectionism
This bi-weekly group is for students who experience perfectionism or place significant pressure on themselves to meet high expectations. Connect with other students, explore how perfectionism may affect your well-being, relationships, and academic life, and learn practical strategies for developing greater flexibility, self-compassion, and balance.
Please sign-up at this link if you are interested in this group.
Facilitated by: Jay Dismukes, LICSW
Initial Meeting: Monday, September 21 at 4 PM
Bi-Weekly Meeting Dates and Times
Mondays at 4 PM- Monday, September 21
- Monday, October 5
- Monday, October 19
- Monday, November 2
- Monday, November 16
- Monday, November 30
- Monday, December 7
Location: Student Health Center. Please check in at the front desk upon arrival.
- Food, Body-Image, & Self-Compassion
This bi-weekly group offers a supportive space to explore your relationship with food, body image, and self-worth while building self-compassion and healthier coping strategies. Topics may include body image, perfectionism, comparison, stress, diet culture, and emotional well-being.
Please sign-up at this link if you are interested in this group.
Facilitated by: Rachel Enloe, LPC
Initial Meeting: Friday, September 18, 3 PM
Bi-Weekly Meeting Time: Every other Wednesday, from September 18 to December 11, 2026 at 4 PM
Location: Student Health Center. Please check in at the front desk upon arrival.
- Healing Through Clay and Paint
We often try to think our way through anxiety, analyzing and intellectualizing the thoughts that overwhelm us. These ruminating thoughts can overwhelm us and we feel out of control. Research shows that our nervous systems and minds can quickly regulate when we connect with stable, earthy, and sensory experiences. With practice, these experiences can create space to better understand, accept, and navigate difficult thoughts and emotions rather than becoming consumed by them. In other words, sometimes the first step is to gently step out of our heads and back into our bodies.
Join us to learn how to connect and regulate your body to better understand and address your anxiety. We will use two tactile forms of art, clay and paint, to help you explore your internal narratives and increase emotional awareness. The group will begin with a grounding exercise, followed by a guided activity using either mediums or both, followed by a short group reflection before closing.
P.s. You need no artistic skill to engage with clay and paint, so please do not let that be a deterrent from joining us.
Please sign-up at this link if you are interested in this group.
Facilitated by: Kortnie Lawton, MA, LCPC, LPC and Akshina Trentacoste, LGSW
Initial Meeting: Wednesday, Sep 16, 2026 at 4pm
Bi-Weekly Meeting Dates and Times
Wednesdays at 4 PM- Wednesday, September 16, 2026
- Wednesday, September 30, 2026
- Wednesday, October 14, 2026
- Wednesday, October 28, 2026
- Wednesday, November 11, 2026
- Wednesday, December 2, 2026
Location: MSSC, Room 506
- International Student Support Circle
The International Student Support Circle is a biweekly, in-person group focused on the experiences and concerns of international students within the GW community. The group offers a supportive and welcoming space to share experiences, explore concerns, build connections, and find community with others.
Discussion topics may include:
- Adjusting to a new culture or environment
- Homesickness and loneliness
- Building relationships and finding community
- Academic, career, or future-related stress
- Family or cultural expectations
- Language and communication challenges
- Experiences of bias, microaggressions, or discrimination
- Navigating identity, belonging, and cross-cultural transitions
Topics may vary based on the interests and needs of group members.
Please sign-up at this link if you are interested in this group.
Facilitated by: Yueyi Fan, LGPC
Initial Meeting: Wednesday, September 9 at 3 PM
Bi-Weekly Meeting Dates and Times
Wednesdays at 3 PM- Wednesday, September 23
- Wednesday, October 7
- Wednesday, October 21
- Wednesday, November 4
- Wednesday, November 18
Location: Student Health Center. Please check in at the front desk upon arrival.
Support Spaces
Support Spaces are no-commitment spaces where students can receive assistance, encouragement, and guidance from peers with the support of mental health professionals. These spaces are designed to be non-judgmental and empathetic, fostering a sense of trust and community.
Support spaces are open to all students in the GW community.
Affinity Support Space
- What is an Affinity Support Space?
Affinity Support Spaces are an informal way for students to connect, share, and process their experiences in a safe and understanding environment of others with common interests and/or experiences. Affinity Support Spaces are offered across campus by GW CAPS clinicians in collaboration with campus partners. Previous spaces include: “First In The Family” (First Gen Students), “Kaleidoscope” students identifying as Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC), and “The In, Out and In Between” ( LGBTQIA+ students)
- How are Affinity Support Spaces formed?
Affinity Support Spaces are formed based on shared characteristics, experiences, or identities. For example, there could be spaces for racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, survivors of trauma, individuals dealing with chronic illness, First Gen, or Veterans. Each space defines how they want to be in a community with one another and reflect on the experiences students’ intersectional identities.
Affinity Support spaces are open to all students in the GW community. Participation is not limited based on any individual's personal identity, or characteristics.
- How can I set-up an Affinity Support Space?
Students can request Affinity Spaces through various channels:
- Requesting them through the CAPS Outreach Request Form.
- Emailing capsoutreachgwu [dot] edu for additional information.
We ask students to request this space at least three weeks in advance with time and date flexibility to help ensure the success of the space. We will do our best to accommodate student preferences of clinician identities in the space as well.
Community Comfort Zone: Post-Crisis Support Space
CAPS Clinicians are available to provide support to GW students following impactful, traumatic, or tragic events that occur on campus or community events that have greatly impacted our students' well-being. This support can include talking with groups on campus (e.g., student organizations, departments, classes) about coping with unjust, violent, or traumatic situations, grief/loss, and/or facilitating conversations about current emotions. Please call us directly at (202) 994-5300 for more immediate assistance if your request is related to a crisis or urgent situation.
- Examples of Critical/Urgent Situations
- Death of a student, faculty, or staff member
- Aftermath of natural disasters or terrorism events
- Impactful world events (ie: Social Injustice and Racial Tensions, Political Unrest)
- CAPS Support for Departmental Activities
Additionally, if you or your department/organization are planning an activity or other response to recent tragedies or events, CAPS can provide collaboration, presence, and/or resources to support your activity.
THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE A REPLACEMENT FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES. If you are or someone else is in crisis or experiencing a life-threatening emergency please call GWPD at 202-994-6111, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room.
Support Spaces are offered by GW CAPS clinicians, in collaboration with campus partners. Support Spaces are not group therapy, but a space to be utilized for support, resources, and community building with the support of a licensed clinician.