WELCOME BACK STUDENTS Did you know that January is Mental Wellness Month? Many students use the vacation and break from school to spend time with family and friends. Perhaps you also made some New Year’s resolutions over the break. Most resolutions include some change to physical health habits such as eating healthier, increasing exercise, losing weight etc. If any of your plans for 2010 include improving self-care, have you thought about the mind-body connection? Have you taken the time to notice how your emotions influence your thoughts, feelings and behavior? When you are in poor emotional health, it can weaken your body’s immune system, making you more likely to get sick during emotionally difficult times. Also, when you are feeling stressed, anxious or upset, you may not take care of your health as well as you should. You may not feel like exercising or eating nutritious foods. Frequently, people abuse alcohol, tobacco or other drugs when they are in poor emotional health (Family Doctor, 2010). The staff at UCC promotes wellness by offering a variety of services to meet your needs. We provide brief individual therapy, group therapy, and career counseling. Many students need additional support as they face challenges when pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree. Have you considered whether you may benefit from counseling? If you need some guidance in deciding whether professional services could be helpful to you, please feel free to contact us or check out our ONLINE Screening Program. These screenings are free and anonymous and will take between 4 to 5 minutes to complete. At the end of the screening you will receive an immediate result that can be printed and taken to a clinician or healthcare provider for further evaluation. This program is designed for individuals aged 17 and above. Please click here to access the OnlineScreening.   If you would like to learn more about how group therapy could fit into improving your self-care please see the information below: Group Therapy What are some of the benefits? Discover that you are not alone in what you are feeling Connect with others in a safe, respectful environment Try out new behaviors Experience a supportive place to increase self-awareness Learn new ways to cope with personal and interpersonal challenges See your own “usual” patterns as they emerge when relating to others See how others spontaneously respond to different patterns Group members can provide diverse views, responses and feedback. Link to Group Therapy at UCC: http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/CounselingServices/PersonalCounseling/GroupCounseling/