Workshops and Courses

Feeling Connected: Authenticity, Communication, and Relationships 

Friendships, romantic relations, relationships with an authority figure or family member, and the relationship we have with ourselves, all form a crucial part of life at university. We invite you to explore this topic at our workshop aimed to help you understand and relate to others and yourself with awareness, openness, and trust.

What does it mean to feel truly connected to others?

How can you be yourself and at the same time, consider the needs of others?

Are relationships a source of joy and support or do they feel too difficult to navigate?

Are you feeling isolated when people around you seem to enjoy being together?

Join us to consider cultural issues, attachment styles, effective communication skills and boundary setting.

Upcoming dates:

This is a two-part workshop.

Part 1: Understanding the Self - Tuesday 4th March 12:00pm - 1:45pm

Part 2: Connecting with Others - Tuesday 18th March 12:00pm - 1:45pm

Please note that you will not be able to attend Part 2 unless you have also attended Part 1. We will run this workshop termly, so if you cannot come on both dates there will be opportunities to do so later in the academic year.

Location:  South Kensington campus, Chemistry Building, 8th floor, Student Counselling & Mental Health Advice Service

Register here

Introduction to Self-Compassion

Do you find yourself experiencing high levels of self-criticism and blame yourself for things that are not your fault? Do you regularly compare yourself to others and experience low self-esteem? Research has demonstrated that developing self-compassion can improve emotional wellbeing, enhance your ability to cope with life challenges and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. This workshop introduces the ideas and approaches of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), developed by Professor Paul Gilbert. We will explore common fears and blocks to self-compassion and introduce some simple ways of cultivating a more compassionate relationship with ourselves.

Upcoming dates:

Wednesday 12th March, 1:00pm - 3:00pm

Location: Garden Room at the Chaplaincy, 15 Prince's Gardens, South Kensington Campus, SW7 1NA

Register here

Procrastination to Productivity

• Are you your own worst critic? 
• Do you feel paralysed by the demands of your course? 
• Do you focus only on your mistakes?

Many of us put off important tasks and end up rushing towards (or missing) deadlines and we just don’t know why. Why can’t we just ‘get it done’? The reasons for and methods we use to procrastinate are often varied and individual. There is no straightforward answer, but this workshop aims to give you the space to begin to understand the causes of procrastination and learn practical ways to address these behaviours.

Future dates will be shared soon.

Sleep Well

Difficulty falling asleep?

Waking in the night?

Regularly getting less sleep than you need?

If lack of sleep is affecting your health and wellbeing or your ability to study, then this may be the workshop for you. This workshop will provide students with general knowledge on the biology of sleep and will aim to help students increase their understanding of why they may be struggling with sleep as well as learn more about sleep hygiene and ways to improve sleep using practical techniques.

Future dates will be shared soon.

Overcoming Perfectionism - Healthy striving versus staying stuck

This workshop may be useful to you if you often feel paralysed by the standards you feel you cannot attain.   

The reasons for our perfectionism are varied and individual.  In this workshop we will explore the types of perfectionism and compare healthy striving versus staying stuck.  We will discuss the beliefs associated with perfectionism and develop a personalised toolbox of strategies that you can take away to support you in your studies.

Future dates will be shared soon.

This 4 week bespoke course is aimed at decreasing stress, anxiety, pain and low mood; combining both Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy.

This course will help you to develop a daily mindfulness practice, rewiring your nervous system to be present in this moment, cultivating an experience of safety and connection, reducing threat-based hypervigilance and rumination. Evidence suggests MBSR can increase resilience and creativity, improve relationships and communication. Students demonstrate an improvement in health, well-being, self-esteem, sleep, concentration and memory.

The course is experiential, and will help you to get into your body, recognise thoughts and feelings, learn to regulate your nervous system, increase resilience and reduce shame, suffering and disconnection. We distinguish between nourishing and depleting activities and begin making conscious choices, so that you are best prepared to look after yourself.

What students are saying:

‘'Couldn't live without the knowledge and skills gained on this course. Every student and person I wish could be blessed with this course'

Upcoming course dates:

• Tuesday 6th May 2025
• Tuesday 13th May 2025
• Tuesday 20th May 2025
• Tuesday  27th May 2025

Registration will open in March.

This 6 week therapeutic group is specifically designed for students who have strong critical tendencies, self-judgement, comparing to others, perfectionism or low self-esteem and who would like to work on changing these tendencies with a compassion focused approach. 

The group introduces theory, resources, and techniques from Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) to help develop mindfulness and notice thoughts and behaviours that may be contributing to distress. It provides a space for developing alternative ways of thinking and being that might be more helpful. There will be a large experiential aspect to the group, with plenty of opportunity for discussion and practice in relating the theory of CFT to your own and others’ experiences and is an opportunity to learn new skills in a supportive atmosphere.

This is a weekly 2 hour ‘in person’ therapy group run over 6 consecutive weeks. Attendance is required at every session.

Please note you may either attend individual counselling or group counselling, not both in the same academic year.

Future dates coming soon.