Practical Tools for Emotional Wellbeing
Feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world? You're not alone.
In uncertain times, it's natural to feel anxious, frustrated, or emotionally tired. This group offers a supportive space to catch your breath, connect with others who understand, and learn practical tools to help you feel more grounded in the safety of a supportive group.
Join us for a practical, skills-based group designed to help you navigate emotional distress in today's challenging climate. Through evidence-based approaches like mindfulness, distress tolerance, cognitive coping, and values identification. You'll build a personalized resilience toolkit.
We'll explore:
- Coping strategies for intense emotions
- Coping tools to manage negative thought patterns
- Soothing techniques to calm the body and mind
- Mindfulness practices for staying present
- Acceptance & Commitment strategies for inner strength
This group is about building real-world skills for real-world stress - in a supportive, validating space.
Who Is This Group For?
Individuals feeling overwhelmed by current events, social stressors, and daily uncertainties. Whether your distress stems from sociopolitical tensions, personal pressures, or broader environmental concerns, this group offers a structured, supportive space to strengthen emotional well-being.
How this group will help:
By the end of the group, participants will be able to:
- Practice mindfulness to stay present and grounded
- Use distress tolerance tools to cope with emotional overwhelm
- Apply cognitive coping techniques to manage unhelpful thoughts
- Identify personal values and translate them into meaningful action
- Develop a personalized "resilience toolbox" to draw on during challenging times
Group Overview
Week 1: Distress Tolerance - Learn practical DBT skills for navigating emotional overwhelm
Week 2: Cognitive Coping - Identify and challenge negative thought patterns using CBT strategies
Week 3: Values & Meaning - Clarify your personal values (ACT) and learn how to identify steps that align with those goals and values
Week 4: Mindfulness strategies: Learn strategies to practice being in the present moment through mindfulness.
Week 5: Self-soothing strategies: Learn strategies to self-soothe when external stressors feel like too much.
Week 6: Integration & Personalized Toolbox - Consolidate skills, celebrate progress, and finalize your personal toolkit
Logistics
- Format: Psychoeducational, skills‑development group (not a psychotherapy group). This group does not replace ongoing treatment with your/a therapist.
- Duration: 6 weekly sessions, each lasting approximately 90 minutes starting on Thursday 10/2 at 7pm
- Attendance: Consistent attendance is encouraged to get the best out of the group
- Cost: $75 or a package of $390 ($50 savings; bringing your session to $65)
Therapists facilitators
Katie Piura, LCSW is the founder of Haven Youth Counseling and the host of the Practical Tools for Emotional Wellbeing skills group and she will be facilitating the majority of the series. Katie has 11 years of experience working with clients including young adults. Katie brings a skills-based approach to her work teaching emotional wellbeing strategies through her psychoeducational skills group series . Katie has seen the positive impact of teaching coping skills to her clients in a group format and facilitates psychoeducational series in her practice periodically.
Jessica Branch is a Licensed Counselor who has been working with college students and adults in private practice for the last 17 years. She also presents Mindfulness Workshops for students and staff at the Universities at Shady Grove. She enjoys teaching mindfulness skills in her individual therapy work and in workshops. She works with people dealing with anxiety, depression, stress, relationship issues, and grief. Jessica will be facilitating the Mindfulness part of the skills group.