Past Events

Join our seven-week virtual therapeutic support group offered by the Employee Assistance Program. This group is designed for young or new professionals with five years or less experience in higher education. It aims to foster personal and professional growth through shared experiences and learning. As a participant, you'll have the opportunity to: • Understand Mental Health Needs: Learn strategies to reduce stress and enhance well-being within a supportive environment. • Build Meaningful Connections: Engage in activities to form peer support networks, fostering mutual understanding and empathy. • Develop Coping Skills: Learn practical strategies and resilience-building techniques to effectively manage stress, setbacks, and work-life balance challenges. • Cultivate Personal Growth: Foster a growth mindset and self-awareness, recognizing strengths and overcoming obstacles while seizing development opportunities. • Advocate for a Supportive Workplace Culture: Promote an organizational culture prioritizing mental health, open communication, and the well-being of young professionals in higher education. This group, facilitated by an EAP counselor, is limited to 12 participants. Those interested in joining will participate in a pre-group interview with the facilitator before joining. To sign up for a pre-group interview, please email eap@austin.utexas.edu.

Weight stigma describes the negative biases, attitudes, and behavior towards people based on their weight and size. This stigma is held up by social expectations that tell us how we should eat and look, and that we will be accepted if our bodies look a certain way. This stigma impacts both the physical and mental health of people with larger bodies. In this group, we will meet weekly for a brief introduction on a particular dynamic of weight stigma, and then group members can explore how the topic shows up in their lives and impacts them. Members can receive support from others who understand their experiences and can gain new perspective and tools. This is a virtual group that meets Tuesdays from 11 am-12 pm from 10/15/24-12/3/24. A pre-group interview is required to join the group. Those interested in joining should email eap@austin.utexas.edu or call 512-471-3366 to schedule a pre-group meeting with the facilitator to learn more.

Part 2: All UT instructors (faculty, staff, graduate student instructors, and postdoctoral instructors) are welcome to join us for the second session of Teaching During Times of Crisis, an event co-facilitated by the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), and the Dean of Students (DoS). During this in-person follow-up session to Part 1, we will apply recommended wellness, teaching, and intervention strategies to our current and future course design. There will be space for processing, proactive preventative planning, and community-building over light refreshments. This workshop will take place in person in PCL Learning Lab 1 on October 10, from 1-3pm. Sign-up here: https://ctl.utexas.edu/events/teaching-during-times-crisis-workshop-par…

An in person 8-week therapeutic yoga group offered by the Employee Assistance Program Changes, big or small, can be stressful to live through and can bring up feelings of overwhelm, anxiety, and grief, to name a few. The body can sometimes experience the stress of change through panic, digestive issues, sleep disturbance, or other somatic symptoms. This therapeutic yoga group offers a space to turn towards the body to gently acknowledge and express the vulnerable and uncomfortable emotions spurred by various life changes. Group sessions will entail deepening and strengthening mindfulness based practices for resiliency including a gentle hatha yoga practice appropriate for all levels and ability, meditation, breathwork, and exploration of emotions. Group members will learn to embody a compassionate approach to mental and physical well being, while finding support through connecting with others. The group will be facilitated by Geeti Shirazi Mahajan, LCSW-S (she/her), one of the counselors at the Employee Assistance Program. Geeti is also certified as a Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). The drop-in group meets in person on Wednesdays from 11am-12:15pm from September 25th – Nov 13th and is limited to 10-15 participants. You can sign up for which weeks you would like to attend in UT Learn.

Join our seven-week virtual therapeutic support group offered by the Employee Assistance Program. This group is designed for young or new professionals with five years or less experience in higher education. It aims to foster personal and professional growth through shared experiences and learning. As a participant, you'll have the opportunity to: • Understand Mental Health Needs: Learn strategies to reduce stress and enhance well-being within a supportive environment. • Build Meaningful Connections: Engage in activities to form peer support networks, fostering mutual understanding and empathy. • Develop Coping Skills: Learn practical strategies and resilience-building techniques to effectively manage stress, setbacks, and work-life balance challenges. • Cultivate Personal Growth: Foster a growth mindset and self-awareness, recognizing strengths and overcoming obstacles while seizing development opportunities. • Advocate for a Supportive Workplace Culture: Promote an organizational culture prioritizing mental health, open communication, and the well-being of young professionals in higher education. This group, facilitated by an EAP counselor, is limited to 12 participants. Those interested in joining will participate in a pre-group interview with the facilitator before joining. To sign up for a pre-group interview, please email eap@austin.utexas.edu.

An in person 8-week therapeutic yoga group offered by the Employee Assistance Program Changes, big or small, can be stressful to live through and can bring up feelings of overwhelm, anxiety, and grief, to name a few. The body can sometimes experience the stress of change through panic, digestive issues, sleep disturbance, or other somatic symptoms. This therapeutic yoga group offers a space to turn towards the body to gently acknowledge and express the vulnerable and uncomfortable emotions spurred by various life changes. Group sessions will entail deepening and strengthening mindfulness based practices for resiliency including a gentle hatha yoga practice appropriate for all levels and ability, meditation, breathwork, and exploration of emotions. Group members will learn to embody a compassionate approach to mental and physical well being, while finding support through connecting with others. The group will be facilitated by Geeti Shirazi Mahajan, LCSW-S (she/her), one of the counselors at the Employee Assistance Program. Geeti is also certified as a Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). The drop-in group meets in person on Wednesdays from 11am-12:15pm from September 25th – Nov 13th and is limited to 10-15 participants. You can sign up for which weeks you would like to attend in UT Learn.

Strengthening Relationships presentation series “Depolarizing Conversations” presented by Donna Buehler, the University Ombuds for Stony Brook University on Wednesday, October 2nd from 10am-11:30am (90 minutes). This workshop provides attendees with an overview of the various approaches to depolarizing conversations. It includes the recent works of three authors along with the presenter's information. The content allows us to rethink how we approach difficult conversations. And it causes us to reflect on how we handle emotions, conflict and change. The presenter hopes that attendees will leave the workshop with new tools and strategies to embrace the current challenges in the world today. Sign-up via UT Learn: https://utexas.csod.com/ui/lms-learning-details/app/event/22383f7d-f9d5…

Join our seven-week virtual therapeutic support group offered by the Employee Assistance Program. This group is designed for young or new professionals with five years or less experience in higher education. It aims to foster personal and professional growth through shared experiences and learning. As a participant, you'll have the opportunity to: • Understand Mental Health Needs: Learn strategies to reduce stress and enhance well-being within a supportive environment. • Build Meaningful Connections: Engage in activities to form peer support networks, fostering mutual understanding and empathy. • Develop Coping Skills: Learn practical strategies and resilience-building techniques to effectively manage stress, setbacks, and work-life balance challenges. • Cultivate Personal Growth: Foster a growth mindset and self-awareness, recognizing strengths and overcoming obstacles while seizing development opportunities. • Advocate for a Supportive Workplace Culture: Promote an organizational culture prioritizing mental health, open communication, and the well-being of young professionals in higher education. This group, facilitated by an EAP counselor, is limited to 12 participants. Those interested in joining will participate in a pre-group interview with the facilitator before joining. To sign up for a pre-group interview, please email eap@austin.utexas.edu.

The skills of slowing down and clearing our minds are time-tested methods for lowering stress and anxiety. This training is designed to develop awareness of how we respond to stress and the principles behind the relaxation response. Join us for a virtual training on October 1st from 10am-11am to develop practical skills for managing stress including relaxation breathing, meditation, mindfulness, and lifestyle management. Sign-up via UT Learn: https://utexas.csod.com/ui/lms-learning-details/app/event/553d91d9-323e…

In times of adversity, the idea of having hope can sound far away and out of touch. According to an area of positive psychology called “hope theory”, hope is more than a fleeting or passive wish; hope is a way of thinking that can be taught and is associated with well-being and productivity. In this virtual presentation on September 25 from 3:30-4:30pm, EAP Counselor Jamie Justus LCSW-S will share about the underpinnings of hope, the three areas of thinking that promote hope, and practical ways for participants to tap into hope in their own lives. Sign-up via UT Learn https://utexas.csod.com/ui/lms-learning-details/app/event/c9e6e840-971d…