Wednesday 18-01-2023 - 16:15

SoCom is a group which helps students who are neurodiverse and/or struggle with anxiety and other mental health issues, to develop skills and strategies for things such as organisation, mindfulness, reflexivity, and self-nurture, whilst within the supportive environment of a group of their peers who have had similar experiences.  

The intention is to aid people to enhance their own wellbeing and self-esteem, so that they can gain self-belief about their potential and ultimately have all the tools and mindset needed to reach it.

• Do social norms confuse you?
• Do you sometimes speak bluntly, or act without thinking, then spend forever trying to resolve the consequences?
• Do you struggle to understand small talk or jokes?
• Do crowded places fill you with dread?
• Do you feel lonely, isolated or unsupported?
• Are you chaotic and disorganised and feeling stressed?

SoCom offers ideas and activities which are aimed at encouraging greater self-esteem, and the ability to understand and cope with issues related to social and communication difficulties, with the potential for a new friend group and support network to develop. Participation in any activity is optional.

Session Details

Every other Wednesday (once a fortnight) from 3pm - 5pm in Canterbury Building Room 14, and online on Microsoft Teams.

Session Themes

• To start the year, sessions will focus on different skills and strategies for developing practical organisation and healthy rituals that support a positive experience of student life. These include some mindfulness practises to keep you grounded as well as some helpful week and term planners that you can fill in and print out. 
• The next sessions look at ways to develop self-understanding of differences in processing and being impacted by the world. Some specific focus is on different ways to deal with the unknown, and how to stay motivated.
• The rest of the sessions before the Christmas look at social skills and how to develop and maintain healthy relationships; accommodation and study peer groups should be well established by now, so being better aware of how to develop healthy communication skills, and strategies to manage miscommunication, can be very useful. 
• The sessions in Semester 2 focus primarily on skills which can enhance the outcome of assignments, such as presentation strategies and group-working/negotiation skills, and further developing organisational strategies. 
• Some sessions also look at conflict resolution skills and psychological understanding of self and others, plus related mindfulness practises. 
• We will also look at employability and coping with change, as well as embedding motivational and organisational practices as these can help to make the transitions at both ends of the summer break easier to deal with and promote motivation to work on dissertation research. 

A library of resources will be available throughout the year for you to access even if you don’t attend the group sessions

To be added to the group or if you have any questions or require further information, please contact Mel Long m.long@uwtsd.ac.uk