THERA-PEER

We are happy to announce the launch of support groups and safe spaces – THERA-PEER

Thera-peer is your safe space where you DO NOT feel exposed to discrimination or criticism of any kind. It gives you an opportunity to make connections, share personal experiences, feelings and help each other heal through these shared experiences. The safe space and support group programme aims to facilitate change in the student population in IIT Bombay campus through therapist led group interactions between students . The participants of these group sessions will benefit from personality development at cognitive, emotive and behavioral levels. This initiative will have the capacity to address the socio emotional needs of several students per session. Those attending the sessions will earn to make rational and responsible choices, maintain focus on goal directed behavior despite the distractions present in their ecosystem. This skill is further validated through peer interactions creating a change in the way student groups perceive and react to the situations collectively. In a long term it will effect socio cultural changes in student attitudes on and off campus.

Objective: To create altruism and bring a sense of catharsis.

• Altruism (where members come together to show solidarity, share their strength and help one another in the group to enhance self-confidence)
• Catharsis (Sharing feelings and experiences to relieve pain, guilt and shame)

Purpose: having a strong support system has many positive benefits. They include higher levels of well-being, better coping skills, improved quality of life and social connectedness.
Expectation from the support group.

Who can attend?
Depending on the group, people dealing with a specific challenge, or similar issues come together to show support and share personal experiences.

What is the facilitator’s role?
The facilitator or the therapist puts you at ease. They’ll do their best to ease your fears by welcoming you, ensuring you’re in the right group, and telling you what to expect. They enforce boundaries and stick to the schedule while giving each participant a chance to speak. They’re instrumental in pulling together common themes within the group to inspire the most productive discussions.

What structure does the support group?
Typically, the group should have a clear agenda with four basic elements: a) the facilitator welcoming everyone, b) each participant given the opportunity to introduce themselves, c) a group discussion, and the facilitator formally announcing the end of the group meeting.

What are the guidelines?
It's common for groups to enforce a time limit of 1-2 minutes per participant to prevent anyone monopolizing the conversation. Support groups often have a "pass rule" if someone doesn't feel up to sharing. Group members should be reminded to be respectful, empathetic, and to maintain complete confidentiality.
The first session will be an introductory session to take you through the objective of the initiative and will offer a listening space to discuss the usual pain points or concern areas.

Kindly note - Each session will comprise of qualitative discussions hence it will have a capacity of 35 students per session hence we might have to adhere to a first come first serve basis entry.
Depending on the number of registrations we will increase the number of sessions and accommodate all the interested participants going forward.