Please note that we are currently offering Group Services in a hybrid model of both in person and virtual depending on the needs of the group.
If your program is interested in having a Resident Wellness Counsellor provide one of our group sessions, you can contact us via e-mail at resident.wellness@ubc.ca to submit a request, or click the ‘Book Now’ button below. These group sessions are most commonly booked during an academic day, allowing for most residents to attend. The sessions are approximately 1-1.5 hours in length via Zoom or in person. We ask that you try to provide two months notice to allow us to schedule accordingly. A reminder that for those at distributed sites, the following workshops/groups can be provided during one of the Resident Wellness Counsellor’s site visits. To ensure the quality of the workshop provided, all workshop requests for groups over 20 will require two counsellors to facilitate.
*Please note, our workshops and groups supports are experiential and sharing based in nature, and are intended for residents or fellows. To ensure a confidential and safe environment we ask that no one in an evaluative role be present, as well as any faculty or administrative staff. If this does not meet your vision for the workshop and you’d like to have faculty present please let us know and we will ensure that we tailor our workshop to accommodate this request.*
The following workshops are available for you to choose according to the specific needs of the residents in your program, please click on the titles below to learn more:
Workshops
Managing Stress in Residency: A CBT Approach
This workshop’s focus is on how to increase resilience as a resident by offering an in-depth understanding of the cognitive behavioural framework. This workshop identifies the role our thoughts play in our life and explores the top ten “Thinking Traps”. It provides a simple framework for how to challenge these common cognitive distortions. The relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviour are described, and tools and strategies to manage unhelpful ways of thinking are taught and practiced. This workshop includes time for in depth group discussion, case studies and self-reflection.
Resiliency in Emotionally Distressing Events
Resident resilience is discussed in the context of adverse events and medical error, with a focus on emotional impact and personal reactions. This workshop reviews some literature on adverse events and the impact it can have on physician’s wellness. The emphasis of the workshop will be on group discussion and story-telling exercises to support sharing, reflection, self-care planning and recovery.
Mindfulness Self Compassion in Residency
This workshops uses the evidence based approach of Self-Compassion to develop resiliency tools to help support wellness during residency. Participants will have the opportunity to practice self-compassion exercises and engage in discussion around the application of self-compassion in residency. Residents will practice mindfulness in harnessing self-compassion while exploring the difference between tender and fierce approaches.
Group Support
Wellness Rounds
Wellness Rounds is a confidential, resident-only mental health discussion that allows medical learners to connect, offer one another support and share in the highs and lows of residency. Residency can be intense and overwhelming and the sharing of experiences in a safe, non evaluative environment helps residents to feel more connected to their work, one another and ultimately themselves.
Please email resident.wellness@ubc.ca for further information.
Peer-Led Ice Cream Rounds
Recognizing that residents may want the opportunity to debrief with their peers in a confidential environment in the spirit of Ice Cream Rounds when an RWO counsellor may not be available to facilitate a session, the RWO has developed a Peer-Led Ice Cream Rounds Toolkit to provide residents with the framework and skills to facilitate their own Ice Cream Rounds. These sessions are generally facilitated by Chief Residents or a Wellness Rep. Please email resident.wellness@ubc.ca if you have any questions or would like support implementing a session with your program.
Aim. Focus. Release: A Support Group for Residents on Leave
This support is a 4 week support group facilitated by a Resident Wellness Counsellor using the evidence based approach of Mindful Self Compassion to develop healthy coping skills for residents currently on leave. Please visit our program information page for more information.
Peer Support Program
The Resident Wellness Office is providing support for residents through trained peer supporters. Please visit our Peer Support Program Webpage for further information.
