Photo Illustration by Mario Gonzalez
BY Nubia Reyna | THE RIDER
The UTRGV Counseling Center is hosting weekly social confidence group sessions on the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses.
The Brownsville sessions began at noon last Tuesday, and in Edinburg they will start Sept. 27.
Students who attend the social confidence sessions will work on improving their abilities, confidence, strengths, self-worth and positive thinking, among others.
“The social confidence group is directed to students who may be experiencing social anxiety, or difficulty acclimating or adjusting to university culture,” said Melissa Ramirez, a counseling specialist on the Edinburg campus. “This is a group [session], which means that not anybody or everybody can join the group. … What we will first do is screen the students to see if they would be a good candidate for the group.”
Ramirez said the center usually allows seven to eight students in the group over an eight-week period, and every week there is a different session goal.
She said some of the goals may include starting or maintaining conversations.
The Counseling Center will conduct eight sessions for each campus and students are encouraged to attend all sessions.
“Confidence is something that you can use anywhere and everywhere,” said Maria Alejandra Mazariegos, a counseling specialist on the Brownsville campus. “Confidence, in my opinion, is the belief in your abilities as an individual.”
Students can join Bloom, the social confidence group in Brownsville, by visiting Cortez Hall 220 or by sending an email to maria.mazariegos@utrgv.edu.
Some of the activities that students will perform in the sessions are role playing and skills practice.
“We all have the potential to be confident, we all have confidence in us. … It is just a matter of time,” Mazariegos said.
She encourages all students to attend at least two sessions.
“It doesn’t matter if you are very, very shy or very, very outgoing, you can always add a little more sparkle,” Mazariegos said.
For more information about the Edinburg sessions, call 665-2574, and for the Brownsville campus, call 882-3897.
