MOOD MANAGEMENT GROUP
FOR TERTIARY STUDENTS
Presenters:
Sean Murray
Charmaine Cameron
Rational
IACS Accreditation
 Provide an alternative to individual
counselling for students with long
standing anxiety and depression
issues
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Mood Management Group Program
Group program delivered by
counsellors at the University
Counselling Services at Curtin
University, Perth, Western Australia
 10 week structured CBT program
developed by Centre for Clinical
Interventions (Nathan, P., Smith, L., Rees, C.,
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Correia, H., Juniper, U., Kingsep, P., & Lim, L. (2004)
with follow-up session after 4 weeks
Before Starting the Group…
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Who will run the group?
How many in the group?
Referral process
Assessment – Inclusion and Exclusion criteria
Information Sheet for Counsellors
This semester, there will be a 10 week Mood Management Group for students run by Sean
and Charmaine. The aim of the group is to provide an alternative to individual
therapy for clients (students only) with long standing anxiety and depression issues.
The group is a structured CBT program designed by CCI.
It will run on Wednesdays from 4-6pm, starting on 21st March and ending on 23rd May.
A follow up session will be scheduled for 1st August. It is anticipated that the group
will run with about 12 participants but 15 will be registered and a further few
waitlisted. Registrations will close on Wed 7th March, two weeks prior to the start of
group. Counsellors will need to facilitate the registration process for clients, the details
of which will be held at reception. There will be a $5.00 charge for materials used in
the program.
The group will not be publicised and will be through counsellor referral only. Students
will need to be assessed by counsellors as per our regular assessment processes. Use
of specific measures such as the BDI is not required. Assessment criteria is based on
the DSM-IV criteria for anxiety and depression, being mindful that the group is
designed for dealing with long standing issues and not situational dependent or
reactive mood disturbance.
Clients with primary presenting issues that include eating disorders, substance abuse,
personality disorders, or psychotic disorders are not suitable for this type of group.
Clients will need to be made aware that participation in the group will use up their
session entitlements and they will not be offered individual counselling in addition to
the group program.
The manual for the course is currently circulating among counsellors. Any queries about
the group can be directed to Charmaine.
Before Starting the Group…
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Timing
Expectations for therapy
Pre and post evaluation
Ongoing assessment – progress evaluated
through regular homework monitoring
The Program
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Manual based program
Therapist notes provided
Weekly session outline
Handouts and worksheets for clients
Weekly homework
Program Content
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Expectations about change
Psychoeducation about anxiety and depression
Symptoms – physiological, cognitive, and
behavioural
Feedback loops - maintaining factors
Goal setting
Session summary and home work assignment
Preview of next session
Strategies and Techniques
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Understanding the change process
Behavioural activation
Graded exposure
Understanding the thinking-feeling connection
Learning to challenge beliefs
Recognising unhelpful thinking styles
Relaxation training – calming breath technique
and progressive muscle relaxation
More Strategies and Techniques
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Mid way program review session
Action planning
Preparation for setbacks
Emotion as trigger for mood change
Physiological sensation as trigger for change
Active coping (problem solving)
Use of flashcards
Self-management plan
Outcomes
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DASS used to evaluate
outcomes at 3 time
points: pre-, post-, and
follow-up.
Outcomes
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
n
is o
D
es
r
ep
x
n
A
ty
e
i
ss
e
r
St
Program Evaluation
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Some comments from feedback:
“Topics covered were relevant”
“Explanations and step-by-steps of topics were good”
“Great course, it went by very quickly”
“It was a little intense at times as it identified some of my hot
thoughts/issues”
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Areas of course that were most useful:
“Balanced thoughts, breaking the cycle”
“Mood changes are normal for I used to think that feeling sad
was a bad thing”
“Thought diaries and identifying hot thoughts”
“Group discussion”
Counsellor evaluation
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What we would do differently:
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Use only one therapist
Run one program overlapping both semesters
Running self contained modules
Combine some modules – shorten program