College Life

Here at Galvin Growth Group, we have therapists ready to help college students navigate these challenges, including:

Homework and organization difficulties

• • • College is often a very different environment than students are used to. Students must manage household chores, social lives, homework, and sometimes work. It can quickly become overwhelming, especially as many college classes require much more work outside of the classroom than high school classes do. Organizing group projects, longer assignments, and various deadlines can place additional burdens on college students. Learning effective study habits, organization strategies, and time management skills can be essential for successfully navigating college life.

Struggling to meet new people

• • • Being the “new kid on campus” can be exciting and overwhelming. Changes in high school friendships can be a challenge if students haven’t practiced making new friends for several years. Learning coping skills can help students overcome social anxieties and meet new friends by joining clubs, talking to peers in class, and connecting with dorm-mates. Some students may also need help stepping back from perfectionistic tendencies with their school work and increasing their time spent fostering social support networks. 

Anxiety and depression concerns

• • • As with any major life transition, starting college can stir up many comfortable and uncomfortable emotions. Anxiety, grief, and stress are some of the common uncomfortable emotions that college students may feel. It can be challenging to live away from family, try to make new friends, succeed in classes, and think about the future. Learning to check in with oneself, manage emotions, and practice good self-care can help students be well-adjusted and mentally healthy during this most-exciting stage of life.

Developing healthy coping skills

• • • The combination of new-found independence, difficult classes, and peer pressure can sometimes lead college students to develop unhealthy coping strategies. This can look like self-isolation, drug/alcohol abuse, overspending, “doom-scrolling” and more. Learning healthy coping strategies and being able to implement those healthy coping strategies is important for not only college success, but success in post-college life as well.