For the Good of the Group

"I would love to be fired," says Aaron Sterba, director of Lehigh’s Counseling & Psychological Services (UCPS).

This declaration comes not from a distaste for his job but rather from his passion for it. “There aren't many jobs where if you do your job well, they don't need your help anymore. That’s a different kind of profession."

Some counselors and clinicians focus their efforts on scheduling appointments, sometimes forgetting the ultimate goal and missing the critical opportunity to lead patients to independence.

Sterba and the staff at UCPS are committed to providing services that equip students with the skills to fly on their own. Connection through group therapy is their best practice for the college age group. 

“So much of their life is based on social connection,” says Sterba. “Their ability to manage being dropped into a new environment dictates their success. Peers, professors, their community — if those things aren't going well, it can make everything else fall apart.”

Sterba identifies the “epidemic of loneliness" and isolation as the biggest challenge for students on campus today, and he has seen that the best way to combat that and forge new relationships and connections is in small groups.

“People aren't feeling as connected or feeling a sense of belonging, and we’ve found that the best tool for that is group therapy. In intimate group therapy, you don't feel as alone. Whatever you are dealing with is easier because you feel supported.”

In spring 2024, there were nine to ten groups meeting at Lehigh with six to ten people in each group. Sterba clarifies that these groups are not determined by any specific diagnosis or personal challenge. The groups are only segmented by undergraduate and graduate students, as these age groups are often dealing with different life circumstances and needs.

Students typically begin their counseling by meeting one-to-one with one of the staff clinicians. The clinician will sometimes make a recommendation to consider moving to group therapy. “The transition to a group format and doing something that makes them nervous or uncomfortable enables growth and independence for the student,” says Sterba.

In the last five to ten years, more campuses have adopted group therapy because it enables a small staff to see more people, but Sterba says that it’s always been Lehigh’s approach because UCPS believes it’s often the best way to help students at this point in their lives. Alumni support and funding for UCPS has the potential to bring additional resources and dedicated spaces for group therapy to reach even more students with this effective therapeutic model.

Sterba and his team are also very invested in being part of the campus community and not just providing therapy. By offering group workshops like Knit2gether and MindfuLU, UCPS provides support to students who might not typically feel compelled to seek assistance but who are looking for opportunities to connect with their Lehigh community. These groups include talking but are more about building a community around an activity.

The workshops also provide opportunities for the counselors to stay connected to students who have since moved on from traditional therapy though the program. “It's hard sometimes because I've known a person for years, and I don't get to see them any more,” says Sterba. “But it's exciting that they don't need to meet with me anymore.” 

“Our counselors are helper kind of people. They get satisfaction by helping someone realize that they can be seen, and that can have a powerful impact. Being able to listen is something a person might not always get elsewhere and that feels worthy and helpful.”