Welcome! The Beyond Boundaries group is open to Virginia Tech students who identify as disabled/having a disability. This includes (but is not limited to) physical, cognitive, mental health, and chronic illness disabilities. This group is hosted by Lydia Qualls, a counselor at Cook Counseling Center who herself identifies as disabled.
Please fill out the following form to RSVP to Beyond Boundaries Group Sessions. These sessions are scheduled for every other THURSDAY from 5:00 to 6:00 PM starting Thursday, June 2nd, 2022. The group will be offered virtually only for the summer session. You will receive an email with participation guidelines and the information to log into the Zoom meeting before the session. Please try to register by at least noon the day before you attend the group, otherwise you may not get the email. If you need to register later, please contact me at lydia19@vt.edu.
You must provide your name, phone number, e-mail address, and a (typed) signature acknowledging limitations of virtual support groups in order to receive the weekly Zoom link.
Guidelines for Participating in a Virtual Support Group
1. Privacy and confidentiality
We cannot guarantee confidentiality, but we ask everyone respect each other's privacy by agreeing not to disclose what other people shared in the meeting to anyone who did not attend the session.
We ask everyone to participate in this meeting from a quiet, private location where others do not overhear or interrupt the meeting.
This meeting uses a remote connection over the internet among participants, and in rare cases, security protocols could fail and the content of this meeting could be accessed by unauthorized persons.
Limits to confidentiality exist for the facilitators, and they are mandated to disclose information under the following circumstances; a) imminent risk of harm to self or others, b) reported or suspected abuse or neglect of a child, elderly or disabled individual, c) and/or a Title IX violation (e.g., unwanted sexual experience, stalking, intimate partner violence)
2. Culture of respect
We ask everyone to be respectful of each other by taking turns talking and being open to different opinions.
3. Nature of the meeting
This group is not a counseling or therapy group for treating mental illness. As a support group, it provides a space for participants to support each other as peers by sharing personal experiences and ideas. When clinical needs arise, participants might be referred to the Cook Counseling or other resources for further discussion.
The Beyond Boundaries Group virtual session is not a therapy group and does not constitute or substitute for mental health treatment. In the event of an emergency or if you or someone you know is in an imminent danger to themselves or someone else call the Cook Counseling Center at 540-231-6557 during business hours and after hours to reach the on-call counselor. Please sign below to indicate that you have read the guidelines for participating in sessions and that you understand the above statement.
Please type your name to indicate agreement to the above guidelines.