Bureau of Study Counsel
5 Linden Street
bsc@harvard.edu
Click here for an up-to-date listing of this semester’s workshops and discussion groups: http://bsc.harvard.edu/icb/
The Bureau of Study Counsel serves students in many capacities, including academic and personal counseling, the Peer Tutoring Program and Peer ESL Consulting Program, workshops and discussion groups, and the Reading Course. You are invited to visit the Bureau website or call us at 617-495-2581 for information. You are also welcome to come visit the Cranium Corner library at the Bureau for free study strategy handouts.
To register or make an appointment for a pre-group consultation (see descriptions for details), please contact the Bureau at least three weeks ahead of the beginning date of a particular workshop or discussion group.
Harvard Course in Reading and Study Strategies
Through readings, films, and classroom exercises, students learn to read more purposefully, selectively, and with greater speed and comprehension. A 10-day course, for one hour a day over a period of two weeks. The fall sessions will be held: September 24 to October 5, Monday to Friday, 8-9 a.m. and September 24 to October 5, Monday to Friday, 4-5 p.m. To register, please come to the Bureau at 5 Linden Street, or call 617-495-2581 for more information.
ADD Peer Coaching Group
with Jennifer Page Hughes
Two groups: Graduate and Undergraduate
Weekly meetings: dates & times to be determined
This group provides a supportive space for students with attention regulation concerns to learn coping skills in three core areas: organization/planning, reducing distractibility, and developing adaptive thinking. To register, emailjpage@bsc.harvard.edu.
Home from Harvard for the Holidays: Revisiting Relationships with Family and Friends
with SungLim Shin and Claire Shindler
One session: date & time to be determined
“How do I talk about Harvard at home?” “Will my friends and family think I’ve changed?” “Will I still fit in?” Going home from Harvard can be a mixed blessing. You look forward to the familiarity and comfort of home and trusted relationships. Yet you might feel unsure how things will be different given that you (and others) have no doubt changed through new and separate experiences. You might worry that your family and friends will judge you or make assumptions about you because you’re at Harvard. How do you convey that you are both different and the same? This one-session workshop provides an opportunity to describe and explore your experiences and questions as you anticipate going home. To register, emailslshin@bsc.harvard.edu or cshindler@bsc.harvard.edu.
Returning To Harvard: A Discussion Group
with Diane Weinstein
Dates & times to be determined based on participant schedules
Coming back to Harvard after time away can sometimes be surprisingly unsettling. Despite familiarity with the Harvard community, students might feel out of step with their cohort or taken aback by the renewed academic or social demands. This group provides a context for discussion and support. Pre-group consultation required, call617-495-2581.
Commitment and Creativity
with Ariel Phillips and Sheila Reindl
1.5-hour workshop offered on request to Houses/Yards/departments/
When we get too busy or are spread too thin, our creativity and commitment suffer. This workshop is an opportunity to consider our commitments in the face of internal and external pressures to be overcommitted and just “get it done” rather than “get in deep” and engage with genuine interest. We will consider where we devote our energy, time, talent, and savvy and explore what enables us to feel creative and enlivened in our pursuits. To schedule a workshop, email aphillips@bsc.harvard.eduor sreindl@bsc.harvard.edu.
Identity and Diversity: Background, Belonging, and Becoming
Offered on request to Houses/Yards/departments/
College can prompt new perspectives on who we are, what we value, where we have come from, and where we are going. Bureau counselors are available to facilitate discussions of identity and belonging – including issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, first generation to college, nationality, religion, sexual identity, and sexual orientation. To arrange for a workshop, contact any Bureau counselor (see staff biographies at bsc.harvard.edu), or consult with Sheila Reindl atsreindl@bsc.harvard.edu.
Senior Thesis Workshop
with Sheila Reindl, Craig Rodgers, and/or Claire Shindler
Offered on request to Houses/Yards/departments/
This 1 to 1.5-hour workshop will cover topics such as discerning the governing question of the thesis; using writing in the service of thinking; writing a literature review and methods section; managing time; and making good use of one’s adviser(s). To schedule a workshop, email sreindl@bsc.harvard.edu, craig@post.harvard.edu, orcshindler@bsc.harvard.edu.
Making the Grade in a Harvard Classroom
with Aurora Sanfeliz and SungLim Shin
One session: Monday, Sep. 24, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Come join us for an informal conversation over coffee and cookies. This is an opportunity for International Students to reflect on their classroom experiences and discuss strategies to enhance their learning and adjustment. To register, emailasanfeliz@bsc.harvard.edu or slshin@bsc.harvard.edu
What Are You Doing with Your Life?
with Sheila Reindl and Frank McNamara
Weekly meetings: dates & times to be determined, beginning in Oct.
This group provides opportunities to explore purpose, passion, and potential, along with the conflicts and challenges students feel in defining who they are, what they are doing, and where they are going in life. Limited to graduate students. Pre-group consultation required, call 617-495-2581.
Dissertation Writers’ Support Group
with Niti Seth and SungLim Shin
Six weekly meetings: Thursdays, 1:00-2:30 p.m., beginning Oct. 11
GSAS, GSE, HKS, and HBS doctoral students are invited to discuss their dissertation work and gain emotional and intellectual encouragement from one another. The group may elect to continue to meet without the leaders after the sixth meeting. Pre-group consultation required, call 617-495-2581.
What Should I Do? For Students Concerned about a Fellow Student
with Sheila Reindl and Craig Rodgers
One session: Wednesday, Oct. 17, 3:30-5:00 p.m.
This workshop offers support and guidance to students concerned about a friend, roommate, teammate, or other fellow student. We will consider whether and how to speak with someone whose drinking, eating, sleeping, interpersonal behavior, exercising, sexual relationships, or other behavior leaves us concerned. No registration required.
Speaking Up in Class
with SungLim Shin and Diane Weinstein
Three sessions: Wednesdays, Oct. 3, 10, & 17, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
This group provides strategies for students who wish to have more of a voice in their classes. Through discussion in a supportive context, the group focuses on increasing self-confidence and managing anxiety in academic settings. Pre-group consultation required, call 617-495-2581.
Time Management Workshop
with Claire Shindler
One session: Wednesday, Oct. 10, 1:00-2:30 p.m. – or -
Friday, Oct. 26, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
Through exercises and discussion, this workshop offers students an opportunity to develop and strengthen time management strategies. Students are encouraged to identify their priorities and to puzzle through the difficulty of making time for all they hope and need to do. To register, email cshindler@bsc.harvard.edu.
Perfectionism: A Double-Edged Sword
with Jennifer Page Hughes
One session: Friday, Oct. 12, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
Many students struggle with the fine line between striving for excellence versus suffering from perfectionism. This workshop helps students begin to distinguish motivation for healthy achievement from perfectionism and to overcome some of the pitfalls of perfectionism. To register, email jpage@bsc.harvard.edu.
Procrastination Group
with Diane Weinstein
Three sessions: Wednesdays, Oct. 24, 31 & Nov. 7, 1:15-2:30 p.m.
Through discussion and practical exercises, this group works on understanding the experience of procrastination and on freeing one’s self to use one’s creative processes in moments when one feels resistant, blocked or paralyzed. Pre-group consultation required, call 617-495-2581.
Maximizing Your Approach to Learning
with Jennifer Page Hughes and Claire Shindler
One session: Friday, Oct. 19, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
We all have different learning styles – characteristic strengths and preferences in the way we take in and process information. This workshop focuses on helping students identify their learning styles and develop learning strategies that work for them. To register, email jpage@bsc.harvard.edu or cshindler@bsc.harvard.edu
Seasons of Grief
with Sheila Reindl and SungLim Shin
One session: Wednesday, Nov. 28, 3:00-4:30 p.m.
This group provides an opportunity for students who have experienced a significant loss to talk about dealing with emotions, understanding the grieving process, finding ways to cope, and communicating with others. To register, emailsreindl@bsc.harvard.edu or slshin@bsc.harvard.edu.
Making the Best Use of Reading Period
with Diane Weinstein
One session: Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
This workshop discusses good use of unstructured time, studying for and taking exams, and coping with anxiety and stress. To register, call 617-495-2581.
Preparing for January: Senior Thesis Workshop
with Sheila Reindl and Claire Shindler
One session: Wednesday, Dec. 5, 3:30-5:00 p.m.
Use this workshop to develop a plan for your senior thesis work in January and to consider how to write even when you feel doubtful and daunted, how to organize your work, and how to manage your time and energy. To register, emailsreindl@bsc.harvard.edu or cshindler@bsc.harvard.edu.
Exam-Taking Workshop
with Craig Rodgers and Claire Shindler
One session: Friday, Dec. 7, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
This workshop reviews strategies for effective exam preparation and for taking exams with a minimum of anxiety. Location to be determined.