The counseling and mental health center’s peer community group, Worthy, is helping students navigate unhealthy relationships with friends, family and significant others. 

TCU Campus Advocacy, Resources and Education Advocate Leah Carnahan provides a direct point of support for students who have experienced recent trauma. CARE advocates serve as liaisons between students and professors, confidential supporters and even court advocates, if need be, Carnahan said.

Carnahan recently created Worthy as an outlet for college students who want to start to heal, but aren’t ready to commit to therapy and counseling. The college dating scene creates an unrealistic view of what relationships should be and a lot of students need an authentic voice of reason, Carnahan said.

Worthy is a first step to receiving help for students enduring dating violence, working through assault trauma or wanting to learn healthy relationship characteristics.

The group’s facilitators address uncomfortable topics like sexual assault, stalking and mentally degrading family dynamics, while also taking into account what is relevant to students in attendance. Worthy also provides students with problem-solving skills along with potential action plans to help them in their current circumstances.

Most students who attend Worthy are looking for a community that will understand and support them. Making connections and meeting people in similar situations is a positive start to healing, Carnahan said.

Social isolation is a common hardship among college students and joining groups on campus is a constructive way to combat the problem. Many Worthy students form group chats as a way to stay connected and continue to build relationships outside of the group.

Though Worthy addresses concepts targeted to a specific audience, the group is “open to any student who has a desire to strengthen their voice and nurture their worth in relationships,” Carnahan said.

Worthy meets every Wednesday from 3 to 4 p.m. in Jarvis Hall room 221.