Boundaries in life workshop teaches attendees about healthy relationships

Every semester, the Office of Community Life holds many different workshops and events aimed to benefit students in a variety of ways. Most recently, it has announced a Boundaries in Life series. This six-week series is geared towards women, allowing them to learn about what boundaries are and how to implement them into all relationship types. 

In 2021, the Office of Community Life formed the Boundaries in Life program. Research showed that relationships in students’ lives were confusing and changing, and students did not know what healthy boundaries looked like or how to implement them.

“If a student is struggling with their relationship with their parents, roommates, a classmate or a significant other, the Boundaries in Life program can help them learn how to honor and respect the individuals in their lives while simultaneously putting in place boundaries that help the relationship be in a healthy state,” Sophia Payne, the associate director for the Center for Student Thriving, said.

Throughout the six-week series, students will learn how to articulate boundaries, why they may have avoided setting boundaries and how to honor themselves and others by setting boundaries.

“Students will be able to practice boundary-setting while here at Liberty University that will help them beyond college to develop and grow healthy relationships with those around them,” Payne said. 

During the meetings, students who attended the series from last semester — known as peer facilitators — will share their testimonies of how their relationships changed for the better. The peer facilitators will listen to the students and try to mitigate fears by providing a safe space to talk, supporting the students’ journeys and helping them implement tips
on boundary-setting.

“We want to help students in this transition period grow in the skillset of boundary-setting while also seeing their relationships flourish instead of being a burden,” Payne said.

“I’m looking for a group to find good community,” Becky Kessler, a commuter student at Liberty who is interested in joining the group, said.

The series will meet weekly on Mondays from 10:30-11:30 a.m. starting Sept. 18. The group will meet in the Jerry Falwell Library’s Scholars Lounge. Students can register here.

Twitchell is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion