Everyone has times when they struggle with relationships, and Western students can find help right here on campus with that issue.

For the next three weeks, senior psychology major Lindsey Barnes will be continuing a group session based on everyday relationships. Her group meets every Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the Counseling Center, located in room 203 of Eder Hall. Anyone is welcome.

Barnes began her seven-week practicum in February and has had a steady turnout of three women.

“I was glad to have a small number, but I wouldn’t mind a higher turnout,” she said.

While the counseling does include relating to a significant other, that is not the entire purpose of the group. The session focuses on relationships of all kinds, such as friends, parents, children and in-laws.

The main theme that Barnes instills in her group sessions is the idea that people need to recognize and overcome the barriers between one another.

Barnes felt that focusing her practicum on relationships made sense considering it is a topic that everyone has to deal with on one level or another.

“We all have relationships we would like to improve, myself included,” Barnes said. “I thought I could help myself and others by putting a group together.”

Barnes has a different faculty member sit in on the sessions each week. Each faculty member brings a different topic, merely as a guideline.

Body language was a topic discussed by Director of the Counseling Department Dave Brown. He concluded that body language is a telling sign of a person’s receptiveness.

One of the attendants, a junior elementary education major, joined the group session after seeing a flyer. She felt that the sessions could help improve the relationships with her husband and children, and she has taken a lot from the counseling.

“I leave here on Wednesdays thinking a lot about what we discussed,” she said.

One of the other attendants decided that a little relationship counseling would be a good idea before marriage. The freshman social work major learned of the sessions through her psychology class and felt it would be a good idea to enhance her relationship skills, considering her engagement.

“(The sessions) help quite a bit, (they) open up things that could have been a problem later on,” the freshman said.