Group Therapy

Groups teach core relationship-building skills, such as active listening, empathy, providing and accepting feedback, identifying nonverbal cues, becoming aware of one’s own nonverbal cues, and impulse control. There is also a heavy focus on identifying one’s own emotions and learning to express them in more healthy and efficient ways. The children learn to pinpoint behaviors, incidents, or thoughts that precede emotions and, in turn, to understand how their emotions lead to certain behaviors. Instruction is directive at times; I might say: “Tell us one thing you might say to a group of kids when you want to get in on their game.” Instruction also occurs indirectly as I help the children communicate with each other in the moment. We use role playing, discussion, art, and games.