Group Therapy

WE ARE SORRY GROUPS ARE CURRENTLY ON HOLD DUE TO COVID-19.

SOCIAL SKILLS GROUP

Navigating social rules and understanding body language and social cues can be difficult, especially if your child has other areas of deficit as well. Dr. Evelyn Novello and Dr. Sevil Arli have over 15 years of experience working with the special needs population, as well as with children solely lacking in social skill development. Your child’s needs will be custom fit to the needs of the group in order to provide the opportunity to begin building connections!

We usually have two groups:

Girls ages 8 to 10, biweekly Fridays at 3:30 pm

Boys ages 11-13, weekly Fridays at 4:30 pm

Groups of other ages will be forming. Groups will be available for children, adolescents, and young adults who are typically developing or experiencing the struggles of ADHD or ASD.

Our small groups are didactic and experiential. They are ongoing, and each session stands alone such that children can join and “graduate” at different times and can take some sessions off for vacation without feeling that they have have missed out. We use games specifically designed to impart skills and encourage discussion, but also use other activities and crafts based on group interest and that still allow for feedback and social skill-building in a safe space.

Areas addressed in groups will include, but are not limited to:

• Mastering eye contact and greetings as well as sustaining back and forth interactions
• Dealing with negative emotions (anger, sadness, disappointment) and gaining coping strategies
• Practicing taking turns and exercising flexibility with winning and losing
• Building self awareness skills and understanding emotions and appropriately expressing them
• Developing appropriate assertiveness and conflict resolution skills
• Learning who is a friend and what makes for a good friendship
• Understanding the intentions of others (body language and cues)
• Finding common interests and making plans with others
• Accepting feedback and developing empathy and prosocial behaviors
• Strengthening theory of mind development (the ability to put oneself in someone’s shoes and take the perspective of others)

If you are looking for a Social Skills Group for your child, please contact Dr. Novello at novello@pasadenapsychology.com or by phone at 626-823-0642 to reserve a future slot!

We are sorry in-person groups are currently on hold due to Covid-19.