Group Therapy
A child struggling with issues in life is often affected by them in many situations. Individual child therapy is a great method for helping kids learn to manage symptoms of anxiety, depression, and trauma. Individual therapy provides a safe place for children to overcome challenges and better regulate their emotions with support from a mental health professional.
Some children, however, also benefit from attending group therapy. Counseling is not just for one person having difficulties to work through them alone — rather, some children benefit from the support of a group where they can lean on others for support.
Group therapy helps children apply skills to specific situations, including small groups. Children can practice new skills within the group environment and respond to unexpected (or expected) challenges. Whether your child or teen is experiencing anxiety, depression or trauma, we can help. Courageous Kids Counseling takes the time to understand exactly how your child experiences difficulties and provides attention and support throughout the entire process.
As children struggle through the challenges of home and school life, Courageous Kids Counseling is here to provide compassionate counseling and group therapy. Continue reading to learn about our group therapy services, some common goals of counseling sessions and the benefit they can have for your child.
What Is Group Therapy?
Group therapy is a type of psychotherapy in which a small number of individuals meet together with a trained therapist to help themselves and each other. Typically, group members are brought together for each therapy session, though some members may also see a therapist individually.
There are many different approaches but most importantly group therapy includes creating a safe and supportive space where children can address personal and relationship issues. Group therapy can be effective in helping children and teens recognize commonalities in difficulties they are experiencing and offer a supportive platform to address them.
Group counseling services can be helpful for kids struggling with grief, rejection, anger, bullying, inattention and/or hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, and life changes such as divorce, moving to a new home, or a traumatic event. Group therapy can also be used to practice better communication and reduce conflict.
Common Reasons for Group Therapy
There are many reasons you might seek out group counseling services, including:
- Issues in school
- Bullying
- Friendship struggles
- The sudden loss of a family member
- A serious medical diagnosis
- Divorce or separation
- A natural disaster or other traumatic even
- Child and adult mental health issues
- Self-harm
- Weight changes
- Relationship issues
- Moving
- Drug or alcohol misuse
- The incarceration of a parent
How Do Our Group Counseling Services Work?
Group therapy services work by providing an opportunity for a therapist to see how kids relate to each other and provide pointers for addressing areas of difficulty – all within a confidential and judgment free space. We help children solve difficult problems and develop new ways to communicate effectively.
Group therapy can help create a supportive environment where members promote everyone’s health and well being. Your child or teen will work with a highly experienced and trained mental health professional to accomplish their unique goals while gaining new perspectives from peers.
In therapy, you can expect to:
- Develop self-confidence in social situations.
- Foster friendships.
- Learn how to effectively communicate with others.
- Productively express feelings and thoughts in ways your child feels heard, validated and supported.
- Identify what issues might contribute to conflict and increase coping skills.
The number of therapy sessions is usually set ahead of time by the therapist. The group can continue past the initial timeframe to maintain skills and provide additional support. Common goals and approaches of therapy include:
- Providing a safe place to share and connect with other individuals
- Promoting problem-solving
- Learning new strategies such as mindfulness, coping exercises, visualization, and social skills
- Helping children express emotions in a positive way so they don’t develop mental health issues such as anxiety or depression
- Reducing conflict with peers and develop skills to enhance social interactions
- Facilitating togetherness and feeling connected to others experiencing similar difficulties
- Letting children know they are not alone and they can find support
Group therapy can also focus on a specific mental health difficulty, such as:
- Social anxiety or shyness
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Panic disorder
- Phobias
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Substance abuse
- Adjustment disorders
- Mood disorders
- Post traumatic stress disorder
Group therapy won’t automatically solve conflicts with family or friends or make unpleasant issues disappear. But it can help your child connect with like-minded peers and provide the skills for coping with challenging situations more effectively. Group counseling services can also help children achieve a sense of togetherness and feeling of not struggling alone.
Benefits of Group Therapy
Group therapy services can provide the following benefits for your child or teen:
- Increase confidence in social situations: These strategies will foster better responses to social encounters, positive thinking, and finding more pleasure in social situations at home, school, sports, extracurricular activities and more.
- Improve communication: Therapists can help your child develop more effective ways to socialize with peers and better handle conflict or rejection.
- Repair and strengthen relationships: Therapists can help your child or teen develop or repair relationships. Children will feel less trapped in poor relationshops and can develop friendships with peers that share their values and appreciate them.
- Cope better with significant life changes: We can help your child through a divorce, moving or other life changes by interacting with others going through similar situations, feeling supported by peers and creating healthy ways to deal with emotions related to tough transitions.
- Reduce stress and feelings of humiliation: Kids can feel unburdened and less embarrassed by expressing social and academic pressures. They learn that others feel similarly and benefit from feeling supported and understood. Children and teens can develop a healthier attitude toward stress, including learning ways to cope with pressure such as using humor. We can also help kids with executive functioning skills to help with time management and orgqnization.
- Offer insight and a fresh start: Therapy can be an opportunity to start anew when struggling in social situations. In real-life situations kids can practice skills that will help them improve self-confidence without the pressure of a large group.
Our group therapy can help your child or teen effectively deal with a range of problems, including grief, peer rejection, bullying, weight fluctuations, child abuse or school-related difficulties. We can also teach you ways you cope with new realities, such as divorce, moving homes or starting a new school.
Group therapy services work by helping children know they are not alone and there are others are experiencing similar challenges. Your child can learn how to cope with anxiety, depression, and friendship issues in a warm environment surrounded by others who understand what they are facing and can offer their own unique perspectives. Children work together in groups to help solve difficult problems, manage adversity, and lean on each other for emotional support.
Your child will be supported by a highly experienced and trained licensed mental health professional who will provide a structure for the group and encourage cooperative and meaningful conversations. We’ll create a plan to help solve common problems, while taking your child’s history and specific issues into account. Your child is an individual first and by participating in the group we can address shared experiences that will help them develop more confidence, a new perspective on various situations, and be ready to make positive changes in themselves.
Current Groups We Offer
For anxious kids, making friends can be a significant challenge. Excessive worries often interfere with their ability to initiate or maintain conversations. It can be difficulty to watch your child lose friends or struggle to make new ones. To this end, we are offering social skills groups for young children (ages 7-9) and pre-teen boys and girls (age 10-12) to address the challenges of forming and maintaining friendships as an anxious child or tween and how to overcome them. Your child will come away with strategies for making new friends in the fall while hopefully making at least one new friend in the process!
For your convenience and privacy, all groups take place virtually. Your child or tween can enjoy all the benefits of interacting with other kids without all the fuss of traveling or worrying about appearances. Group therapy sessions will take place on a bi-weekly basis throughout the school year.
Summer Connections
This group focuses on helping children ages seven to nine with social skills development. Children may have varying levels of skills when it comes to friendship-making.
The goal for group therapy is to provide strategies to help children successfully form and maintain friendships while engaging in fun activities that help them practice these skills. Each group session will involve learning and practicing at least one skill. Children will be guided to use these tools during informal group activities with the support of a trained mental health therapist.
In group therapy you can expect your child to:
- Develop self-confidence in social situations.
- Foster friendships.
- Learn how to effectively communicate with others including greetings, small talk, and concluding conversations.
- Productively express feelings and thoughts in ways your child feels heard, validated and supported.
- Identify what issues might contribute to conflict and increase coping skills.
Friends Today, Not Tomorrow
You may hear your tween periodically talk positively about a friend or group of friends one day and discuss them as their nemesis another day. The reasons for this sudden change can vary.
It may also be difficult to discern what exactly led to this dramatic change. Bullying, including through social media, misinterpretations in conversations, jealousy, or arguments could be attributed. Nonethess, the turbulence in these friendships can take a toll on your pre-teen’s confidence and have them doubt their abilities to maintain healthy relationships.
In group therapy, your tween will:
- Develop self-confidence in social situations and know when to walk away from an unhealthy relationship.
- Foster positive friendships.
- Learn how to effectively communicate with others.
- Productively express feelings and thoughts in ways your child feels heard, validated and supported.
- Identify what issues might contribute to conflict and increase coping skills.
- Learn to value their positive attributes and seek out friendships with others that do the same.
Group therapy won’t automatically solve conflicts with family or friends or make unpleasant issues disappear. But it can help your child connect with like-minded peers and provide the skills for coping with challenging situations more effectively. Group counseling services can also help children achieve a sense of togetherness and feeling of not struggling alone.
Our group therapy can help your child or teen effectively deal with a range of problems, including attachment issues, social anxiety, poor social skills, inattentiveness, eating disorders, trauma or school-related difficulties. We can also be a source of support for children coping with grief, bullying, divorce, moving into a new home and depression.
Get Group Therapy in New York at Courageous Kids Counseling
Your child will function better with the help of a supportive group. As life becomes more challenging and your child experiences ups and downs, Courageous Kids Counseling is here to provide compassionate and caring group counseling services in New York.
Whether your child is experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, divorce, or difficulties with relationships, group therapy can help your child understand precisely what is bothering them and provide support and validation throughout the entire process. Courageous Kids, we even offer online group therapy sessions for your convenience. We also know your child’s confidentiality and privacy are of utmost importance. With the help of a licensed therapist and a supportive group of peers, we can uncover the problems that may impact your child’s health and well-being while moving them toward happier times.
For group counseling services, schedule an appointment today.
Sign up for Group Therapy Today
Your child will have fun while learning valuable social skills that they will carry with them throughout the year.
In group therapy your child will feel heard and supported. Our goal is to help them learn strategies to approach any social situations and develop the self-confidence to do so.
Our groups currently run for seven consecutive weeks from July 12th through August 23rd, 2023. The rate is $50 for each session. Please give us a call if you have any specific questions about the dates and times or group format, or if you want to share helpful information that will assist us to match your child with the best group for them.
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In our work together, we will uncover what is missing from your child’s life, what’s holding them back in worry and despair, and what are the ways we can help them move toward a place of happiness and fulfillment.
We provide convenient online sessions.
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