Here at Wholesome Healing, we offer therapeutic groups that utilize Behavior-Based Therapy interventions and Expressive Arts Therapy activities, all grounded in the Child-Centered Group Play Therapy (CCGPT) model. Our play therapy groups combine these evidence-based interventions to create a space where children who are experiencing problems with peer relationships, making friends, and general social skills can work on these difficulties.  

Our small therapeutic groups allow children to experience social interactions with 2-4 group members, with the goal being to enable children to learn and practice new social and coping skills. Children will have the opportunity to learn and grow alongside peers, creating connections with others that can then generalize to more positive experiences in other social settings. The therapist facilitates the group in a way that supports emotional expression, healthy relationship-building, and self-regulation skills. 

 

Groups offer a unique setting in which clients can work on themselves, in relation with others. Research consistently shows that group therapy can be an effective approach for most concerns, and some research even shows that group therapy combined with individual therapy is the most effective way to address concerns.​​ Group therapy is appropriate for children who struggle with peer or sibling relationships, as well as emotional and behavioral problems. 

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Wholesome Healing offers two ongoing social skills groups: 

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Social Safari 

Created and facilitated by Mary Beth Naish, LCPC, RPT, CCPT

This therapeutic small group is designed to help young children, ages 5-8, develop important social skills through games, activities, and stories. This group is thoughtfully designed and offers a safe space for children to explore social skills through play, structure, and creativity!

In this group, kids will practice:
Making & maintaining friendships
Understanding social cues
Expressing needs & emotions
Turn-taking & flexible thinking
Problem-solving with peers
Building confidence in group settings

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There are two weekly ongoing groups, running Mondays from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. 

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Mighty Minds 

Created and facilitated by Brooke Riffe, LCSW-C, RPT
This is an 8-week program for 4th and 5th graders that uses movement, games, and activities to help kids connect & thrive with others!

The focus of this group is to help kids build social and communication skills. 

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Through this group experience, children will also: 
- Build emotional regulation skills so that they can feel more in control of their responses and reactions.
- Learn about how their brains operate.
- Experience an opportunity to feel a genuine connection with other peers.

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Next group will be Thursdays from 6:15 - 7:15 p.m., starting Thursday March 5th.

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Wondering how to know if group therapy is right for your child.... 

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We find that group therapy can be helpful in many ways, including: 

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• Providing an opportunity for clients to generalize skills gained in individual therapy.

• Offering clients a place to work on more specific skills (i.e. transitions, social skills, anxiety).

• Allowing for more comprehensive assessment of problems, by allowing therapists to see how clients function with others. 

• Giving clients the opportunity to feel connected to others in meaningful and satisfying ways - clients can develop close relationships with others who have similar interests or who have faced similar challenges. 

• Exposing clients to a variety of stress reduction methods - in groups we utilize a variety of approaches, including art, nature, movement, and sensory play - this variety of experiences allows clients to experiment with and find what is most effective for them in reducing stress. 

• More targeted development of coping strategies - group therapy can offer more direct work on coping skills, allowing clients a place to learn how to respond to triggers in a healthy way. Clients walk away with concrete skills that they can start implementing right away. 

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Group therapy may be helpful for those who:

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• Feel frustrated with others often

• Struggle to feel connected to peers

• Want to build connections with others

• Feel different from others 

• Want to feel more confident in relationships with others

• Feel stuck in individual therapy

• Want support from others going through similar struggles

• Sometimes have trouble creating and maintaining relationships

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Our Group Process:  Read More

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Current Group Offerings​​

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