Group Therapy is like a fitness center for social skills. Kids emerge from a positive group experience with new interpersonal tools and abilities. They speak up in class, resist negative peer pressure, and stand-up for themselves. Group work also helps children increase their capacity for self-expression and emotional assertiveness. As their social insecurities begin to dissolve, they feel comfortable talking to peers or adults.

What are the benefits of group therapy? 

1. Social Confidence

Group sessions give kids a place to incorporate new ways of relating and developing better social behaviors. As they build confidence and develop a knack for speaking in groups, they become more comfortable asserting themselves in social situations in their daily life.

2. Better Communication Skills

Many kids can have difficulty communicating their emotions and tend to bottle up their feelings. Irksome behaviors such as moodiness, irritability, and defiance are often triggered by unrelieved emotional stress. In group therapy, kids are given the rare opportunity to explore their feelings and fears with their peers. As they develop better communication skills, they experience a surge in maturity.

3. Positive Peer Influences

Peer pressure can have an epic influence in young people’s lives in both positive and negative ways. When kids are in the company of peers who are also struggling to improve themselves and develop healthier ways of relating, they don’t feel so alone. Each week, group members cheer and celebrate each other’s victories. This positive environment provides kids with the confidence they need to overcome self-doubts and take more social initiative.

4. Improve Relationships

Isolated children are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression; these kids withdraw from peers in an effort to suppress fears and insecurities. Group sessions offer kids a chance to develop better quality peer relationships. Kids trapped in poor relationships at school are given a chance to start again and become part of a peer community off of school grounds that appreciates and values them.

5. Reduced Stress

Children often feel humiliated by social and academic pressures. Group work gives kids relief from stress by providing them with an opportunity to unburden themselves with peers who understand them. They learn to keep difficulties in perspective and develop a healthy sense of humor.

Call or email District Social Worker Leslie Hamman, MSW,LSW for more information on a group for your child at school! leslie.hamman@ccsd.us or 740-775-4250 Ext. 16172