Fall 2025 Groups
Curriculum
Week 1: Introduction to Social Skills
We’re kicking things off by getting to know each other and learning what social skills are! Kids will discover how our thoughts, words, and actions help us connect with others—and why these skills matter for friendships, fun, and feeling good.
Week 2: Conversation Skills
Talking and listening are key to making friends and feeling heard. This week we’ll practice how to start conversations, take turns talking, show interest, and join in with others in a way that feels kind and confident.
Week 3: Filters and Boundaries
Not everything we think needs to be said out loud! In this session, kids will learn about the “filters” we use in conversations and how to understand personal space, privacy, and respectful boundaries with others.
Week 4: Rules & Unspoken Rules
Some social rules are obvious—others are harder to spot. This week we’ll talk about the “unspoken rules” of social settings like classrooms, lunchrooms, and playgrounds, and why they help us get along better with others.
Week 5: Conflict Resolution
Everyone has disagreements sometimes. This week we’ll practice ways to handle conflict with words instead of outbursts—like staying calm, listening, apologizing, and working toward a solution.
Week 6: Making Friends
Making new friends takes courage and practice. This week we’ll focus on how to approach others, join in, show kindness, and be a good friend from the start.
Week 7: Healthy Friendships
In our final week, we’ll explore what makes a friendship healthy—and what to do when a friendship feels tricky or hurtful. Kids will leave with tools to help build strong, respectful relationships that last.
Social Skills for Kids
with Child & Adolescent Therapist
Karen Bendig, MSW, LCSW
Beginning Saturdays, September 13th
9am-10:30am : Ages 6-8
10:30am-12pm: Ages 8-10
Curriculum:
Week 1: The Strengths We Have
We all have unique strengths—even when it’s hard to see them. In this session, we’ll explore what makes each of us special and how our strengths can help us face life’s changes with confidence.
Week 2: Building Self-Esteem
What we think and say about ourselves matters. This week, we’ll talk about how to grow a kinder inner voice, challenge self-doubt, and feel more confident in who we are becoming.
Week 3: The Masks We Wear
Sometimes we hide how we really feel to fit in or protect ourselves. This session will help girls understand the “masks” we wear, why we wear them, and how to show up as our true selves.
Week 4: Managing Friendships
Friendships can be fun—but also confusing or stressful at times. This week we’ll learn how to handle changes, miscommunication, and the ups and downs of friendships in healthy ways.
Week 5: Friends or Foes?
Not everyone who acts like a friend really is one. This session helps girls learn the difference between healthy and unhealthy friendships, and how to recognize red flags and trust their gut.
Week 6: Boundaries
Boundaries help us protect our time, feelings, and energy. We’ll learn what boundaries look like, why they’re important, and how to say “no” in ways that feel respectful and strong.
Week 7: Who Am I?
In our final session, we’ll put it all together and reflect on everything we’ve learned. Girls will leave with a stronger sense of who they are, what matters to them, and how to keep growing with confidence.
Adjusting to Changes for Middle School Girls
with Child & Adolescent Therapist Karen Bendig, MSW, LCSW
Beginning Saturdays, September 13th
12pm-1:30pm: Ages 11-13
Rooted: A Coping Skills Space
Week 1: Introduction
This week focuses on creating a safe, supportive space for group members to connect and begin building trust.
Week 2: Identifying Triggers
The goal of this session is to help participants recognize emotional and situational triggers that contribute to distress or unhelpful coping. By increasing awareness of their own patterns and reactions, group members begin to better understand how past experiences may influence present responses.
Week 3: Grounding Techniques
This week introduces grounding strategies to help participants manage overwhelming emotions and stay present. Through experiential practice, group members will develop a personalized set of grounding tools to use in moments of anxiety, dissociation, or distress.
Week 4: Cognitive Restructuring
In this session, the focus shifts to identifying and challenging unhelpful thought patterns. Participants will learn how to reframe negative thinking, reduce self-criticism, and increase mental flexibility using simple cognitive-behavioral tools.
Week 5: Self-Compassion
This week is centered around cultivating self-kindness and reducing the harsh inner critic. Participants will explore the power of self-compassion, learn how to respond to themselves with empathy, and begin practicing more nurturing internal dialogue.
Week 6: Managing Setbacks
The goal of this session is to normalize setbacks as a natural part of growth and healing. Participants will explore past challenges, build resilience skills, and learn how to bounce back from difficult moments without shame or judgment.
Week 7: Communication & Boundaries
This week focuses on developing assertive communication and healthy boundary-setting. Participants will learn practical skills to express needs, set limits, and navigate relationships with greater confidence and self-respect.
Week 8: Reflection & Closure
In the final session, participants will reflect on their progress and celebrate growth. This session offers space for meaningful closure and helps participants identify how they will continue their healing journey beyond the group.
8 Weeks beginning August 12th, 2025
Tuesdays from 3:30pm-4:30pm
Facilitated by: Samantha McAleer, MSW, LCSW
Cultivating Connection: A Mindfulness Group
Facilitated by: Samantha Kopacki, MSW, LCSW
6 Week program beginning Sept 12th
Fridays from 10:30am-12pm
Week 1: Establishing Safety in the Body and the Group
The first week focuses on creating a foundation of emotional and physical safety. Participants will be invited to explore what safety feels like in their bodies and how they can begin to access it intentionally. The group will co-create shared agreements that support trust, confidentiality, and respect.
Week 2: Attunement to the Body & Others
This week deepens the practice of attunement — both internally and interpersonally. Participants will practice tuning into physical sensations, breath, and emotional cues while also learning how to mindfully notice and respond to others. Exercises will support greater awareness of body language, nonverbal communication, and subtle relational dynamics.
Week 3: Self-Compassion in the Body
In this session, participants will explore how self-compassion can be embodied and not just intellectualized. The group will practice somatic tools to soften inner criticism, hold space for emotional discomfort, and respond to their bodies with kindness.
Week 4: Feeling Safe in Connection
This week’s focus is on building relational safety and understanding how nervous systems respond to connection. Participants will explore their own comfort zones and challenges around vulnerability, intimacy, and closeness. This session supports healing relational patterns and increasing comfort with authentic connection.
Week 5: Building Joy and Connection
As the group deepens, this session centers on cultivating joy, playfulness, and shared presence. Participants will engage in practices that activate positive emotional states to explore how joy can be a regulating, relational, and embodied experience — not something that needs to be earned or held back.
Week 6: Honoring the Body
The final week, participants will explore how their relationships with their bodies have shifted over the course of the group and what practices they want to carry forward. The group will celebrate its collective growth and reflect on meaningful takeaways.