Group Therapy
Support & Skills Groups offered for Neurodiverse Teens and Adults
Sharing a part of our healing journey with others who may have some common experience can help us feel less isolated and offer other avenues for healing through connection and mutually supportive relationships.
2024 GROUP OFFERINGS:
Neurodivergence Groups
(Highly Sensitive/High Sensory Intelligence, Autism, ADHD, etc.):
6-Week Online Neurodivergence Skills & Support Group (Adults)
Starts: On Hold Until Fall 2024
Meets: TBD (eves)
Duration: 6 group meetings @ 90 min (plus intake call)
Size: small (max 6 members)
Location: Online/Video
Cost: $550 (includes intake) (A $50 non-refundable deposit to hold place and balance of $500 due week 1) (*payment plans available for financial need)
RSVP by 6/5/2024 to scomelo@sfccounseling.com
About: This is a closed group, facilitated by a neurodivergent (AuDHD) Licensed MFT, providing a structured agenda to incorporate education, self-exploration and group sharing. Living and working in today's world with it's often very narrow ideas of "typical" or "right way" to do things, can impact a neurodivergent person's sense of self, mental and emotional well-being, physical health, boundaries, and tolerance levels for social, family and work activities. Neurodivergent people are hardwired to process and interact in their environments in ways that our world and society may not cater to or promote, if not outright shame. They often find themselves masking to "fit in" or get through difficult experiences to the point of compromising one's identity, preferences, needs and bandwidth. This can often lead to burnout and impact our mental and emotional well-being with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Some may feel out of place in their own families, relationships, and jobs/school, often comparing themselves to others, not realizing they may just be hardwired to experience and engage with their environments differently. Many go through life with their filters wide open, pushing and enduring, until they burn out from masking and trying to conform. Join fellow neurodiverse people for safe, mutual support & skills-building to learn how to better navigate life and thrive with your gifts as a neurodivergent person.
Group Goals: Increase understanding and acceptance of how neurodiversity shows up for us individually and in others; better tune in to our own nervous system stimulation levels; tools to modulate our nervous system response to our internal and external environments; start building our own unique Neurodiverse Operating Manuals; and learn/practice skills to communicate feelings, needs and limits to others. Handouts provided for work between sessions. The goal is not to force ourselves into some version of "neurotypical," but instead to learn and honor our unique needs to function most optimally in all arenas in which we seek to engage, while retaining authenticity and not "masking" to the point of harming ourselves.
TEEN GROUPS (2024)
6-WEEK TEEN GROUP Skills & Support Group (Ages 12-17)
Starts: On Hold until Fall 2024
Meets: Mon or Th (4:15pm-5:30pm)
Duration: 6 weekly group meetings @75 min each plus a 30 to 45 min intake session
Size: small (max 8 members)
Location: Online for CA residents (*in-person Saturday session in Hayward, CA may open up for local teens, depending on response)
Cost: $500 (includes intake) (A $50 non-refundable deposit to hold place and balance of $450 due week 1) (*payment plans available for financial need)
RSVP to scomelo@sfccounseling.com
About: This is a closed, skills-based support group, facilitated by a neurodivergent Licensed MFT, using a semi-structured agenda to incorporate education, processing, coping strategies, sharing and connection with other teens navigating life's challenges. Great group for neurodivergent, sensitive teens, those who have a hard time with social or other anxious symptoms, and have had a hard time finding and connecting with peers on a deeper, supportive levels.
Group Goals: Increase understanding and acceptance of how we are each uniquely wired to engage and respond to our environments and life's expected challenges. Increase our awareness of our unique needs for us to function optimally in settings of our choosing and to achieve goals we set or ourselves; learn to ask for support, as needed in all areas of our lives (school, work, relationships, home); build our resilience in the face of a world that is currently set up for more neurotypical brain and nervous system functioning. We'll use mindfulness to better tune in to our own degree of overwhelm; identify how our own thoughts, feelings and behaviors can impact our feelings, reactions and daily functioning; learn tools to "hack" our own brain and nervous system stimulation levels so we can "respond" to situations more mindfully vs. just react blindly; learn to more effectively communicate our feelings, needs and limits to friends, family and others. Handouts may be provided for work between sessions.