There are several benefits to participating in group therapy. Here at Healthy Minds we offer two primary types of groups: Skill Building Groups and Process Groups.

The main style of group we offer supports Skill Building. In our skill building groups, we follow a curriculum to help educate and normalize different aspects of everyday life that continue to pose a challenge for our participants. Such skills we work on are Social Skills, Executive Functioning Skills, and Growth Mindset, all of which help people participate in group settings with more ease and success. In these groups, we spend our time educating participants and their families about how to understand and master the skill set being offered. While having multiple members participating in our skill building groups may provide extra benefits, such as opportunities to practice real-life situations in a small setting and learning from other peoples' experiences, the size of the group does not impact the delivery of information that will, in turn, support the participants' success in everyday group settings.

Our Process Groups, however, do depend more on group size. Process groups are useful in normalizing everyday experiences related to our mental health that may cause a person to feel isolated and alone in their experiences. This is an opportunity to discuss our everyday challenges in a safe environment and acquire the skills needed to manage mental health.

Groups are not individually tailored to any one specific clients' needs, however, the facilitators are skilled in highlighting the goals each client enters the group with. When more specific needs to an individual arise, we can offer the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a parent to provide additional support and feedback.

While searching for therapy options to help build your child’s social skills, groups are typically the first place parents look for support. However, when a child needs tailored support, their ability to engage in a group setting decreases, and they often become an observer rather than a participant. In a group setting, participation is the key to developing improved social skills, so if a child requires more individualized support, it can be difficult for them to make significant progress in a group environment. 

In these cases, dyadic therapy can offer an effective alternative. Dyads involve one therapist working with two children and offer many benefits that a group cannot. In a dyad, the therapist is able to provide more individualized support and attention to each child, which provides flexibility in specific interventions that address the unique needs of each child. This personalized approach allows for a deeper exploration of challenges, as well as an opportunity for an individualized treatment plan. Dyads create a safe and supportive environment where children can express themselves openly and receive reassurance from one another with the support of a clinician. 

While dyads follow a therapeutic curriculum that is similar to a group, they allow each child to practice new skills and increase their confidence in the safety of a smaller supportive environment. The skills needed to engage and actively participate in a group are practiced and enhanced in a dyad setting, so if you are looking for your child to participate in a group in the future, dyads are a wonderful first step toward setting them up for success. Overall, dyadic therapy offers a valuable therapeutic approach that prioritizes the ability to engage with other children, while addressing the child's emotional and behavioral needs, in a supportive and personalized manner.