Our Wednesday evening Living Skills Group meetings are 60 minutes of stimulating, thought-provoking, transformative interaction, and they are not without laughter. Teens and young adults with a range of social anxieties and challenges meet at our POD in Orinda, California.
Facilitated by staff who are trained in communication, the discussions are not only goal-driven, but they are lively exchanges. Living Skills Group discussions are respectful, honest, and safe, covering what most participants are experiencing in their lives. With the help of professional staff, participants look to find solutions. Our neurotypical young staff joins in here as well. Together we talk through problems and solicit input from one another—and in the process participants gain respect for alternative perspectives. Group is about learning how to express personal needs, as well as hearing the needs of others and understanding the art of compromise and its mutual benefit. How are things going, or not going, in our lives right now, this week? How can we communicate more effectively, both within the POD and without?
Here is a sampling of the A to Z topics we might discuss:
• Verbal versus nonverbal body language
• Receiving focused attention from others
• Focusing attention on others
• The difference between kind and unkind attention and possible responses
• How and when to respond in various situations
• How to ask questions in particular situations
We are staffed with a high ratio of engaging neurotypical peers. They participate actively and honestly in the group, sharing their personal challenges and successes. No distinction is made between this young staff and participants. Everyone is working with his or her own life circumstances and describing experiences and outcomes, a good mix for rich discussions.
A great deal of mutual respect is built in this safe and confidential group. To join us, apply to our Living Skills Group.