Returning to School

Purpose of the group: The new school year has just begun and with that a lot of thoughts about the unknowns for the school year may start to creep in.  No matter what age, returning to school can cause anxious feelings. The start of the new school year comes with a lot of new things, so it isn’t uncommon to feel nervous about changes in teachers, classrooms, friends, homework load, curriculum changes, etc. The purpose of this group is to discuss and process through the anxious feelings and stress you may be feeling in the first few months of the new school year, while also developing tools and a positive support system to use going forward. Throughout the six weeks, group members will gain a better understanding of the feelings we have about school, identify causes of school nerves, better understand peer relationships at school, and create a healthy school-life balance.‍

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Group Structure: All group sessions will begin with an open discussion for group members to share thoughts, updates, progress, and/or setbacks about the previous week. Group members are encouraged to share only to the extent that they feel comfortable. Each week a new topic and discussion prompt is presented by the group facilitator, along with an activity. To end the group session members will summarize the week’s topic, discuss goals to work on before the next meeting, and are encouraged to participate in a short mindfulness exercise. Group structure is subject to change based on group members’ needs during sessions.