Vibe Check: Middle School Social Skills Group (EVERSTONE ACADEMY FAMILIES ONLY)

THE ABOVE FEE IS FOR ALL 8 GROUP SESSIONS.

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Our 8-week Middle School Skills Group at Everstone Academy is an evidence-based program that helps middle schoolers improve their social skills and make lasting connections. Blending the concrete, rule-based steps of PEERS® (developed at UCLA) with the emotional regulation of DBT Interpersonal Effectiveness, this neuro-affirming program is explicitly tailored for middle schoolers with dyslexia, ADHD, or anxiety who want to build stronger, more confident relationships.

Each week, middle schoolers learn key social and communication tools in a supportive group environment and practice them through interactive, fun activities. Because we specialize in supporting neurodivergent brains, our 60-minute sessions are designed to support learning while keeping energy engaging and steps highly concrete. This group is a fantastic opportunity for motivated middle schoolers to gain real-world confidence, handle emotional surges in social settings, and enhance their social skills alongside peers who truly get them.

Middle schoolers will learn how to:

• Use helpful conversational skills: Trading information to find common ground and keeping a two-way dialogue balanced.

• Use humor in a helpful and friendly way: Reading the room and using humor to connect rather than alienate.

• Enter group conversations: Overcoming anxiety with a clear, step-by-step approach to joining peer groups at school.

• Identify communication roadblocks: Recognizing what gets in the way of effective communication, like anxiety or missing cues.

• Advocate for their needs: Using the DBT-based tool, DEAR, teens learn to clearly ask for what they need from teachers, parents, or friends.

• Be a good sport: Navigating the social rules of structured games, recess, and group projects.

• Handle arguments, disagreements, and rumors: Managing conflict, diffusing gossip, and keeping their cool when social friction happens.

• Location: Everstone Academy - Edgewater

Child In-Person at Redwood Group Dates/Time:

Thursdays, January 21st - March 18th, 2027

12:00p - 1:00p (Student Lunch)

Facilitator: Dr. Sahana Moodabagil

Getting Started: Once registered, one of our clinicians will reach out to welcome you to the program and provide you with the required electronic intake paperwork to complete.  You will also schedule a short group therapy intake so we can share more about the group and get to know your family. Your child cannot begin the group until a group therapy intake is complete.

Group minimum and maximum participants: The group requires at least 3 participants to run and will be capped at 6 participants. 

*This group is not a fit for students with significant behavioral challenges, severe psychiatric concerns, and students who strongly oppose participation or are not motivated to engage in the group. 

Fees: This program requires a non-refundable $680 deposit, which includes the group therapy intake and all 8 group therapy sessions. Mind Chicago is NOT in-network with any insurance company, but we do provide documentation for submission to your insurance for potential reimbursement.

Payments and Refunds: At registration, you will pay a non-refundable deposit of $680 to hold your child's spot. Please note that payments are non-refundable and non-transferable to future groups. If the therapist(s) of this group determines your child may benefit from other services and cannot continue in the group after the first session, you will be eligible for a full refund. For group therapy sessions consisting of less than 10 sessions, the group fee is not prorated for any absences (planned or unplanned), and no refunds will be issued for missed sessions, given the limited number of clients participating.