Children’s Groups

Our Children’s Groups focus on supporting mental health and wellness by helping children develop the skills necessary to enhance their self-esteem, social emotional learning and resiliency.

Groups for Children

Heroes

Heroes was designed to provide children ages 6-12 yrs the opportunity to enhance self-esteem and their ability to view themselves as a hero through art therapy. By creating a supportive space, children can learn how to express their feelings, develop coping strategies, increase problem solving skills, and build on positive supportive relationships. The ultimate aim is to enhance children’s self-esteem and support their development.

Please contact (519) 434-6848 ext. 253 to find out more.

Parent and Child Concurrent Programs

Some of our programs require parents and children both to attend separate groups. Parents attend one group to learn the necessary skills to guide and support their child as they work through the program. The child should be available to attend the children’s program while in the care of the parent attending the parenting portion.

Anxiety to Resilience (ages 9- 12)

Anxiety is one of the leading mental health issues for children today. In this concurrent program, the parent and child are supported in separate programs. In an art and play based program, children spend 8 sessions (8 hours) addressing their self-confidence, resistance to new situations, struggles with flexible thinking, and their personal experiences with anxiety. Parents are provided a 4 session (6 hours) program to understand anxiety, discuss strategies and resources to support their child, reduce parenting stress, and create a family environment to reduce the impact of anxiety on the family.

Understanding ADHD (ages 6 - 12)

This interactive, virtual group provides an opportunity for both children and their parents to engage in learning about ADHD together over 6 sessions. Parents and children will gain further understanding of ADHD and develop strategies to support the child at home and school. Each session in broken into two parts: the first focuses on the child and engaging them in activities to teach skills such as self-regulation, while the second provides parents an opportunity to review the webinars, share ideas and build their parenting confidence.

This program offers a new approach to parenting in stressful situations and helps children build skills to manage their emotions. Participants explore how both adult brains and children’s brains work, paying better attention to feelings through mindfulness.

The children will participate in a number of group activities that center on the principles of mindfulness, using art and movement activities to explore the concepts that they are learning about.

This program was created in partnership with Dr. Karen Bax, Ph.D., Scientist, Child Health Research Institute and Adjunct Faculty, Department of Psychology, Western University.

Mom’s House/Dad’s House

This Art Therapy based program has been designed to provide children (ages 6 -12) opportunities to express their thoughts and feelings about the changes that are happening in their family due to separation, divorce or re-marriage. By creating a supportive space, children are provided opportunities to help build on problem solving abilities and manage their emotions and regulate their behaviour and increase self-esteem with the goal of decreasing vulnerability and increasing resilience.

The parenting group, Parenting and Separation/Divorce, is designed to support children participating in Mom’s House/Dad’s House.