Group Programs

Social Skills Training

Good social skills are essential for successful functioning in life and influence school performance, relationships, and job success. To meet the high demand for group programs that teach these skills, the CPC offers “The Friendship Groups” for children ages 7 through 13. The content for the sessions is based on an evidence-based program shown to be effective in improving children's social skills. 

Children will learn rules and guidelines of appropriate social skills and practice these skills with the guidance of the group leaders. Skills include:

• joining a group and being fun to play with
• resolving peer conflict
• coping with rejection and teasing
• having a two-way conversation
• making a good first impression
• being a good sport
• making and keeping friends

Parents are expected to actively participate in a separate program designed to support skilled social behavior. There is a flat fee charged for participation in the nine week program. For more information, call 480-965-7296 or click here for a printable flyer (pdf). Groups are conducted in the fall and spring depending upon demand and availability. Group leaders are doctoral students in clinical psychology and are supervised by licensed clinical psychologist and CPC Director, Dr. John Barton.

Teen Cope Depression Prevention Group

About 20% of teenagers will experience depression before the age of 18 and girls are two to three times as likely as boys to get depressed. Teen Cope is a depression prevention group for high school girls ages 14-18 who are showing some signs of depression or anxiety. is not for girls experiencing great impairment from depression.

Signs of depression in teenagers include:

• Lack of energy or motivation
• Feeling sad and hopeless about the future
• Withdrawing from friends and family
• Changes in sleeping and eating habits
• Loss of enjoyment in activities
• Frequent crying
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritability, anger, or hostility

Early intervention is crucial to helping teens cope with depression. If left untreated, teen depression is associated with a number of negative outcomes in the future, including:

• Adult depression
• School failure
• Drug and alcohol use
• Early sexual activity
• Involvement in the criminal justice system
• Suicide

Teen Cope is also an educational group -- it teaches skills to cope with stress and negative feelings rather than having a “talk therapy” format. The group is based on a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy model and is adapted from a program evaluated by research to have positive effects in preventing long-term depression in teenagers.

The group meets weekly for an hour for a total of nine weeks. Group sessions are held at the CPC and are run by doctoral student therapists who have completed their Master’s degrees and are working towards their PhD in Clinical Psychology. The program is supervised by Dr. John Barton, a licensed clinical psychologist and director of CPC. One of the group leaders will meet with each girl prior to starting the group to make sure that the program will be a good fit. There is a flat fee charged for the 9-week program. Please see our printable flyer or call the CPC at 480-965-7296 for more information or to set up a screening appointment.

FOR TEENS:

• Do you sometimes feel like you’re the only one who feels sad, stressed, or irritable? These feelings are VERY common for teenage girls. For example, you may:
• Have less energy or motivation
• Withdraw from your friends and family
• Feel angry or irritable around friends and family
• Sleep and eat more or less than usual
• Feel like activities you used to enjoy aren’t as fun
• Cry more often
• Have a hard time concentrating

If so, Teen Cope might be for you!  Teen Cope is a group to learn about new ways to cope with stress and sadness with other 14-18 year old girls. The group is an opportunity to connect with other girls who may have similar experiences and feelings as you. Teen Cope IS NOT a group where you will be forced to talk about personal issues, or a “talk therapy” group. We do encourage participation but you are not required to share if you don’t feel comfortable.

Past members of Teen Cope have said:

• “It was a lot of fun and it helps you deal with stress.”
• “Do it. I honestly thought it was fun and it made me realize how silly my ‘negative’ thoughts are.”

Before the first group meets, you and a parent will be invited to meet with group leaders to make sure the program is a good fit for you. We can also answer any questions you have about the group and how it works.

You can e-mail us at clinic@asu.edu with questions. E-mails are read by the office staff and not secure; discretion is advised.

Coping Skills Group

Each week this group highlights one of the core techniques that are proven to work through the clinical research literature and applies it in a group setting. Participants are taught skills that include communication efficiency, problem-solving, improving motivation to make a change, seeing the problem in a different perspective, taking a step back, and accepting a situation for what it is in order to move on.

The Clinical Coping Skills program is based on research done by Matt Meier, and each week covers skill-based topics that can be implemented in life. This group is modeled after a cognitive behavioral therapy approach, which has been shown by research to improve mental health and prevent long-term mental health problems.

This group is transdiagnostic, meaning it does not matter what mental disorder you may or may not have. Instead, the group focuses on developing skills that are beneficial for a broad range of problems.

Mindfulness Group

Mindfulness has been increasingly shown to have positive effects on mental and physical well-being. The Mindfulness Group at the Clinical Psychology Center is an educational and experiential program aimed at learning how to open up to the full experience of life from moment to moment and how to live life to the fullest. The CPC offers a group program designed to help cope with any of life's challenges - big or small - using mindfulness-based techniques. The group is open to ASU students, faculty and adults from the community. This eight-session program aims to:

• Improve symptoms related to stress and anxiety 
• Discover techniques to help worry less and regulate emotions
• Improve the quality of daily living
• Increase the capacity for staying mentally and physically healthy
• Learn the benefits of incorporating mindfulness into daily routines 

Each session is interactive, includes hands-on mindfulness exercises,  and addresses the needs of each individual person. Sessions will be approximately an hour long, and cost only $15 per session or a flat fee of $80 for all eight sessions! Group leaders are doctoral students in clinical psychology and are supervised by a licensed clinical psychologist. For more information, please call the ASU Clinical Psychology Center at 480-965-7296.