Group Counseling

Many students participate in one or more of the peer support groups that deal with specific issues.  All groups are facilitated by staff clinicians.  Participation may be recommended after the initial diagnostic evaluation or by a student's therapist, house leader or house counselor.

Anger Management
Facilitator: Jeff Brain, MA, CTS
An intense, high-level psycho-educational group for students with a history of difficulty managing their anger.  Meets weekly for 16 weeks and builds upon work done previously with a therapist and/or 12-Step sponsor.  Students are challenged to learn and practice a variety of strategies to better manage their anger, with an emphasis on developing and practicing forgiveness.  Progress is monitored through the standardized Anger Regulation and Expression Scale, which students complete before and after taking the course.

Grief and Loss Survivor Group
Facilitator: Jeff Brain, MA, CTS
Provides empathic and supportive assistance to students suffering from a significant loss or unresolved grief due to divorce or abandonment, or the death of a parent, sibling, relative or friend.  Focus is on healthy mourning and how to remember and honor lost loved ones.  Activities include journaling, watching movies with grief and loss themes, bonfires and other memorial ceremonies, and reaching out to others who are experiencing a loss.

Social Anxiety Group
Facilitator: Marcia Ertola, MSEd
A cognitive-behavioral group for students for whom social situations are highly stressful.  Discussions explore causes (including genetics, family environment and trauma) and techniques for managing social stress, including cognitive restructuring (challenging one's beliefs), in-session exposure, social skills training and homework assignments.

Adoption Group
Facilitator: Sephiratu Wahab, MSW
A support group for adopted students that challenges some of their assumptions about adoption while covering the issues and triggers they have in common, regardless of the circumstances of their adoption or the characteristics of the participants.  Discussion topics include loss, rejection, identity, and intimacy.

Food Group
Facilitator: Marcia Ertola, MSEd
Weekly group counseling for students with eating and body image issues.  Utilizes cognitive behavioral techniques to deal with negative automatic thoughts, memories, perceptions and emotions that lead to disordered eating.  Sessions use media, meditation exercises and writing assignments to reframe and reprogram the cognitive distortions related to eating and body image.

Self-Harm Group
Facilitator: Rochelle L. Rhyno, MSW
A support group with a minor psycho-educational component for students with a history of causing bodily harm to themselves.  Discussions cover reasons for self-harm and associated issues, including social anxiety, acceptance, love, power and control; underlying feelings; triggers; and coping strategies.  Sessions increase student awareness of dysfunctional communication and relationship issues and how to correct them.

12-Step Meetings and Sponsorship have always been an integral part of life at The Family Foundation School.  Meetings are available to all students and function as group counseling for anyone struggling with addictive behaviors, while sponsors (and junior sponsors) play a major role in the recovery process for our students.