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Group therapy

Empathy, encouragement, insight, information, camaraderie, and community: groups offer all this, and more. Groups can relieve feelings of isolation and provide essential support as you confront personal challenges and make life changes.

Groups at Summit Psychological Services (SPS) are open to all. You don't need to be in therapy at SPS—or anywhere else. Of course, any SPS therapist or non-SPS therapist may refer you to one of our groups.

Adult Groups

  • Adult Alcohol and Drug Recovery Group

    The members of this group are working toward recovering from alcohol and drug abuse and dependence. They share their experiences, struggles, and successes in a safe, therapeutic setting that provides vital support. The group is open to any adult committed to abstinence and recovery. Attendance at 12-step meetings is highly recommended (but not required). 

  • Adult Psychotherapy Group

    This group is open to adults working on personal growth and development. This shared goal creates a space of empathy, honesty, and support. Frequent themes include coping with stress, communicating with others, nurturing relationships, improving work satisfaction, achieving goals, and fulfilling dreams. The group focuses on replacing self-defeating patterns with healthier alternatives.

  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Group

    Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is taught worldwide and has been featured on the PBS special Healing and the Mind. MBSR was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, author of the bestselling books Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness and Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life.

    Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teaches mindfulness meditation, mindfulness yoga, and mindful living. The majority of graduates report lasting benefits: less pain, greater ability to cope with pain and stress, greater ability to relax, and more energy and optimism. Some say their life has been profoundly changed.

  • Mindful Therapy Group

    Most of us live "in our heads": dwelling on the past, worrying about the future, judging situations, avoiding the "bad," pursuing the "good." Mindfulness is the opposite: being fully present in the moment and gently accepting all feelings and sensations. Practicing mindfulness can help you relax, focus, and cope more effectively with problems. It can help relieve depression, anxiety, and chronic pain, according to research.

    In the Mindful Therapy Group, you will learn how to accept your feelings without judgment, become alive in the present moment instead of existing on "auto-pilot," replace worry and avoidance with choice and possibility, and take action aligned with your values. As part of this training, you will learn how to meditate.

Teen and Children's Groups/Parent Workshops

  • Adolescent Psychotherapy Group

    Classes, career choices, identity, fitting in, body image, parents, friends, relationships, sex, drugs, alcohol, sexual orientation: the high school years can be filled with pressure, decisions, confusion, and self-doubt.

    If you often feel overwhelmed, angry, anxious, depressed, or out of control ... if you frequently fight with your parents or friends ...if you get into trouble... you may have thought of talking to someone. But whom?

    The Adolescent Psychotherapy Group is a safe place to start sorting everything out. First, you'll be with other high school kids who can relate to what you're going through. Second, everything you say in the group stays in the group, because members learn to respect each other's privacy (unlike in school and on Facebook, where gossip can spread in a heartbeat).

  • Eating Disorders Recovery Group

    Are you concerned about how much or how little you eat, your feelings toward food, or your eating habits? This group can help you free yourself from self-destructive eating behaviors such as bulimia, anorexia, and compulsive overeating—and replace them with healthier ways to cope with life. The group explores the emotional issues that "feed" disordered eating, and it focuses on self-esteem and self-care. It challenges myths about the "perfect" body, male and female stereotypes, nutrition, and society's pressure to be thin. If you're in individual therapy, this group plus your counseling can be a powerful combination.

    Parent workshops: A child's eating disorder affects, and is affected by, the entire family. SPS offers workshops for parents seeking information and support. 

  • CHANGE (Children Having a Novel Growing Experience)

    This innovative group helps children and preteens develop social skills and build self-esteem. With state-of-the-art behavior-modification training, kids learn new coping, problem-solving, and communication skills and become more confident. Group graduates report improved self-esteem and assertiveness, as well as greater awareness of their emotions, behaviors, and communication styles. 

    CHANGE can benefit any child, including those with learning disabilities or ADD/ADHD and those in stressful situations (divorce, loss, illness, or a new school, for example).

    Parent workshop: CHANGE includes a one-day workshop for parents. You'll receive insightful guidance on setting healthy goals for your child, establishing appropriate rules and boundaries, and cultivating your child's self-esteem and potential.

  • Yo’Play Psychotherapy Group (yoga-based play therapy)

    Yo’Play is an innovative yoga-based play therapy program for young children. Incorporating body and mind, breath and movement, Yo’Play equips kids with skills they can use for the rest of their lives. These include calmness, mental focus, emotional regulation, coping strategies, self-confidence, and social skills.

    Just as important, Yo’Play is fun!

    Yo’Play was created by SPS psychologist Shannon Price, PsyD, who is implementing the program nationally through the nonprofit organization Project Joy.

86 Summit Avenue
Summit
NJ
07901
(908) 273-5558
466 Pompton Avenue
Cedar Grove
NJ
07009
(973) 857-8857

Summit Psychological Services, P.A.
Jeffrey S. Kahn, PhD, CGP, DABPS, Managing Director
Alison W. Johnson, PsyD, Director

Disclaimer: This website is a publication of Summit Psychological Services, P.A. It is not intended to be a substitute for the advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a licensed mental health professional. Summit Psychological Services, P.A., makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information on this website. However, we make no warranty, guarantee, or promise, express or implied, concerning content. Those wishing to confirm content must contact the Directors of Summit Psychological Services, P.A. Links to external websites are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not imply our endorsement of the links' contents.