Social Anxiety Groups

Young people who struggle with social anxiety experience intense discomfort in social settings. To ease their anxiety they often begin avoiding social situations, which unfortunately makes their anxiety worse. While individual treatment teaches children and adolescents strategies for how to tolerate social situations without avoiding them, there is growing evidence that practicing and refining these skills is more effective when done in group formats.

Virtual and In-Person Social Anxiety Groups at the Child Mind Institute teach children, adolescents, and young adults coping skills to help them manage their anxiety as they practice facing their social fears in a group setting. Groups are designed to help participants develop skills and confidence in a supportive environment through exposures.

Our Social Anxiety Groups are appropriate for those who:

• Feel scared or uncomfortable in social situations
• Are afraid of embarrassing themselves in social situations
• Avoid doing activities that involve socializing
• Have difficulty recognizing social cues

This program targets areas of exposure such as participating in a virtual setting or in class, asking for help, asserting opinions, working or playing in a group, starting or joining in a conversation, videochatting with family or friends, attending a virtual or in-person party, ordering at a restaurant, giving a presentation or debating an issue, etc.

We meet individually with each participant prior to the start of the group to determine if he or she is the right fit and to identify specific areas of concern. In addition to group-focused activities, we are able to provide individualized interventions tailored to the specific needs of each child.

Eligibility: Children, adolescents and young adults who need help overcoming social anxiety. To ensure an appropriate fit, we will conduct a one-hour assessment billed at the clinician’s hourly rate. The assessment fee is waived if the child has participated in a previous group.

Questions: Please contact Charis Turner at Charis.Turner@childmind.org for questions about the NYC program and Sudha Hebbala at Sudha.Hebbala@childmind.org for questions about the San Mateo program.

If a child cannot attend and we are notified at least 30 days prior to the start date of the program we will issue a refund, excluding a $300 non-refundable deposit for administrative fees. At the time of registration full payment is required to reserve a space. If less than 30 days notification is given, no refund will be provided.