What is emotional regulation?

Emotional regulation is the way we manage and respond to emotional experience. For children who are neurodiverse, this can get in the way of forming positive social connections, and conflict resolution. The group will focus on becoming aware of emotions and labeling them. We will use mindfulness-based and art therapy interventions to regulate emotions through the process of observing, describing, and then acting with awareness.  We also plan for each child to create a "coping skills toolbox" to improve self-regulation, monitoring, and their ability to cope with stress. As part of our commitment to holistic development, the group includes a dedicated parent component. Following the group engagement session, parents will be invited to participate in their own learning, as well play alongside their child to model, reteach and reinforce skill building.

Logistics:

This is a 8-week group for children of all genders, ages 7-10. It will run June 17-20 and June 24-27 (M-Th) from 10-11:30 am at Takoma Therapy - 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 610, Takoma Park, MD, 20912. We strongly encourage participants to attend every group session to maintain group cohesion and to get the most out of the group experience.

This is a private pay group. The fee per session is $100; 8 sessions ($800 total)

Who we are:

Sheila Ervin, LCSW-C, LISCW is a therapist and the Director of Clinical Care at Takoma Therapy. She has over 20 years’ experience running groups in public and alternative school settings. Janet Minichiello, LCPAT is the art therapist at Takoma Therapy.  She enjoys helping clients of all ages embrace their creative side and has experience facilitating therapy groups for both children and teenagers.

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Image credit: iStock kate_sept2004