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Children & Teen Discussion

  • 9 Groups • Clinician-Led • Ages 4 Through High School • Hopewell Junction, NY

Children & Teen Discussion

Groups & Forums

Nine structured, clinician-led peer groups each built around a specific challenge giving children and teens a safe space to develop emotional skills, build coping strategies, and connect with others who genuinely understand.

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  • Why Peer Groups?

What Group Therapy Offers That Individual Therapy Cannot

Individual therapy is powerful but the experience of being genuinely understood by a peer who faces the same challenges is something only a group can provide. These groups are not just classes they are structured therapeutic experiences led by clinicians.

Reduces the isolation of feeling different hearing peers share similar struggles is itself therapeutic

Provides a safe, low-pressure environment to practice social and emotional skills in real time

Clinician-led structure ensures every session has therapeutic purpose and appropriate boundaries

Builds coping strategies through interactive activities not just conversation

No diagnosis required. Groups are open to any child or teen who would benefit. You do not need to be receiving therapy at the clinic or anywhere else to register.

  • All Groups

Nine Groups Find the Right Fit

Each group runs for six weeks, meets once a week, and is intentionally small. Select the group that best matches your child’s age range and primary area of need.

Movement & Regulation

  • Ages 4–6

Wake Your Brain

A neurologically-based movement and mindset group for young children using gross motor movements, cross-body exercises, breathing techniques, and balance activities to build focus, emotional regulation, and learning readiness.

  • Fridays 4:00pm
  • 6 classes

Each Session Includes

  • Cross-body movements to activate both brain hemispheres
  • Eye exercises and balance for coordination
  • Breathing techniques for focus and calm
  • Self-pressure movements for emotional regulation

Social Skills

  • Ages 5–8

The Skill Builders Squad

A weekly group advancing social-emotional, executive functioning, and mental health skills through interactive activities and meaningful dialogue. Peer interaction is encouraged throughout every session.

  • Saturdays 9:00am
  • 6 classes
  • Sundays 9:00am
  • 6 classes

Session Topics

  • Self-Esteem
  • Healthy Friendships
  • Stress & Frustrations
  • Anger Management
  • Problem Solving
  • Positive Coping Strategies

Family Transitions

  • Ages 6–9

Changing Families

A small group helping children cope with changing family situations divorce, separation, blended families, or the loss of a parent by building emotional understanding, coping strategies, and a strong sense of personal identity.

  • Thursdays 6:30pm
  • 6 classes

Session Topics

  • Meet My Family
  • Changes at Home
  • Adult and Kid Responsibilities
  • Feelings & Calming Strategies
  • Trust Circles
  • I'm Still Me / Celebration

Social Development

  • Ages 9–11

Keeping It Positive

A 6-week program helping children participate in activities that foster social-emotional learning and awareness including emotional regulation, social cues, and being a positive bystander.

  • Thursdays 5:30pm
  • 6 classes
  • Saturdays 10:15am
  • 6 classes

Session Topics

  • Cooperation & Sportsmanship
  • Emotional Awareness
  • Social Cues
  • Anger Management
  • Being Assertive
  • How to Be a Good Bystander

Anxiety & Stress

  • Ages 11–14

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

An interactive anxiety and stress support group where children develop coping strategies, learn to recognize and reframe anxious thoughts, and build inner strength through shared experience.

  • Sundays 10:15am
  • 6 classes

Session Topics

  • How Anxiety Happens
  • What We Worry About
  • Flipping Negative Thoughts
  • Recognizing My Anxiety
  • Coping With Worries
  • What Is In My Control

ADHD & Emotions Middle School

  • Ages 11–13

Unlock Your ADHD Superpower

A group helping middle schoolers understand and manage big emotions including anger, impulsivity, and emotional flooding using brain-based strategies, visualization, relaxation training, and activities built around student interests.

  • Fridays 4:30pm
  • 6 classes

Weekly Strategies

  • Visualization and mind movies for calm
  • Understanding the amygdala hijack
  • "I messages" and expressing needs
  • Breathing and relaxation techniques
  • Fight, Flight or Freeze responses

Stress & Anxiety Girls

  • Girls 12+

Relax & Love Your Brain

An interactive stress and anxiety management group for pre-teen and teenage girls exploring stressors around homework, friendships, social media, and more, with practical mindfulness .

  • Saturdays 11:30am
  • 6 classes

Session Topics

  • From Stress to Success
  • Stress & Time Management (2 sessions)
  • From Stress to Wellness
  • Social Stress & Pressure (2 sessions)

Self-Esteem

  • Tweens & Teens 12+

Confidence & Courage

A group that gives pre-teens and teens the tools to transform limited thinking, increase self-confidence, and put their dreams into action through mindset work, positive affirmations, and visualization.

  • mondays 6:30pm
  • 6 classes
  • Saturdays 12:45pm
  • 6 classes

Session Goals

  • Identify personal strengths and uniqueness
  • Transform negative to positive self-talk
  • Create personal positive affirmations
  • Use visualization to build new neural pathways

ADHD High School

  • Ages 14–17

The ADHD Teen Toolkit

A peer group for high school students with ADHD evaluating academic progress, sharing challenges, and building practical strategies for focus, time management, organization, impulse control, and social communication.

  • Thursdays 6:30pm
  • 6 classes

Topics Covered

  • Focus and time blindness
  • Organization and accountability
  • Impulse control
  • Long-term planning
  • Social and emotional regulation
  • Parent stories

Real Families. Real Results.

You’re not the first family to walk in feeling hopeless. And you won’t be the last to walk out feeling seen.

  • Questions parents ask us

Honest answers to the things you're actually wondering.

No. Discussion groups are open to any child or teen who would benefit — regardless of diagnosis or therapy history. You do not need to be receiving therapy at Sensory Stepping Stones or anywhere else. Simply identify the group that best matches your child's age and area of need and register directly.
All groups are intentionally small to ensure every participant is heard and the group dynamic stays safe and supportive. Specific sizes vary by group and current enrollment. Call (914) 244-4101 for current availability.

All discussion groups are led by licensed or clinically supervised mental health professionals at Sensory Stepping Stones. Groups are structured therapeutic experiences — not peer-run support circles. Every session has a defined therapeutic purpose and a qualified clinician present throughout.

Yes, and it is often a natural and productive combination. Group and individual therapy address different dimensions of a child's development. Many children benefit from both simultaneously, and our team can help coordinate the two if your child is already working with a clinician at the clinic.

Sensory Stepping Stones is an out-of-network provider. Groups are self-pay. Contact us at (914) 244-4101 for current pricing and to discuss whether reimbursement documentation can be provided for submission to your insurer.

Still have questions? We’d rather you ask than wonder.

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A free 30-minute conversation, no clipboards or scripts. Just us, you, and whatever you’re carrying.

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