The purpose of group therapy is to help individuals better understand themselves in the context of their relationships. This environment helps all of us make more informed, healthy, and adaptive choices based on a deeper awareness of their feelings, interpersonal behaviors, and reactions within the group setting. Unlike individual psychotherapy that focuses on helping clients improve through interventions from a therapist, group therapy allows participants to observe others in the group, receive valuable feedback, and benefit from social interactions. For these reasons, group therapy is often the most effective “therapy of choice” depending on your current needs.
We are currently taking registrations for the following group therapy options:
Men’s Group
Who is this group for?
This group is for men aged 30 and older.
It will be a place to talk about the unique challenges that men face, including anger, parenting, intimate relationships, developing friendships, work/life balance, and health issues. Because of our culture and upbringing, boys and men often struggle with many of life’s issues in unique ways.
What will I get out of this group?
A confidential and respectful place to discuss your current life functioning and how you would like to do things differently. Having a community of men with similar issues facilitates growth and development.
Topics might include the unique needs of men and how men balance multiple demands: be strong & available & vulnerable & steady & present & not overbearing. Other ways to talk about contradictory expectations that men can’t actually meet but may feel inferior or a failure because of these expectations.
Group details:
- Meets weekly, every Wednesday 5:30-7:00 pm.
- Begins Wednesday, November 1st.
- The group will meet for 10 weeks, excluding Holiday weeks.
- Costs: $75 per session.
- We ask that you commit to attend the first 4 sessions.
Group Leaders:
Drs. John Lynch and Matt Bitsko.
Please see their biographies for more details: www.summit-eh.com
Who can participate?
- Men who are current clients at Summit will not need a separate intake session before entering the group. Please talk to your clinician for more details.
- Men who are not current clients at Summit will be asked to complete a 15-30 minute intake telehealth session with either John or Matt to prepare you for group.
To Sign Up:
Please contact: Emma at Frontdesk@summit-eh.com
Teen Autism Spectrum Group
This group is designed to help teens on the Spectrum navigate social interactions and situations that contribute to anxiety or depressed moods. The goal is to encourage awareness and strategies for all members. This group is co-ed and will encourage discussion, roleplay, and activities designed to support new strategies that will help alleviate difficulties with anxiety and social situations that are uncomfortable.
The Teen Autism Spectrum Group is for 9th-12th graders (graduating seniors are welcome). This is an open group. Individuals may begin the group at anytime. Individuals must commit to the first four sessions. Participants successfully complete the program after 12 sessions.
Group Facilitators: Louise O’Connor, MS, LPC
Date: Tuesdays
Time: 4:30 pm- 5:30 pm
Cost: $800 OR 2 payments of $400 ($80 per session) *Participants successfully complete the program after 10 sessions and group will be ongoing thereafter.
Registration Information: For questions about the group or your child’s compatibility for the group, please contact the group facilitator Louise O’Connor at louise.oconnor@summit-eh.com. To register for the group, please email our Front Desk at frontdesk@summit-eh.com.
Stress Management Group for Adolescents & Families
This group is designed for high school students and their families to better understand how to manage adolescent stressors in today’s world. Group is intended to address common challenges that high schoolers face, including time management skills, technology use, academic pressures, social dynamics, getting enough sleep, and communication skills, to name a few.
Group will predominantly be for teens to meet weekly, receiving psychoeducation on a particular stressor each week. Teens will offer feedback and encouragement to one another, while gaining healthier coping skills to better manage stress.
Once a month (the first Tuesday of each month), guardians will join group to also gain an understanding of these topics and ways to be supportive to their teen.
When: Tuesdays from 6:00 – 7:15pm , starting October 17th (Holiday weeks excluded*)
This is an open group, which means that families can enroll in group at any time. It is expected that they will participate for at least 8-weeks. After 8 weeks, you can stay as long as you like/find group to be helpful.
Who: High school students in the Richmond area experiencing stressors related to adolescence. Group members must be currently enrolled in individual therapy (at least once a month) in conjunction with attending group. Both individual therapist and group facilitator will collaborate to determine if your teenager is appropriate for group prior to enrollment.
Location: Summit Emotional Health
Cost: $70 per session
Facilitator: Nani Moskal, LCSW
For questions or to register, please contact:
Emma Taggart at frontdesk@summit-eh.com
Adolescent and Caregiver Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Group
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment that addresses and treats
emotional dysregulation and internal distress. It helps teens and their families to learn ways to
manage challenging emotions skillfully to keep them moving towards their goals.
Caregivers will meet separately for 45 minutes to review skills with group leader and answer
questions/discuss how to support your teen as they use these skills in daily life. Teens will meet
simultaneously to learn skills, discuss effective use of skills, and problem solve how to apply
these skills to problem behavior.
Date: Tuesdays
Time: 6:00 – 7:30PM *The caregiver portion for each session will run from 6:00 – 6:45 pm, while the teen portion meets
separately from 6:00 – 7:30PM
Where: Summit Emotional Health
Cost: $80 per session (includes both the teen and caregiver portions). Clients can choose to pre-pay for each module at a rate of $75 per session
Facilitators: Kristen Norton, LCSW & Kaitlyn Kabban, LCSW
For questions or to register, please contact: For questions about the group or your teenager’s compatibility for the group, please contact the group facilitator Kristen Norton at Kristen.norton@summit-eh.com. To register for the group, please contact our front desk at frontdesk@summit-eh.com.
Adolescent and Caregiver Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Group
Frequently Asked Questions
What is DBT and who is it for?
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment that addresses
and treats emotional dysregulation and internal distress. It helps teens and their families to
learn ways to manage challenging emotion skillfully to keep them moving towards their goals.
How long is the group and what can I expect?
The group is broken down into 5 modules that are taught over 25 weeks. See below for
curriculum. Each session runs for 1.5 hours. We believe that change is achieved in community
and with support. For this reason, we ask that at least one caregiver attend the sessions.
Caregivers will meet separately for 45 minutes to review skills with group leader and answer
questions/discuss how to support your teen as they use these skills in daily life. Teens will
meet simultaneously to learn skills, discuss effective use of skills, and problem solve how to
apply these skills to problem behavior.
When and where does the group take place?
Group will run every Tuesday from 6:00 – 7:30 pm. The group
will meet in-person at Summit Emotional Health. The caregiver portion for each session will run
from 6:00 – 6:45 pm, while the teen portion meets separately from 6:00 – 7:30 pm.
Why group and what else do I need to know?
In DBT group we teach and encourage dialectical thinking. Dialectics teach us that
there is more than one way to see a situation and more than one way to solve a problem. For
families in DBT, it is moving towards a middle path by choosing to recognize that two things
that seem like (or are) opposites can both be true.
DBT group provides us with a platform to learn skills that increase how effective we are in
solving real life problems and keeping our relationships healthy. It is blended with cognitive
behavior therapy concepts, such as looking at how our thinking impacts our emotional
experience and environment. It helps us to learn how to find balance between acceptance of
where we are right now and maintaining a strong commitment to change.
We teach the skills, practice them in each session, and give homework assignments to take
back to daily life so that you can meaningfully connect to the skills and build mastery.
What if group has already started but I want to join?
At the end of each module there is a review week where we practice/revisit mindfulness
skills. New members are invited to join on these weeks.
Does it really need to be 25 weeks?
Yes. DBT is not just a skill set, but a formula for approaching life from a balanced
perspective with the goal of creating a life worth living. Will there still be difficulties in life? Yes.
Will there still be pain? Yes. Can we reduce our suffering? Absolutely! With DBT we can learn
to navigate life’s challenges successfully and improve our relationship with others and
ourselves. New skills take time and practice. And then more practice! Learning these skills
over a longer period has proven to be more effective for long term change.
Weekly Schedule
Mindfulness
1. Orientation
2. Wise mind and activating wise mind
3. What and How skills
Distress Tolerance
4. Why bother & crisis survival skills overview, Wise Mind ACCEPTS
5. Self-soothing with senses/kits & Improve the moment
6. Pro & Cons & TIP
7. 5 optional ways of responding/radical acceptance/turning the mind/willingness Vs
Willfulness
8. OPEN GROUP & RE-ORIENT
Walking the Middle Path
9. Dialectics, what is it
10. Thinking Mistakes
11. Dialectical dilemmas/what’s normal for teens
12. Validation
13. Behavior Change
14. OPEN GROUP & RE-ORIENT
Emotion Regulation
15. Taking charge of your emotions/Goals/short list of emotions/ what good are emotions,
Model of emotions
16. ABC PLEASE/ accumulating positive experiences in the short and long term/Wise Mind
Values and priorities
17. Building mastery, coping ahead/developing cope ahead plan
18. PLEASE/The Wave Skill
19. Checking the facts/problem solving/opposite action
20. OPEN GROUP & RE-ORIENT
Interpersonal Effectiveness
21. Intro/Goals and Priorities/barriers to achieving goals
22. GIVE
23. DEAR MAN/Factors to consider in asking for what you want
24. FAST -worried thoughts and wise mind
25. THINK/GRADUATION