This introductory psycho-educational group addresses personal and relational concepts.

8 Week Overview

Week One: Me, Myself, and I
This first group session will focus on building awareness of one’s personal needs, interests, and goals, and identify ways to build self-esteem.

Week Two:  That’s Close Enough!
This session will explore the concept of personal space and identify ways to establish boundaries with others.

Week Three: I’ll Tell You What I Want…
This session will concentrate on different communication styles with the goal of increasing awareness of the ways in which they communicate with others.

Week Four: Healthy or Unhealthy?
This session will focus on healthy and unhealthy relationship qualities and allow individuals to identify qualities they seek in personal relationships with others.

Week Five:  Should I Stay or Should I Go?
This session will explore factors that can lead to people to want more closeness or more distance in relationships. It will also focus on decision-making that helps a person decide whether to start, maintain, or end a relationship. Participants will be introduced to a 4 step decision making model which will be practiced more extensively during Relationship Support groups.

Week Six: Dating 101
This session will present basic social and communication skills related to dating. It will stress importance of good hygiene and personal care. It will also explore choosing a compatible partner & ways to ask a person out on a date, present common dating rules, and discuss ways to deal with rejection.

Week Seven: Am I Ready for Sex?
This session will focus on sexual readiness and communicating boundaries around sexual behaviors with others.

Week Eight: Staying SAFE
This final wrap up session will review all previous concepts learned in weeks 1-7 and introduce the concept of safety planning. Safety planning will include education on how and when to report an abusive situation. Participants will develop their own personal “safety plan” which includes the development of a list of support people and resources to help in the decision making of dangerous, unsafe and/or abusive situations.