on May 29, 2023
As we write this, we are beaming with excitement and pride as yet another incredible gang of teenagers successfully transitioned through our social skills & friendship strengthening group inspired by hit TV series, ‘F.R.I.E.N.D’s (cue Friends Theme Song!)
We look forward to repeating this group termly, offering more teens an opportunity become secure in themselves and develop, grow and maintain healthy friendships through thick and thin!’
As someone considering joining our next F.R.I.E.N.Ds Group, here is what you need to know to say ‘Yay or Nay’…
Join this group if you…
- Are struggling to build and maintain good friendships
- Feel unworthy and ‘not good enough’ to be a friend or initiate friendships
- Want to become more confident in yourself and in your friendships
- Want to improve your conflict resolution skills
- Have been told you need to be more sensitive and empathetic towards others
- Want to learn how to be a good friend to others
- Are feeling lonely or socially isolated
- Want to expand your network of friends
Still not sure? Have a read through what our group program entails to get a real taste of what this group is all about! Each session makes use of a clip from the ‘Friends’ TV show, which the group watches together in true movie style complete with popcorn and hot drinks.
The Group Curriculum addresses…
Session 1: The Friends Manifesto
This session sensitively introduces group members to one another, the facilitators, the group structure and to the ‘Friends’ Series used throughout the group process. Examples of healthy rules and boundaries from the Friends Series are used to draw up the ‘Friendship Manifesto’- a set of rules that group members further contribute too and agree to commit to ensuring a healthy and safe environment for the development of the group and friendships.
Session 2: Friendship Archetypes
Using our ‘Friends’ Quiz, group members figure out which ‘Friends Character’ they are most like. Using the concept of archetypes, group members then discuss the strengths, weaknesses and growth points of each character and how this contributes to healthy or unhealthy friendships. Bringing the concept closer to home, group members then discuss which of their strengths, weaknesses and growth points contribute healthily or unhealthily to their friendships.
Session 3: ‘Hi, My name is…’
This session is all about ‘introductions’- how we promote ourselves, how we judge one another and, as a result, either connect or reject someone based on the initial encounter with them. Through watching a clip from ‘Friends’ where one of the characters really struggles to introduce themselves to a guest on the show, group members are asked to share their struggles, successes, and challenges with introducing themselves. Group members first unpack their current experiences with introductions, then they practice introductions through a ‘2 minute chat’ with another group member wherein they introduce themselves before receiving feedback on what they did well and where they could improve for more fruitful introductions in future!
Session 4: Bullying Debrief
The session is all about bullying. It functions first and foremost as a debrief and support space for prior bullying encounters; passing the bullying hat (a cap mirroring Chandler’s cap stolen by the bullies in the ‘Friends’ clip) around from group member to group member allow each to share the encounters with bullies. Thereafter, group members write out the negative beliefs they hold about themselves because of the bullies’ impact on them. Group members then rebuttal/ challenge and affirm the group members, directly contradicting the bullies’ statements. This session highlights the collaborative power of the ‘bystanders’ in action- the ones affirming to undo the damage of bullies.
Session 5: Conflict Resolution & Roleplays
Group members learn about how NOT TO engage in conflict through watching a variety of short clips from different episodes of ‘Friends’ where conflict was managed poorly. After discussing alternative healthier ways of dealing with conflict, group members select a scenario from a hat and act out 2 variations of the same scene: HOW NOT To and HOW TO deal with the conflict present in their scenario.
Session 6: The Power of Words
The group watches clips from Friends demonstrating the characters supporting, comforting and affirming each other. Group members then spend the remainder of the session writing anonymous affirmations for each other. By the end of the session group members leave with a full page of affirmations to reflect on when the negative self-talk overwhelms them, or bullies try to hurt them.
Session 7: Bring a Friend
This session has group members bring a friend to join in for the group session. This session challenges group members to practice the social skills learnt through the group thus far through inviting a friend to the group and then meeting new friends at the session too. The session is filled with icebreakers and games which help group members effectively connect and develop friendships with new persons.
Session 8: Friends-Giving
As a means of ending the group process in true ‘Friends’ style, we watch a clip demonstrating ‘Friendsgiving’ before hosting our own Friendsgiving. This bring and share, sit-down meal allows the group to celebrate the group process, friendships made, skills learnt and personal accomplishments. It also helps to promote closure as we say goodbye with such a sentimental and fun meal together.
The Logistics…
The group is hosted by…
Kayla-Tess Pattenden: lead-Social Worker at The Connect Group with a special interest and a plethora of experience in teen therapy. Kayla-Tess not only has the professional capacity and expertise to run this group, but also has personal experience as a teen who confronted many of the issues discussed in the group including bullying, peer pressure and social exclusion. Knowing that teens thrive with effective social support and friendships around them, it only made sense to Kayla-Tess to maximize the therapeutic benefit through hosting teens in a group setting!
The group is hosted at…
Our practice in Tokai in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town OR online via Zoom for those outside of the Western Cape.
The group targets…
Adolescents between the ages of 13-18 years old. All diversities (gender, racial or neurologically) are welcome.
Additionally and miscellaneously…
The group is limited to 10 participants maximum.
Potential group members are invited to a once off introductory session in which they freely determine whether they enjoy it and find it useful or not. As facilitators, we also use this session to observe and determine rightness of fit for the most optimal group dynamic.
No interested group member who fits the target group criteria will be rejected, they may however be asked to wait for the next round of groups to run should we feel they are a better fit for another group dynamic.
The group process is 8 weeks long, with 1 session of 1.5 hours taking place one evening a week.
Commitment to the group is to all 8 sessions- absenteeism is discouraged as it negatively influences the group dynamic.
The Investment…
The cost of the group process is R2800 (this equates to R350 per session). 1 of the 10 places in the group are offered to a deserving member, free of charge.
The investment offers attendance at the group, take home resources, popcorn and hot chocolate at each session, access to our ‘Friends’ WhatsApp group for the duration of the group process, and a personalized ‘Friends’ merchandise gift to end off the group process.
Group members and their parental parties also receive a ‘Certificate of Completion’ along with personalized feedback as to their progress, achievements and recommended next steps to further grow their social skills.
What our group members say about the group…
“The ‘Friends” group was super fun and helpful, I made a new friend and learnt the importance of sharing a space.”
“I learnt how to deal with confrontation. I enjoyed doing the role plays. I feel better equipped to deal with conflict.”
“I really enjoyed the group. It ended up being a very safe and comfortable place; and I was always looking forward to it every Tuesday. I’m glad the group only had a few people because it would have been too crowded with more. In future, I think there should be more sessions since I feel like we could have talked about a lot more topics or spoken more about some topics. Overall it was a very enjoyable experience and I am sad to see it go.”
Interested in joining…
Follow our Facebook and Instagram pages to see when the next group is running and how you can sign up.
We hope to see you there!