Resources
2021-22 Student Support Groups
The following groups are designed to provide support and assistance to students and their families. If you are interested in a group or would like to learn more about one, please contact a member of your SST or one of the group facilitators.
Be You is a semester-long process and psycho-educational group that focuses on helping female students celebrate the amazing internal and external qualities that make them who they are. The group will engage in self-esteem building activities in order to help students build their confidence and achieve their goals. Facilitators: Danielle Colletti, Irina Kogan
Boys of Color Affinity Group provides psycho-educational support and affirmations by providing a sense of belonging and connectedness. Facilitators: Jaison Varghese, Hector Vazquez
COA (Children of Addicts) assists students affected by a parent/guardian abusing drugs/alcohol. The group focuses on learning about the disease of addiction, sharing feelings, and helping each other find healthy coping skills. Facilitator: Janet Sushinski
Coping in the Age of Covid (Processing Current Events Group) is a safe space for students to discuss a variety of unexpected current events impacting our daily lives in 2020. The group will focus on processing stress and frustrations, and developing and implementing healthy coping strategies. Facilitators: Liza Shoemaker, Lindsay Puppolo
Coping Skills Psycho-Educational Group is a six-week curriculum-based group focusing on healthy strategies for coping with daily life stressors. Students will identify triggers to their own stressors and learn multiple strategies to manage them. Facilitators: Tom Edwards, Sean Hardiman, Jorie Walton, Lindsay Jurjovec
Coping with Family Stress is a safe place to discuss different aspects of adjusting/coping with the impact of a separation, divorce, addition of step-family members, or other changes within a family system. Facilitators: Claire Burja, Christina Foss
FAB (Female and Black) is an affinity group that provides support and affirmations by providing a sense of belonging and connectedness. Facilitator: Janet Sushinski
Grief Support Group offers a safe, supportive environment in which students share and process grief and connect students with others who are also coping with the death of an immediate family member, establish connections with others to decrease the isolation that grief brings, and learn that there are many different ways to grieve. Facilitators: Lisa Scanio, Dawn Timm
Calm Your Mind is a six-week psycho-educational group that will focus on the brain and the effect that stress and our own thoughts have on our bodies and minds. Each week we will learn about how our brain works and then practice a meditation. Participants will learn strategies to decrease stress and allow our brains to work effectively. Facilitators: Amy Grove, Jen Polisky
Project 10 Midwest provides a safe place for students who identify with the LGBTQ community. The group is a space to explore sexual and/or gender identity. Facilitators: Claire Burja, Tricia Ebel
Social Communication Group helps members learn expected communication skills, promotes the building of prosocial relationships, and fosters the development of positive coping skills for school and life. Facilitators: Anthony Lazzara, Colleen Fischer, Jorge Pozo
Substance Abuse Intervention Groups
Recovery Group supports students who are focused on their own recovery from a substance use disorder. Contact: Cristina Cortesi
Insight is an educational and discussion-based group for students who think their current tobacco or other substance use may have a negative impact on their life. Contact: Cristina Cortesi
7 Challenges is an evidence-based treatment group facilitated by OMNI Youth Services for students who want to explore how they can make changes to their current substance use behaviors. Contact: Cristina Cortesi
If you would like to join a group, please contact a member of your Student Support Team or the group facilitator.
*If there is an emergency during the school day (a crisis or safety situation), please go to Student Services immediately and let someone know that you need to talk to a social worker right away.
*If there is an emergency after school hours, please contact your parent/guardian and call 911.
