Current and Upcoming Groups

Online Summer Social Skills Groups for Children ages 5-12
​8 Weeks
​Tuesdays July 7-August 25

Summer is here, and it doesn’t exactly resemble summers past. Your child is most likely feeling the ripple effects of the state of the world and you may be feeling a sense of helpless as a parent over how to support them. In the face of social isolation and heavy reliance upon family relationships, you may find your child at odds with big feelings and minimal peer support to help manage them. Maggie Pantoni, AMFT, is offering online therapy groups for school- aged children. These friendship groups will focus on key social skills for your child’s developmental level.
They will provide a therapeutic space for your child to go inward and connect with their internal landscape, while offering the much needed opportunity to connect and process those feelings with peers. The need for your child to see their experiences shared and reflected by peers is paramount. Their growth and connection will be facilitated through a combination of mindfulness, expressive arts, and play. Placement and time of group on Tuesdays will be determined based on your child’s developmental level and availability. 

Fee: $80 per 1.5 hour session, with partial scholarships available. Email Maggie to see if friendship group is a good fit for your child’s needs.

 Maggie Pantoni, AMFT
Email: SFBayPlayTherapy@gmail.com

Drawn from evidence-based practices, this small play therapy group led by a clinician who understands the value of children's play, gives your child tools to improve social skills, emotional intelligence and self-confidence.

Games and coaching are provided to teach your child skills in successfully navigating the social arena including topics such as joining in play with peers, handling frustration and disappointment, creating mutually joyful friendships, successfully resolving conflicts, reading nonverbal social cues, expressing yourself authentically and kindly, and maintaining attention & organization.

All activities are play and relationship-based and many incorporate
sensory regulation strategies, emotional management techniques, and
all incorporate self-awareness, creativity, and fun!

Appropriate for children who could use a little extra support to engage socially with peers, manage attention and body regulation, and successfully manage their emotions. Limit of 4 children per group to maximize social learning.

Themes and activities may be drawn from Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking curriculum, Play and Drama Therapy, Mindfulness, and the transformational social-emotional learning toys Kimochis®.

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Online Tween Girl’s Skills & Support Group

May 17 - July 19
10 weeks
$100 per session,
partial scholarships available

Contact:
SFBayPlayTherapy@gmail.com
415-420-8610

Empowering Female-Identified Tweens
An online intimate and safe space to feel supported, share stories, and be seen by their peers.
• Identify their own authentic feelings
• Obtain healthy tools to self regulate their emotions
• Learn communication and active listening skills
• Develop solid relationships with themselves and peers
• Express their creativity through play, art, and mindfulness interventions. 

If you are a parent of a female-identified preteen, you are likely watching your daughter face new challenges. These challenges can appear both interpersonally and socially and may leave you with questions about how to support her at this developmental level.
Due to the social restrictions in place as a result of COVID-19, your child may be in increasing need of social opportunities. Maggie and Hannah, AMFTs, are co-facilitating a therapeutic and adaptive online space to provide your child with an opportunity to step into her power. Whether your child struggles socially or is just in need of some extra community right now, we would love to offer a free 15-minute consultation to see if our group is a good fit for your family's needs.

Facilitated by Hannah Rudsten and Maggie Pantoni Hannah and Maggie are Associate Marriage and Family Therapists who have a Masters in Counseling Psychology. Hannah emphasizes in Drama Therapy and graduated from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Maggie has worked with family systems and graduated from the Wright Institute. They are both advocates and together they bring over 17 years of combined experience facilitating groups for female-identified girls and young adults. Hannah and Maggie are excited and passionate about creating a safe space to help pre-teen girls to feel empowered during these unprecedented times. Their goal is to provide the opportunity for these girls to express their voice and know that they have the right to be heard. They are supervised by Karen Wolfe, #53878.  More info about Hannah and Maggie HERE. 
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                              Details about the groups

Who:
Children age 5-11
2-4 children per group.
Children are grouped by age, developmental level, and temperament.

Group participants range from high-functioning children who struggle with social thinking and need a little guidance to support confidence and emotional regulation with peers, to children with mild learning or sensory differences.

How to Enroll
Ensuring a good fit is of the utmost importance. The group aims to include children who will both learn from and enjoy one another's company and, ideally continue friendship beyond the group.

There are three steps to enroll:

Intake Process Process:
1) 15 min complimentary phone consultation w/ parent
2) 75 min intake session with parents only 
3) Social skills Intro session w/ child & parent or whole family (to double as observation of family dynamics) 
3) 10 min follow up phone conversation

Group Intro & Assessment Session
A 60-min individualized introduction to and assessment for SF Bay Play Therapy's social skills groups.

In this assessment you will experience therapist facilitation of two Social Skills Games with your whole family that teach nonverbal cues, eye contact, turn-taking, self-regulation, cooperative play, and self-expression.

Receive a 1-hour recorded webinar by founder of SF Bay Play Therapy, Karen Wolfe, MFT on supporting social skills in your child.

Receive a social skills assessment checklist to keep track of your child’s social skills

Get your most burning parenting question answered


Cost:
Intake Process: $365
Social Group: $120-$80/wk sliding scale

Please inquire about payment plans and sliding scale if cost is prohibitive. I strive to provide services to all who are interested.

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