The Friends Middle School Group
(Not meeting for the 2023-2024 School Year)

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• Does your child prefer playing on the computer rather than being with peers?
• Has your child been bullied by peers?
• Does your child have a hard time leaving home to go to a friend’s house?
• Would your child prefer doing a project alone or with others?

The Friends Middle School Group is a therapeutic group for middle schoolers entering 6th – 8th grade. The group focuses on social communication, group activities, emotional regulation, communication with peers, and sensory issues. We use art, building, games, and outdoor activities to help the students develop more adaptive ways of socializing with their peers and coping with daily stresses. 

A parent group meets at the same time as the middle school group where the parents and the group therapist discuss issues that they experience as parents. A parent must accompany his or her child to each session.

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The Nuts and Bolts

• The group will meet on Tuesdays from 6:15 – 7:30 pm.
• ​The cost is $165 per weekly session, which includes both the Middle Schoolers and the parents’ groups.

​Staff
Alice Locke Chezar, MA, MFT, ATR
Hannah Cooper and Gilly Dosovitsky, PhD Students at Palo Alto University
Laurie Leventhal-Belfer, PhD (Dr. Laurie) runs the Parents’ Group and directs the Friends Program.

To Learn More
If you’re interested, please contact Dr. Laurie Leventhal-Belfer at 650-322-4431 or Dr.Laurielb@gmail.com or Alice Locke-Chezar at Alice@paloaltoparenting.com or 650-224-2849.