Enhance Emotional Resilience Child & Adolescent Group Therapy
Enhancing Emotional Resilience is an 8‑session small‑group program designed to strengthen children’s emotional awareness, coping skills, and confidence in managing everyday challenges. The program supports students in developing the capacity to understand their emotions, respond to setbacks with flexibility, and build healthy thinking and social skills.
Emotional resilience is the ability to cope with stress, challenges, and setbacks in healthy ways. It helps children “bounce back” after difficulties and build confidence in their ability to handle challenges.
Resilience grows when children have strong protective factors, such as supportive relationships with family and friends, secure attachment, positive thinking skills, and good physical health. These supports help balance risk factors like stress, trauma, or biological sensitivity to stress. When children feel supported and learn effective coping strategies, they are better able to manage difficulties, persist through challenges, and maintain healthy self-esteem.
Enhancing Emotional Resilience is designed to help students:
· Recognise and understand their emotions
· Build confidence in their ability to cope
· Strengthen emotional regulation skills
· Develop helpful thinking patterns
· Improve communication and peer relationships
· Build resilience across school and home life
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Anxiety is considered to be the most common form of psychological disorder, affecting up to 20% of children and teenagers. Anxiety is real and a serious health problem and leads to significant personal suffering. It interferes with people reaching their potential, affects productivity & functioning, and increase rates of chronic health issues. Research has shown that if left untreated, anxiety can lead to:
Separation difficulties
Social difficulties
Behaviour problems
Depression
Missing school or dropping out
Higher rates of substance abuse
Suicidal ideation
Anxious adults
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Anxiety: Excessive
Worry (anticipatory)
Avoidance
Attention to threat
Fast and sustained physiological arousal
Psychosomatic complaints
Difficulty in resting and going to sleep
Shyness
Social withdrawal
Perfectionistic
Clingy, impulsive or distracted
Depression: Excessive
Sadness
Loss of pleasure
Social withdrawal
Early morning insomnia
Hopelessness and helplessness
Irritability
Negative memory biases
Poor concentration
Flat affect
Appetite changes
Sleeping difficulties
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As parents, teachers and members of the community our role is to reduce children’s exposure to risk factors and increase their exposure to protective factors.
It is important if you believe a child is struggling with anxiety or depression that you talk with their parents about obtaining some help.
The goal of the Enhancing Emotional Resilience group program is to teach coping skills to improve a child’s abilities to bounce back and face potential difficulties with confidence.
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The sessions are very activity based along with some writing and homework. The content includes:
affect education- it’s important for children to understand emotions their own and others, have labels for them, understand the physiological symptoms
learn some relaxation strategies for calming the body and mind
a child friendly cognitive model to understand negative and positive thinking and the effects on feelings and behaviour
how to challenge negative unhelpful thinking and replace with positive helpful thoughts
Being assertive versus aggressive or submissive and coping with bullying
Friendships and how to enhance friendships
Often the children are anxious about attending the group but the usual response by the end of group is that the children want it to continue and indicate that they enjoyed the program.
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The Enhancing Emotional Resilience Group Therapy is for:
Age Range: Primary‑aged children
Gender: Mixed‑gender group
Group Size: 4–8 participants
This program is suitable for students who may benefit from additional support in:
· Managing strong emotions
· Coping with anxiety or worry
· Developing resilience and persistence
· Improving social interactions
· Building confidence and self‑esteem
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The program is facilitated by a registered psychologist from Lakeside Rooms, ensuring a safe, supportive, and developmentally appropriate environment. The psychologist leads all sessions and supports students in applying skills in real‑life situations.
Group Format
· Highly interactive sessions combining activities, discussion, and skills practice
· Consistent weekly structure to support predictability and engagement
· Take‑home strategies to reinforce learning
· Optional parent information provided to support generalisation of skills
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Students may be referred by:
School well-being staff
Teachers or year‑level co-ordinators
Parents (via the school or directly to Lakeside Rooms)
A brief screening process ensures the group is the right fit for each child.
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The Enhancing Emotional Resilience Group Therapy has been found to have the following benefits:
Student Well-being
· Strengthens emotional literacy and coping skills
· Builds confidence and self‑esteem
· Supports students experiencing worry, frustration, or social challenges
Early Intervention
· Provides structured support before difficulties escalate
· Reduces the need for more intensive individual intervention
· Helps identify students who may require further support
Classroom Engagement
· Improves focus and participation
· Reduces emotional outbursts and classroom disruptions
· Enhances readiness for learning
Emotional Regulation
· Teaches practical strategies for calming and self‑management
· Helps students respond rather than react
· Supports smoother transitions and daily functioning
Social Functioning
· Strengthens peer relationships
· Builds assertiveness and communication skills
· Reduces conflict, bullying vulnerability, and social withdrawal
