Programs and Group Therapy in Winnipeg

Math Camps

Math Summer Camp 2018

Does your child struggle with math or lack confidence in their mathematical abilities? Math Summer Camp 2018 is designed to help your child reduce math-related anxieties and to actually embrace the challenge. We teach students to recognize that anxiety interferes with their ability to successfully tackle problems that at first glance appear daunting. Group sessions and individual tutoring sessions are provided by a teacher and education-oriented psychologist in this two-week, focused learning experience.

Groups are limited to 6 children total.

Overcoming Math Anxiety Group 2018

Group Sessions (Ages 7-12)
Dates: May 15, May 22, May 29, June 5, June 12
Times: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Group Sessions (Ages 13-15)
Dates: May 16, May 23, May 30, June 6, June 13
Times: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Individual tutoring sessions to be arranged.

Specialized Anxiety Groups for Spring/Summer 2018

Animal and Insect Phobias

Animal and insect phobias are often extremely debilitating during the spring and summer seasons. Our group will help children identify and understand the nature of anxiety and worry as it relates to animals and insects. Exposure based therapy and tools will be provided throughout the group. Some of the tools include: deep breathing and relaxation exercises; identifying irrational thoughts, and the development of coping self-statements.

The children and their parent(s) will meet with one of the group facilitators twice following each Monday group session at different locations to confront their fears. We will give children the opportunity to confront their fears with others in the group and then return to the clinic the following week to add additional coping tools.

These sessions are available to children 7 to 12 years in age.

Group Sessions
Dates: May 28, June 4, June 11, and June 18
Times: 4:15 PM – 5:30 PM (Monday afternoons)
Location: Mind Matters Clinic

Exposure Therapy Sessions
May 29, May 31, June 5, June 7, June 12, June 14, June 19, June 21

Group Therapy for Children with Symptoms of Selective Mutism (2018)

The Group combines both psychological and social language interventions. It offers children the opportunity to practice skills that they may have already been taught by professionals but only used in individual sessions. For those that have not yet learned the skills, instruction in anxiety management tools will be provided. Eventually, they will be encouraged to set goals for verbally communicating with a wider circle of peers and adults.

These sessions are available to children 8 to 11 years in age.

Reading Boot Camps

Your child will spend 6 Saturdays at the office with a Reading Tutor who will help your child catch up to current reading levels. There will also be several sessions with a psychologist to help break the barriers created by learned helplessness. We will break up the learning with fun activities and rewards!

Reading Boot Camp

6 Saturdays from 9am-12pm

Overcoming Anxiety

The anxiety group is targeted towards children from ages 7-13.

Children will learn that they are not the only ones to have these unusual thoughts or behavior. Secondly, many children who are shy and socially anxious will be exposed to the challenge of talking to others or exposing their vulnerabilities. There is no better therapy than exposure therapy – and what better way to start the process in a safe and controlled environment with other children? For many children, exposure to the group will be an added benefit.

The goal is both to learn better coping skills at the group, and to change behavior both at home and at school. Group therapy from Winnipeg’s Mind Matters Clinic can be beneficial for children battling anxiety.

Dates for upcoming sessions:
Mondays after school, 4:15-5:30

Adapting to ADHD

The Organizational Skills Group is targeted towards children from ages 8 through 16.

We will teach your child how to organize their responsibilities and maintain both an organized calendar and working space. We will then move on to enhancing attention and concentration. Finally, we will help your children develop better impulse control by teaching them how to stop and think before acting.

Reward systems will be set up for home and school, so that your child is actively seeking positive feedback for a job well accomplished. An introduction to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy will be given, with the goal to decrease black and white all or nothing thinking and to enhance self-esteem.

Please see the brochure below for more information.

New Dates for Upcoming Sessions:
Tuesday Evenings, 4:15-5:30pm

Overcoming Negativity

The overcoming negativity group is targeted towards children (ages 7-13) who:

• Are frequently unhappy, depressed, or anxious
• Focus on the negative side of situations
• Complain frequently
• Are worried about the 'what-ifs'
• Are rigid or inflexible in their thinking style
• Get stuck in a negative thought cycle
• Give up easily
• Have a negative self-image

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy techniques will be used to help children and their parents understand the role of negative thinking in creating negative mood and maladaptive behaviour. The group will teach children how to change their perceptions so that they can see the glass as being half full rather than half empty.

Dates for upcoming sessions:
Thursdays, 4:15-5:30pm

Anger Management

This group is targeted towards children from ages 6 to 13.

We teach them how to identify some of the bodily symptoms of negative emotion. Then, we learn how to more effectively distinguish between anger, frustration, disappointment, hurt, fear, and so forth. Once feelings are more accurately identified, the actions that are taken to feel better can be more successfully implemented.

Cognitive behavior therapy techniques will be used to help children better understand and more effectively cope with their feelings. Cognitive techniques, deep breathing, and alternative ways to diffuse will all be taught. At the same time, you will help us monitor and reward better self-control throughout the sessions - and, we will set you up with a system to maintain positive behavior that is learned within the group session

The goal is both to learn better coping skills at the group, and to change behavior both at home and at school.

New Dates for upcoming sessions:

Sunday Mornings
Ages 6–9: 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Ages 10–13: 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM

Social Skills

The Social Skills Group is targeted towards children from ages 7 to 14.

A variety of self-awareness and interpersonal skills are learned. We start off with basic social skills - maintaining eye contact, respecting personal body space, and developing a sensitivity to and understanding of subtle social cues. We then teach listening and communication skills. We work at developing the skill and self-confidence to initiate and maintain conversation with peers. The beauty of the group setting is that all of these skills can be practiced in a very realistic way.

Next, we teach some of the more individual skills that are necessary for healthier relationships – learning how to recognize ‘black and white’ and ‘all or nothing’ thinking, and developing the capacity to think in shades of grey. Finally, we teach children the skills they need to deal with teasing and bullying, and we work at enhancing their self-esteem.

Dates for upcoming sessions:
Ages 7-10: 5pm-6:30pm
Ages 11-14: 6:45pm-8:15pm

Swim & Socialize

The Swim & Socialize Group is targeted towards youth from ages 16 to 21.

Each week, at Cindy Klassen Pool, we teach specific social skills to young adults who have not instinctively acquired them. With some of our sessions facilitated by a speech language pathologist and others by a clinical psychologist, we teach social skills from two perspectives. We make sure young adults get a more in-depth look at socialization while having fun and feeling comfortable. We teach them in an environment that will feel more natural than a classroom. While we provide instructions to them on land, young adults will get the opportunity to practice exercises and games in the pool with coaching from the sidelines. They can have additional practice time afterwards, too, in the nearby cafeteria.

The goal is to learn more about social skills and to feel comfortable using them no matter where you are.

Dates for upcoming sessions:

Swim to Trim

The Swim to Trim Group is targeted to children from ages 8 to 15.

Many children have a difficult time understanding how what they eat affects their body. They need to understand the value of exercise. For children who struggle with their exercising and eating habits, we will teach the basic rules of nutrition and healthy eating. During our sessions, we will help them develop a plan to make it easier on them to follow those rules. We will help them get back on track with a good planned out diet and scheduled swimming exercise.

During these sessions, children will learn:

• Cognitive behaviour tools to build self-confidence
• Swimming exercises to make exercising fun
• Cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility exercises
• Meditation and relaxation exercises

With these techniques, they will get a better understanding of how to stay healthy and have fun doing so.

We also offer adult versions of this course from time to time, depending on demand.

Dates for upcoming sessions: