GROUP THERAPY
We offer a wide range of group treatments including but not limited to: teen interpersonal groups, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills Groups for teens and adults, adult psychotherapy groups, and Stepping Stones Social IQ Development groups for kids. We take special care to match individuals up with the appropriate group chronologically, developmentally, and emotionally. See our full list of group descriptions below.
For more information about our group therapy services or to schedule an initial appointment, please schedule a consultation or call 703-876-8480.
Pre Kindergarten/Elementary
The Early Childhood program is designed to help children in grades pre-K through 1 who are generally socially appropriate but have lapses in their social behavior. For example, they may be socially withdrawn or impulsive. These groups develop basic social skills such as sharing space with others, developing eye contact, taking turns, listening skills, recognizing, and expressing feelings. Parents receive feedback from one of the group leaders in the last 15 minutes of the group to discuss improving communication at home, managing challenging behavior, and building cooperation at home.Â
For more information about our groups, please contact us by email or call 703-876-8480.
Stepping Stones is an evidence-based social skills group therapy program developed by In Step’s Founder, Cathi Cohen LCSW, CGP in 1990. Parent and child groups run simultaneously and are led by licensed clinicians. The groups meet once a week for approximately 40 weeks. Â
Stepping Stones is geared towards elementary and middle school-age children and their parents; children with social deficits, difficulty reading and responding to social cues, listening issues, lacking in self-awareness and perspective taking, trouble communicating strong emotions effectively. Â
*Children with High Functioning Autism and/or more severe social communication delays may be referred into our LEGOÂ Social Development Groups.Â
For more information about our Stepping Stones program or to find out about groups starting soon, please contact us by email or call 703-876-8480.Â
Based on the evidence-based work of Daniel LeGoff, Gina Gomez De La Cuesta, GW Krauss, and Simon Baron-Cohen, our LEGO Social Development Groups are ongoing therapy groups specifically geared towards neurodiverse youth.Â
These groups are for children in elementary and middle school who struggle socially unless they are engaged with peers in a high-interest activity, in this case building LEGOs. These group members work together to build group identity and task focus. Â
LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this site.Â
To learn more, please call us at 703-876-8480 or contact us by email.Â
The goal of these groups is to increase group members’ self-confidence, decrease anxiety in social situations, and give them the tools and awareness to feel more at ease with themselves. This increased understanding and confidence will empower them to develop more satisfying relationships with friends and family. Our therapists incorporate many different modalities to achieve the goals of the group, such as CBT techniques, activities/drawing, role-plays, mindfulness exercises, games, and other interactive techniques to help teach and reinforce skills.Â
While the group members may struggle to navigate their increasingly complex social worlds, they fundamentally demonstrate solid social skill development. These therapy groups are geared towards girls who struggle in the following areas: self-esteem, social anxiety, social problem solving, conflict resolution, feelings of social isolation, body image concerns, and/or emotional regulation.
To learn more, please call us at 703-876-8480 or contact us by email.
These are social skills groups for Stepping Stones graduates. In these groups, children who have already graduated from our Stepping Stones program can return or continue in ongoing social skills training groups that are less structured and curriculum based than the Stepping Stones program groups.Â
The goals of these groups are to: reinforce and practice learned social skills through exercises, activities and role play; use learned problem-solving skills to address issues at home and at school; and gain support from peers who have similar struggles.Â
These groups meet continuously on a weekly basis. Children graduate from these groups when agreed upon goals have been met.Â
To learn more, please call us at 703-876-8480 or contact us by email.Â
In Step’s Minecraft Social development group is intended for children ages 7 and up who love to play Minecraft and are in need of development and practice of social skills with peers. This group uniquely meets children where their natural interests lie in order to sustain their motivation, encourage social reciprocity and team building, and change self-limiting behaviors. This group will address important social skills such as initiating social interactions, collaborating, problem solving, compromising, and negotiating with peers in a virtual environment.Â
Group members will be expected to join the group through videoconferencing via Zoom and engage in game play in a private Minecraft Realm designed specifically for the group. Each week the group leader will lead a discussion and project which targets social skill development and communication goals.Â
To learn more, please call us at 703-876-8480 or contact us by email.
Middle School/High School
The goal of these groups is to increase group members’ self-confidence, decrease anxiety and depression and give them the tools and awareness to feel more at ease with themselves. This increased understanding and confidence will empower them to develop more satisfying relationships with friends and family. Through acceptance and change, this group assists participants in pursuing strengths, skills and support to further enhance academic or career goals, relationships, self esteem, and overall life functioning.
For more information about our groups, please contact us by email or call 703-876-8480.Â
The goals of these groups are to help group members interact with each other, find common interests, and lessen feelings of loneliness and isolation. These therapy groups are geared toward teenagers with autism (or related disorders) who actively desire relationships with others. While group members want connections with their peers, they have difficulty knowing how to relate to them. They struggle with reciprocal communication, self-awareness, perspective-taking, initiating and sustaining conversations and/or going with the flow with others. Â
Our therapists incorporate many different modalities to achieve the goals of the group, such as CBT techniques, activities/drawing, role-plays, mindfulness exercises, games and other interactive techniques to help teach and reinforce learned skills. Parents receive feedback by one of the group leaders the last 15 minutes of the group to discuss topics such as improving communication and supporting group goals at home.Â
For more information about our groups, please contact us by email or call 703-876-8480.Â
Teen Support Group: Feeling at Home Back in the USAÂ
Sixteen-week virtual international support groups for middle school and high school students transitioning home from overseas.Â
The transition back to the home country can be a difficult process, with many third- culture kids (TCKs) experiencing isolation, withdrawal, anxiety, and grief. This support group is designed to help TCKs re-adjust to the United States and live their best lives in the American environment.Â
TCKs will learn practical strategies to help overcome transition difficulties and build social support networks. The groups will also provide TCKs with a place to tell their stories and learn from their peers’ experiences.Â
Group Fall sessions running is for Middle School Group and High School Group.Â
Call In Step at 703-876-8480 or email us at info@insteppc.com for more information or schedule a free 15-minute consultation with Dr. Kass.Â
This evidence-based group is geared towards teens and their parents who struggle with suicidal thinking and/or behaviors that are disruptive such as maladaptive coping strategies and self-harm. Many of the group members have been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and have had a history of hospitalization.Â
DBT skills group emphasizes Marsha Linehan’s four core concepts to help regulate the emotions and behaviors of our clients: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation and Interpersonal Effectiveness.Â
Simultaneously, parents of adolescent group members will be introduced to the same skills in order to increase support and treatment efficacy for their children in a coinciding parent group.Â
For more information about our groups, please contact us by email or call 703-876-8480.Â
These therapy groups are geared towards teens with autism (or related disorders) who actively desire relationships with others. While group members want connections with their peers, they have difficulty knowing how to relate to them. They struggle with reciprocal communication, self-awareness, perspective-taking, initiating and sustaining conversations, and/or going with others’ flow.
These groups’ goal is to help group members interact with each other, find common interests, and lessen feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Our therapists incorporate many different modalities to achieve the group’s goals, such as CBT techniques, activities/drawing, role-plays, mindfulness exercises, games, and other interactive techniques to help teach and reinforce learned skills.
During the last 15 minutes of the group, parents receive feedback from one of the group leaders to discuss topics such as improving communication and supporting group goals at home.
To learn more, please call us at 703-876-8480 or contact us by email.
Young Adult/Adults
In Step offers groups to help with this time geared towards young adults, aged 18–30, who need to improve their social and emotional well-being. Group work is a powerful tool for enhancing self-esteem and solving problems more effectively. Group provides a supportive forum to work on goals, such as Improving self-esteem and strengthening identity, Developing an ability to express anger effectively, Coping effectively with conflicts, Improving communication and listening skills and Overcoming social anxiety.Â
The post-high school or -college years mark new beginnings. This time of transition presents young adults with new freedom and opportunity, as well as challenges and life-changing decisions. Â
For more information about our Interpersonal Development for Young Adults group, please contact us by email or call 703-876-8480.Â
This group is geared towards adults who struggle with suicidal thinking and/or disruptive behaviors such as maladaptive coping strategies and self-harm. Many group members have been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and have had a history of hospitalization.Â
DBT skills group emphasizes Marsha Linehan’s four core concepts to help regulate our clients’ emotions and behaviors: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. Along with these and other skills that focus on acceptance and change, group members will learn to tolerate emotional-stress that is free of judgment and urges.Â
An intake assessment is required before starting a group for all new clients. All clients must also attend a group orientation session and purchase Marsha Linehan’s book, DBT Skills and Training Handouts and Worksheets (available for purchase online or at our office).Â
Group members are also required to attend individual therapy sessions to remain in the group. For more information about our groups, please contact us by email or call 703-876-8480.Â
Through acceptance and change, this group assists participants in pursuing strengths, skills, and support to further enhance academic or career goals, relationships, self esteem, and overall life functioning. Group participants have a history of prior therapy and treatments but have currently reached a level of emotional stability and are seeking skills and support to continue and enhance treatment progress.Â
Under the skill of our clinicians and with support from the group, participants will be encouraged to evaluate themselves and others from various perspectives and learn ways to create balance with life demands. Skills to reinforce emotional tolerance will help minimize future crisis while skills to improve interpersonal relationships will help to create greater self-worth. This is an open group and weekly participation is required.Â
To learn more, please call us at 703-876-8480 or contact us by email or call 703-876-8480.Â
This therapy group is for adults seeking a safe and nurturing place to explore feelings, patterns of behavior and understand their motivations to deepen connections with others. Group members are encouraged to tolerate and verbalize the uncomfortable feelings of anger, anxiety, sadness, frustration, loneliness, and/or distress that may arise due to the group therapy experience.Â
For more information about our groups, please contact us by email or call 703-876-8480.Â
These groups help parents build skills while encouraging increased connection and resilience at home. The following are some of the topics addressed, creating a more peaceful home environment, managing strong emotions and challenging behavior more effectively at home, setting realistic expectations, and decreasing sibling rivalry.Â
In addition to practicing skills using the worksheets from Cathi Cohen’s workbook Raise Your Parenting IQ, our therapists incorporate many different modalities to achieve the group’s goals, such as CBT techniques, role-plays, mindfulness exercises, games, and other interactive techniques to help teach and reinforce skills.Â
To learn more, please  contact us by email or call 703-876-8480.Â
How To Get Started
Contact us at info@insteppc.com or 703-876-8480 to schedule an appointment.
We strive to return your inquiry within 24 hours, if you do not speak with us directly. Our caring and knowledgeable administrative staff will work to get your initial evaluation scheduled and client portal activated prior to your first appointment. If you have a particular therapist in mind when you call, we will work to schedule you for a first appointment with your chosen therapist (if their schedule allows).
Before your first appointment, you will be contacted via email by our staff with directions on how to activate your client portal. Once completed, you will then be sent the required patient forms to be completed through your client portal.
Please provide us with any collaborative reports (i.e., psycho-educational testing reports, psychiatric reports, IEP reports, and/or educational reports). These will help us get to know you or your child more holistically.
The clinician who sees you for your appointment will be a therapist who is familiar with all aspects of therapy offered at In Step. Our clinicians are comfortable and familiar with treatment services for individuals, couples, and families, as well as the full range of group therapy services offered at the practice. Your therapist will answer any questions you may have about therapy and/or the services at In Step.Â
The initial evaluation session provides In Step with the information we need to formulate a thoughtful, clinically sound treatment plan and determine which of our services are the best fit for you and/or your family.
If you seek services for your child, you will bring your child to this first session so that the therapist can spend time with you and your child. During the first session, your clinician will gather information about your history, present concerns, and discuss therapy goals and expectations. Most initial evaluation sessions last between 60 and 90 minutes. Some clients may require additional assessment sessions to determine the best next steps.
FAQS
The length of therapy depends on the nature of your symptoms, your treatment goals, and your commitment to the process. Evidence-based groups such as our DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy), Skills groups, Stepping Stones Social IQ groups, and Lego Social Development groups, for example, are designed for participants to learn, practice, and implement specific essential skills over time for significant change to take place. Immediate symptom relief may occur in relatively few sessions using CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) methods. At the same time, deeper, ongoing issues in your relationships, mood, or self-worth will require a more long-term psychotherapy approach.
Yes. Parents play a very active role in our group therapy programs. Our parent groups are vital in helping your children and teens acquire the skills they need. As your child learns and practices new skills such as reciprocity, managing emotions more effectively, and coping skills, it is vital that you learn these skills to help.
The families who come to In Step may have different issues, but they all have one thing in common: they want to improve their quality of life.
As a mental health practice, we follow strict guidelines of confidentiality. Thus in our therapy groups, we make sure that all the participants agree to complete confidentiality. We make every effort to place kids and teens from the same school in different groups. But when this isn’t possible because we don’t have a group that is a good fit for a prospective member, we will refer out to another practice.
In Step is committed to providing the best clinical care to all clients without the limitations imposed upon us by insurance companies (i.e., number, length, and modality of sessions required). For this reason, we are out-of-network and do not participate in any insurance plans. Many of our clients can get reimbursed from their insurance carrier for out-of-network benefits. We are happy to help our clients access their insurance benefits. We also do our best to work with families when they reach out to us with certain financial restrictions, but we recognize that our program is just not possible for everyone. In those cases, we make referrals and act as a resource for other programs available in the community.
If you are interested in being reimbursed by your insurance company, contact the customer service number on the back of your insurance card and ask the customer service representative about your out-of-network provider benefits. We will provide you with a monthly receipt that includes all of the necessary documentation you need to submit to your insurance carrier If your employer provides you with a Health Savings Accounts (HSA) or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), you are eligible to use these for mental health treatment as well.
Services may be covered in full or in part by your health insurance or employee benefit plan. Please check your coverage carefully by asking about the following procedure (CPT) codes: 90791 (initial evaluation); 90834 (individual therapy), 90853 (group therapy), and 90847 (family therapy)
Yes, all therapists are willing to fill out treatment plans as needed for clients at the practice.
Services may be covered in full or in part by your health insurance or employee benefit plan. Please check your coverage carefully by asking the following questions:
- Do I have mental health insurance benefits?
- What is my deductible and has it been met?
- How many sessions per year does my health insurance cover?
- What is the coverage amount per therapy session?
- Is approval required from my primary care physician?
Teletherapy fees are determined by our clinicians’ credentials, level of training, and experience in the field. Our fees are commensurate with other mental health practitioners in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
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