Groups & Workshops for Parents

What is “Helping your Anxious Child, a SPACE-informed group”?

• The Helping your Anxious Child, a SPACE-informed group is typically a five-session virtual group for parents who want to better understand anxiety and learn to make changes to their own behaviour in order to help their child better manage anxiety and/or obsessive compulsive symptoms. This round we will have a smaller group and since less time will be needed for group sharing, the content is being condensed into 3 sessions.

  • The group is led by a clinical psychologist and based on SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions), a parent-based treatment for children with anxiety and OCD that was developed at the Yale Child Study Center and found to be efficacious through randomized controlled clinical trials.
    The main elements of SPACE are:

  • Learning to respond to your anxious child in a way that conveys support and confidence.

  • Learning to reduce accommodating behaviours.

Who is this parent group for?

• Parents/caregivers of children ages 7 - 16 who struggle with any of the following:

• Social Anxiety

• Separation Anxiety

• Generalized Anxiety

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

• Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia

What does participating in the parent group entail?

• Participation! The group is meant to be interactive, rather than a ‘lecture’ or webinar you could watch on your own.

• Each session will have a “home practice” assigned at the end. In order to get the most out of the group, we strongly encourage parents to complete the practice each week and share their experience at the subsequent group.

• Parents are expected to join the virtual group from a private location with their camera on. This helps to create a safe environment for all participants. If you do not have access to a private location or may have young children with you, we kindly ask that you wear headphones to ensure that other participant’s personal information is not heard by others. 

When and where is the group offered?

• The group is three 1.5 hour virtual sessions that occur from 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm on the following dates:

  • Saturday May 31, 2025

  • Saturday June 7, 2025

  • Saturday June 14, 2025

• Parents are asked to commit to attending all three sessions. Each week builds on content from the previous session and so it is important that you attend all of them in order to follow along.

• A zoom link will be sent to you by e-mail a few days before the first group session and you will use the same link each week. 

How much does the group cost?

• The full 3-session group is $180 for one person ($60/session) or $240 ($80/session) for two people.

• You will be asked to put a credit card on file, and your credit card will be charged the aforementioned amounts after each session. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, you will be charged for any missed group sessions as you have reserved a spot in the entire group series.

• You will receive emailed receipts that you can submit to your insurance/benefits provider for reimbursement if you have coverage for psychological services. 

How do I sign up?

• To reserve a spot in the group, register online at: owpc.ca/group-registration We recommend registering as soon as possible to ensure you’re able to obtain a spot. Group registration will close on Wednesday May 28th or sooner if we reach capacity.

• Once we receive your registration form, we will send you online intake forms (e.g., consent form, credit card payment form).

• You are not considered to be registered until we receive your completed forms.