Melissa O’Laskey, MSW

Music & Connection

Focuses: Music & Connection
Description: A music processing group for clients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) or who are neurodivergent offers a supportive and inclusive space for self-expression through music. The group focuses on exploring emotions, building social connections, and enhancing communication skills through musical activities such as listening, singing, and song sharing. By fostering creativity and collaboration, this group empowers participants to express themselves in nonverbal ways, while promoting emotional well-being and social engagement in a safe, sensory-friendly environment.

Chronic Illness Support Group

Focuses: The challenges of chronic illness
Description: Have you been navigating the challenges of chronic illness? Do you feel isolated in your experiences? You’re not alone. This group offers a safe, compassionate space to connect with others who better understand what you’re going through. Each session will include time to process, education, and skills to help you cope more effectively.

Poetry & Storytelling Group

Focuses: Self Expression
Description: This group will use various structured story-telling prompts and techniques to allow participants to express themselves through fiction-writing and poetry. Participants will be encouraged towards self-exploration through a variety of structured prompts and exercises.

Emotional Support Through Song Group

Focuses: Enhancing Communication Skills Through Musical Activities
Description: A music processing group for clients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) or who are neurodivergent offers a supportive and inclusive space for self-expression through music. The group focuses on exploring emotions, building social connections, and enhancing communication skills through musical activities such as listening, singing, and song sharing. By fostering creativity and collaboration, this group empowers participants to express themselves in nonverbal ways, while promoting emotional well-being and social engagement in a safe, sensory-friendly environment.

Adolescent DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)

Focuses: emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal skills
Description: A group open to adults who are interested in learning more about intentionality and themselves. DBT group will introduce mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and healthy communication skills. This is a safe space for all. If you feel this group interests you, let us know.

Teen Grief Group

Focuses: adolescent grief, healing through art-based activities
Description: This is an art-based support group for ages 12 to 17 who are coping with the death of a loved one. The purpose of this group is to provide a safe, supportive, and open environment for teens to address their struggles with grief and loss. This group provides a pressure-free space where those on their grief healing journey can process their thoughts and feelings whether that is through verbal communication or through the creative process.

Drawing together

Focuses: Art; identity; self-esteem; and expressing emotions
Description: This group uses art techniques to discover and express your authentic self. You will use many different kinds of art materials (collage, colored pencils, oil pastels, etc.) to create imagery that will help you reveal to others aspects of your personality and process a variety of emotional experiences. There will be activities/ideas provided to you to work on. You don’t have “to be good at drawing” to join. All are welcome! Art therapy is about creating whatever makes sense to you that helps you to express thoughts or ideas.

Express Your Self

Focuses: Art; identity; self-esteem; and expressing emotions
Description: This group uses art techniques to discover and express your authentic self. You will use many different kinds of art materials (collage, colored pencils, oil pastels, etc.) to create imagery that will help you reveal to others aspects of your personality and process a variety of emotional experiences. There will be activities/ideas provided to you to work on. You don’t have “to be good at drawing” to join. All are welcome! Art therapy is about creating whatever makes sense to you that helps you to express thoughts or ideas.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for Adults

Focuses: emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal skills
Description:A group open to adults who are interested in learning more about intentionality and themselves. DBT group will introduce mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and healthy communication skills. This is a safe space for all. If you feel this group interests you, let us know.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (Alexa Bourne-Frazer)

Focuses: Mental health
Description: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) group is intended for individuals who find it difficult to regulate their emotions or express them in a healthy way. This group is a closed and structured group, focusing on how to identify emotions, express them appropriately, and engage in radical acceptance regarding past/current life events. DBT is useful for anyone who is experiencing distress.

LGBTQ Support

Focuses: Experiences, Support, Acceptance
Description: Clients who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community that are seeking support and a safe space to fully express themselves in a positive and non-judgmental environment. While belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community can be a source of strength, it can also bring challenges in some, or all aspects of one’s life. For those who identify as LGBTQIA+, it’s important to recognize how your experience of sexual orientation and/or gender identity relates to your mental health, as well as learning new and healthy ways to cope with these challenges. There will be an opportunity to share personal experiences in a healthy group setting. This group is intended to help individuals in learning to love and accept themselves for who they truly are, while also receiving support from their peers and facilitating therapist

Self-Expression through Song coded gray for closed group

Focuses: Self-expression, creativity, song writing
Description: Are you interested in learning how to write your own songs? Do you want to expand the ways in which you express yourself creatively? This group will lead you through the process of writing a song with the goal of self-expression. It will be a workshop style in which you create your own song with the assistance and support of the group as needed. No musical training or experience is required; you must have a love for music and an ear to make musical choices. Due to the nature of the group, the full 10-week commitment is mandatory. Clients must attend the first 3 groups, and clients who miss two groups will be removed from the group roster.

Adolescent De-Stressing Creatively

Focuses: emotion expression, support, coping strategies
Description: Have you been feeling stressed? Are you looking for a fun and creative way to express yourself? Join us on Mondays for fun creative arts and crafts activities, all while talking about mindfulness.

De-Stressing Creatively

Focuses: emotion expression, support, coping strategies
Description: Have you been feeling stressed? Are you looking for a fun and creative way to express yourself? Join us on Mondays for fun creative arts and crafts activities, all while talking about mindfulness.

Emotional Support Through Song & Lyric

Focuses: Songs, themes
Description: In this group, we will listen to and analyze songs based around a theme for each week. We will explore common themes and support each other’s experiences and song choices. The group is for anyone looking to connect with others over music or find intentional uses of music to support their mental health.

Mental Health & Recovery

Focuses: Mental health, Substance use, Education
Description: Group members learn how mental health and substance use are correlated. Members will learn the psychoeducation of the bio psychosocial model for both mental health and addiction, as well as immerse themselves with a group full of support, guidance, and feedback. Members will also learn about coping skills to help assist with symptoms.

Coping with Life Using CBT

Focuses: Education, coping skills, self esteem
Description: This group focuses on the education surrounding the treatment and application of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Clients will learn the basics of CBT, and understand the principle of how thoughts influence feelings, feelings influence actions, and actions influence our results. Learning effective coping skills and how to apply them in daily life situations will also be practiced in sessions. Additionally, there will be a self-esteem portion added to the curriculum, as self- acceptance is a pertinent part of changing our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Grief and Loss

Focuses: Support, stages through grief and loss
Description: Have you experienced loss? Do you feel overwhelmed by your emotions? Do you feel misunderstood by others? Everyone grieves and heals in their own unique way. This group will provide you with a safe, compassionate space to process your grief with others who also understand loss.

Song Creation for Self-Expression

Focuses: Self-expression, creativity, song writing
Description: Are you interested in learning how to write your own songs? Do you want to expand the ways in which you express yourself creatively? This group will lead you through the process of writing a song with the goal of self-expression. It will be a workshop style in which you create your own song with the assistance and support of the group as needed. No musical training or experience is required; you must have a love for music and an ear to make musical choices. Due to the nature of the group, the full 10-week commitment is mandatory. Clients must attend the first 3 groups, and clients who miss two groups will be removed from the group roster.

Journaling: A Tool for Coping with Emotions

Focuses: Writing, resolution of pain
Description: This group will involve learning to make your own journal. In that journal, the client will write or create art. Each round will involve a new topic discussed and agreed upon by the members of the group. The facilitator will create prompts around these topics and time in session will be spent answering these topics via journaling. The group will discuss the topic at the end of each session.

Emerging Adulthood

Focuses: Young adulthood, transitions, social skills
Description: This group focuses on processing the experiences that young adults (aged 18-25) face every day. Being a young adult comes with a lot of stress, uncertainty, and pressure. In this group we allow for a safe space to process these thoughts and emotions. We will discuss coping skills, recent life happenings, expectations, and other topics that group members request. Not only does this group serve as a process group, but as a community where young adults can work on their social skills, connect with others, and navigate what it means being a young adult.

Grief and Loss

Focuses: Support, stages through grief and loss
Description: Have you experienced loss? Do you feel overwhelmed by your emotions? Do you feel misunderstood by others? Everyone grieves and heals in their own unique way. This group will provide you with a safe, compassionate space to process your grief with others who also understand loss. If you’re interested in more information, please call the Gavia office at 585.371.6464