Therapy Groups

Therapy groups at Pinwheel Wellness are facilitated by team members consisting of counselling therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, sexuality educators and field placement students. All therapy groups are open to individuals already accessing Pinwheel Wellness Centre services and to individuals interested in obtaining services for the first time (based on eligibility of the group and criteria outlined on the main page).

If an individual is already accessing services at the Centre, they will only need to complete a pre-screen assessment for the program to ensure that it is a good fit for them. This pre-screen will be completed by one of the group facilitators.

If an individual is interested in accessing services through Pinwheel Wellness for the first time, they will need to complete an intake meeting with the Centre’s intake coordinator in addition to the pre-screen assessment.

Therapy groups run for four (4) to eight (8) weeks for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour per session.

For more information, please contact us at pinwheel@autismns.ca or (782) 321-8811

Current Therapy Groups:

Life Skills Group

Pinwheel Wellness Centre’s Life Skills Group is a series of eight (8) free virtual sessions providing an opportunity for Autistic adults/individuals on the autism spectrum, 18 and older, across the province of Nova Scotia to learn and develop skills in a group setting.

With an increase in mental health challenges stemming from the pandemic, life skills group aims to address some of these challenges through facilitated group discussions and peer support. Sessions will focus on informed decision making, recognizing personal strengths, problem-solving, communication, self-esteem, and self-advocacy. Each discussion group will be led by three Pinwheel Wellness students along with either the Centre’s Social Worker or Occupational Therapist who will host each session and provide support to student facilitators and individuals of the group.   
For more information about Life Skills Group, please contact the Centre’s Occupational Therapist, Bobbie Martin, at bmartin@autismns.ca or call 902-410-8597.

REGISTRATION FOR LIFE SKILLS GROUP IS NOW CLOSED. Cohort #2 registration form will go live end of April 2022.

Life Skills Group group will run once a week on Thursday evenings for 45 minutes virtually:

Thursday March 3^rd - 7:00pm-7:45pm
Thursday March 10^th - 7:00pm-7:45pm
Thursday March 17^th - 7:00pm-7:45pm
Thursday March 24^th - 7:00pm-7:45pm
Thursday March 31^st - 7:00pm-7:45pm
Thursday April 7^th - 7:00pm-7:45pm
Thursday April 14^th - 7:00pm-7:45pm
Thursday April 21^st - 7:00pm-7:45pm

The group will cover topics such as: 

Money Management (budgeting, spending & saving)
Meal Planning (grocery shopping & cooking basics)
Personal Care (personal hygiene, relaxation, sleep hygiene)
Community Safety (public safety/awareness, cyber safety/awareness, etc.)
Home Maintenance (cleaning & laundry) 
Daily Routine(s) (organization, time management & scheduling)

The goal is for individuals of the group to experience improved self-esteem, confidence, and problem-solving abilities by acquiring new like skills; all while strengthening participants’ sense of community and social connection.

Once the current cohort is full; a wait list will be created for the next cohort of Life Skills Group.

Anxiety Management Group

Pinwheel Wellness Centre’s Anxiety Management Group is a series of four virtual sessions providing opportunities for Autistic adults/individuals on the autism spectrum, 18 years of age and older who live in Nova Scotia, to learn and develop skills in a group setting.

Anxiety Management Group aims to support Autistic adults/individuals on the autism who are experiencing mild anxiety symptoms and will put a focus on both education and teaching strategies that the individual can use to support themselves. Sessions will also provide the opportunity for peer-support on various topics with the discussions being facilitated and supported by two Pinwheel Wellness students with supervision provided by one of the Centre's Counselling Therapists.

For more information about Anxiety Management Group, please contact Counselling Therapist Kirsten Spasyouti at kspasyouti@autismns.ca or call 902-446-4995

The group will run once a week in the evening for 1-hour. The group will cover topics such as:

What is anxiety?
Coping strategies
Self-care and prevention strategies
Support systems: how to build and maintain one

Registration is currently delayed due to COVID-19 protocols; however, we are aiming to have it open in March 2022.

When: March 2022
Where: Virtually (Zoom)

For more information please contact pinwheel@autismns.ca or 782-321-8811