PEERS® for Adolescents: An Evidence-Based Social Skills Group for Teens

Yes. PEERS® also gives parents and caregivers tools to help teens practice their new skills outside of group.

While teens participate in their group session, parents or caregivers attend a separate session where they learn how to support friendship-building, troubleshoot social challenges, and reinforce the skills teens are practicing throughout the week.

Yes. The PEERS® framework is widely recognized as a highly effective social skills training for neurodivergent teens. It is ideal for adolescents navigating Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ADHD, social anxiety, learning differences, or general difficulties making friends. Because the curriculum breaks down abstract social cues into concrete, repeatable steps, it provides clear and structured support for teens who process social interactions differently.

Neutral Ground Counseling Group provides out-of-network care for our teen support groups in Northern Virginia. We recommend checking with your health insurance provider to see if they offer reimbursement for group psychotherapy codes. We will gladly provide you with a monthly superbill containing all necessary clinical codes to submit to your insurance company for potential out-of-network reimbursement.

Unlike a traditional, unstructured adolescent support group that focuses primarily on processing emotions, PEERS® is a structured, evidence-based social skills training program. It functions like a class where teens actively learn, practice, and receive real-time coaching on specific social skills. Additionally, the mandatory concurrent parent group ensures that caregivers learn how to act as effective social coaches for their teens outside of the clinical setting.