PEERS®, PBIS, LEGO® Therapy & DBT
Learning skills for making friends and interacting with the community
Joyful Soul Psychology runs structured, clinically-informed group programmes that teach social communication, community participation, language, and emotional resilience. Our approach blends manualized, evidence-based methods with fun and parent/carer coaching so skills transfer to real life.
What’s running
- PEERS® social skills programme (adolescents & young adults): manualized, evidence-based social skills training with parent-assisted generalisation.
- PBIS-based community skills workshops: Clear expectations, positive reinforcement and predictable routines to support pro-social behaviour in group and community settings.
- LEGO®-based therapy (social skills): Structured peer play using assigned roles to teach joint attention, turn-taking, communication and problem solving.
- LEGO®-based therapy (prepositions & spatial language): Hands-on, scaffolded language practice using building tasks to teach vocabulary commonly used in schools and vocational learning.
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) group: Skills training in mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness for adolescents & young adults.
Why these programmes works
- PEERS® is a manualised intervention developed at UCLA that teaches explicit, evidence-based social rules and scripts, paired with role-plays and parent/ social coaching to promote real-world practice and generalisation. It’s validated across age groups and cultures. Read blog How PEERS® Helps Teens & Young Adults Make, and Keep, Real Friendships.
- PBIS establishes and teaches clear behavioural expectations, uses positive reinforcement, and applies a tiered support approach. It increases predictability and reduces problem behaviour in schools, vocational learning and community. Read blog Community Confidence.
- LEGO® Therapy leverages highly structured, motivating play. Assigning collaborative roles makes social interaction concrete and predictable, which supports children (especially those on the autism spectrum) to practise communication and teamwork. It’s also an engaging method to teach spatial language because manipulating objects grounds abstract words. Read blog From Bricks to Bonds, Reinforcing LEGO®-Based Therapy Skills at Home & School.
- DBT provides empirically supported skills for managing strong emotions and improving interpersonal effectiveness. The DBT skills modules (mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness) give concrete strategies that reduce crises and improve everyday functioning. Read blog When emotions hijack our day, DBT gives us the toolkit to regain control.
Clinically-informed, practical session examples
- PEERS® session example: Coach models a script for “how to ask to join a group”; participants role-play with peers; handouts and videos shared for parents/social coach to learn how to coach the teen at home; weekly real-life virtual practice after each in person lesson. (PEERS® uses manualised lessons + parent/ social coaching).
- PBIS workshop example: Participants co-creates clear community rules, practices transitions, and uses a reward system to reinforce cooperative behaviour.
- LEGO® social session: Small teams take roles such as “engineer/architect”, “builder” and “supplier”; they must follow a shared plan to build a model and solve an unexpected problem (e.g., missing piece) by communicating, negotiating and taking turns. This scaffolds joint attention and pragmatic language.
- LEGO® prepositions session: Facilitator gives scaffolding: “Put the red brick under the blue roof”, participants demonstrates, then gives instructions to peers. Repetition, visual feedback and corrective modeling build comprehension and production of spatial terms.
- DBT skills group: mindfulness warm-up, teach one skill (e.g., TIPP or paced breathing), group practice, role-plays for interpersonal effectiveness, and planning how to use the skill in the week. DBT emphasizes real-life application.
What happens if these skills are missing
- Repeated social misunderstandings → peer exclusion or withdrawal.
- Greater anxiety and avoidance of social situations (less opportunity to practise).
- School or community participation suffers due to unclear expectations or behaviours.
- Difficulty managing intense emotions leads to crises, conflict and lower quality of life.
These are common clinical trajectories seen when social, language or emotion-regulation skills are undeveloped, and they are precisely the areas these programmes target.
How learning these skills improves quality of life
- More stable friendships and social networks.
- Improved school engagement and workplace readiness.
- Reduced frequency of emotional crises and better daily coping.
- More confident family interactions and independence.
Because each intervention emphasises real-world practice (homework, parent coaching, in-group rehearsal), skills generalise and create real, measurable improvements in daily life.
Registration & next steps
Spaces are limited. Click here for programme details. Email jsp@gmail.com or call/text WhatsApp +65 8835 3015 for next workshop start dates and registration.