Social Skills Program | UC Davis MIND Institute

Thank you for your interest in the Social Skills Program at the UC Davis MIND Institute. To help streamline scheduling and ensure families are connected to the most appropriate services, a referral through the MIND Institute Massie Family Clinic is required before program applications can be provided.

If services are billed through insurance, the referral must be submitted by your child’s primary care provider or a referring clinician. We are unable to accept self-referrals in these cases.

How to Submit a Referral

Your child’s primary care provider or referring clinician may submit a referral using one of the following options:

• Submit a referral online through the UC Davis Health Physician Referral Center
• Call 800-482-3284 for assistance

Once the referral has been received and processed, our team will review it and contact your family with the next steps, including application information if appropriate.

Learn more about what to expect after a referral is submitted. 

Program Overview

The Social Skills Program is a structured, evidence-informed group intervention designed to support children, teens, and their families in developing social communication and interpersonal skills.

Program Components

1. Child / Adolescent Group

• Participants are grouped by age (8-10, 11-13, and 14-17)
• Groups typically include 8-15 children
• Led by a licensed clinical psychologist, with support from trained co-leaders (staff, faculty, trainees, and MIND Institute volunteers)
• Groups meet once weekly for 10 weeks
• Each session lasts 1.5 hours
• Sessions are held Tuesday afternoons (4:15–5:45 p.m.)
• Offered during Winter and Spring sessions

2. Parent / Caregiver Group (Required)

• Held concurrently with the child/adolescent group
• Led by a licensed clinical psychologist
• Attendance is mandatory
• Focus on:
  • Weekly curriculum overview
  • Diagnostic profiles and co-occurring conditions
  • Treatment strategies
  • School collaboration
  • Guest speaker presentations
• Provides education, support, and opportunities to connect with other families

Curriculum Focus

• Perspective-taking
• Social circles and friendship
• Making and keeping plans
• Independence and leadership (for teens)

Eligibility Criteria

Participants must meet all the following:

1. Age Requirement: Children and teens aged between 8 and 17 years
2. Behavioral Expectations: Participants should not have exhibited any aggressive outbursts in a group or classroom-type environment within the past year. We understand that children may have challenges at home, but we prioritize the safety and well-being of all participants.
3. Attention Expectations: Participants are expected to be able to remain seated for 15-20-minute portions of the lesson. If your child requires a one on one while attending school for most of the day to support challenges with attention and behavioral concerns, our program does not offer this level of support and would not be a good fit at this time. 
4. Verbal Abilities: Participants are expected to have average or above verbal abilities for their age. Those with lower receptive and expressive verbal abilities do not benefit from our verbally oriented program, challenges with pragmatic language are permitted. Your child must be able to communicate fluently using full-length sentences that are built upon one another. They must demonstrate the ability to engage in reciprocal conversation with others, even if it is only briefly sustained, often prompted, and/or primarily about their own topic of interest.
5. Learning Expectations: While individuals within the group may have various learning challenges (e.g., writing or reading), their overall cognitive abilities should fall broadly within the average range compared to same-aged peers.
6. Diagnosis: Children must have a diagnosis of autism or clinically significant social communication difficulties. Some children and teens may not have undergone a formal assessment or may only have an education-based classification.