“Lunch bunch” groups for social skills development in youth partial hospitalization programs: A case report

Group‐based therapies are frequently utilized in schools and high‐acuity settings to extend service capacity amid clinician shortages, while providing increased opportunities for in vivo practice of therapeutic skills in socially relevant, more generalizable contexts. 1 Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHPs) are particularly well suited to use of group therapies. PHPs provide treatment to youth with a range of concerns and developmental abilities, typically 5 days a week during school hours. Bradley Hospital's Children's Partial Hospitalization Program (CPHP) serves 19 youth aged 7–12 with a range of psychiatric presentations during average lengths of stay of 6–8 weeks. Patients receive daily individual therapy, manualized evidence‐based group therapy, medication management, academic instruction, extensive skills practice through milieu‐based treatment and activities, and twice‐weekly family therapy sessions. While the CPHP treatment is comprehensive, one clinical need that can go under‐addressed is social skills development. This gap contributes to challenging behaviors in the milieu, as well as feelings of disconnectedness and social isolation that can exacerbate the mental health symptoms that led to patients' admission to the program. To more directly address these needs, “lunch bunch” social skills groups were piloted as a supplemental, group‐based intervention for patients presenting with high social motivation and social skills deficits.