Helping Your Teenager Build Confidence in Social Situations
Many autistic teenagers want friendships and connection but find the social world confusing or hard to read. The unwritten rules of conversation, group dynamics, and knowing how to join in can feel like a puzzle with missing pieces. As a parent, you may have noticed your child struggling to make or keep friends, feeling left out, or withdrawing from social situations altogether.
This is something we see often, and we want you to know that with the right support, things really can improve.
How We Support Social Skills Development
At CY&A Psychology, we value neurodiversity. Our approach is not about changing who your teenager is or asking them to mask who they are. It is about helping them understand social situations more clearly and giving them practical skills they can use with confidence, in their own way.
Our clinicians are experienced in working with autistic young people and understand the particular social and communication difficulties they face. We work with each young person individually, taking into account their age, their interests, and their strengths, as well as the areas where they need more support.
ContactWe draw on a range of evidence-based approaches, including:
PEERS® Programme
We are certified providers of the PEERS® (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) programme, developed at UCLA. This is one of the few evidence-based social skills programmes specifically designed for autistic adolescents. It teaches practical skills such as how to start and maintain conversations, how to find common interests, how to handle disagreements, and how to strengthen friendships. Parents are actively involved, learning how to support and coach their teen between sessions.
Therapeutic Role Play: Dungeons & Dragons
Our therapeutic D&D groups give autistic teenagers a creative, low-pressure way to practise social skills in real time. Working together as a group, young people practise turn-taking, listening, collaboration, and problem-solving within a structured and enjoyable setting. For teens who find traditional therapy less engaging, this can be a genuinely effective way in.
Individual Therapy
For some young people, one-to-one sessions are a better starting point. Our clinicians use adapted CBT, ACT, and other approaches to address the anxiety, low self-esteem, or emotional difficulties that often sit alongside social challenges. We help young people understand their own social communication style and develop strategies that feel authentic to them.
Evidence-Based Social Skills Programme
PEERS® is internationally recognised & has over 30 ‘gold standard’ research trials evidencing its effectiveness.
Parents as Social Coaches
While your child is in their group, you are in a parent group learning ways to help your child build their social skills.
Working in Partnership with Schools
We also work collaboratively with schools to ensure the benefits of PEERS® extend beyond the clinic.
Supporting Meaningful Change
Through specialist facilitation and parent involvement, the PEERS® programme helps young people build skills, confidence and meaningful friendships.
Why Social Skills Matter in Adolescence
The teenage years are a time when friendships become increasingly important. For autistic teens, feeling socially isolated or misunderstood can affect self-esteem, mood, and school life. Some young people develop anxiety around social situations or begin avoiding them altogether.
Early, supportive intervention can make a real difference. With the right help, your teenager can learn to build and maintain friendships, feel more confident in group settings, and approach social situations with less worry and more clarity.
What Parents Can Expect
When you get in touch, we will take time to understand your teenager’s specific needs and circumstances. Following an initial assessment, we will recommend the approach that is the best fit, whether that is an individual programme of therapy, a group-based intervention like PEERS® or therapeutic D&D, or a combination.
Our sessions are available in person at our Marylebone townhouse or online. We also work closely with parents throughout the process, because we know that the support you provide at home matters just as much as what happens in our sessions.
Get in Touch
Please fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you. Alternatively, you can call us on 020 7458 4570 or send us a WhatsApp.
Don’t forget to check our frequently asked questions.