Philosophy
Think Social East Bay is a safe environment for children, teens, and adults to learn social learning concepts through direct instruction, reasoning, and practice. We practice social learning concepts and related social skills by participating in community outings. We think social in the bookstores, video stores, grocery stores, restaurants, parks etc. Much of the social concepts used are based on the work of Michelle Garcia Winner (www.socialthinking.com), who has pioneered the way we teach social skills to people with social cognitive deficits. Michelle argues for an important and more effective model of Cognitive Behavior Therapy as an alternative to behaviorally based social skill “training” approaches. Social learning precedes the social skill!
Shelly Hansen has worked exclusively with children, teens, and adults with social learning deficits for over ten years and trained for three years under the guidance of Michelle Garcia Winner at her Social Thinking® Clinic in San Jose, Ca.
Teaching social learning concepts in and out of the therapy room! We explore and practice social concepts related to negotiating, compromising, prioritizing, planning and executing outings into the community.
Thinking about others, and then adjusting our behavior based on smart guesses about what others are thinking and feeling, are all related to social learning.
Social Learning and Adulthood
In adulthood, social learning challenges are ever present in college, the workplace and in social relationships. Society is geared toward independence in both social and organizational functioning, with little to no support for those who are unable to navigate independently. Consequently, adults with social cognitive deficits are often plagued with mental health issues like anxiety and depression, leading to problems maintaining a job and developing and sustaining relationships in and outside their families.