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Friendships take practice. The Best of Friends® is a 10-week, psychologist-developed small-group program for children aged 7 to 13, using stories, games, role-play, creative activities and real-world practice to build communication, emotional awareness, confidence and healthier friendship skills.
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The Best of Friends® is a 10-week, psychologist-developed social and emotional learning program for children aged 7 to 13 who would benefit from more structured practice with friendship, communication, emotional awareness, compromise, confidence or conflict resolution.
Rather than simply talking about social skills, children practise them. Through stories, role-play, games, creative activities, discussion and real-world fieldwork, participants explore common friendship situations, try different responses and build confidence using the skills with other children.
The program may suit children who:
Groups are intentionally small, typically four to six children, so participants have genuine opportunities to listen, negotiate, cooperate, disagree, repair and try again with peers while receiving active guidance from the facilitator.
For some groups, one to three children may join online alongside the in-clinic group, allowing them to participate in the same structured program and group discussions remotely.
The Best of Friends® was developed by Educational and Developmental Psychologist Dr Kimberley O'Brien and the Quirky Kid team, drawing on clinical, school and child-development experience.
The program has also undergone independent evaluation through the University of Wollongong and is listed in the Be You Programs Directory and the ACER Wellbeing Program Guide.
Across the 10 weeks, children build and rehearse skills including:
Every participant receives their own 264-page The Best of Friends® workbook to use throughout the program and keep afterwards.
Rather than relying on generic worksheets, the program uses a substantial illustrated resource filled with stories, games, creative activities, fieldwork, cut-outs and interactive exercises. The characters encounter recognisable friendship and emotional situations, giving children a less confronting way to explore what they might think, feel or do themselves.
The Best of Friends® program and resources have received national and international recognition, including from the Australian Book Industry Awards, London Book Fair International Excellence Awards and Speech Pathology Australia.
Friendship and emotional skills are difficult to build in a single conversation. Children need time to learn a skill, practise it with peers, try it in everyday life and return with new experiences.
The 10-week format allows the group to build progressively from emotional awareness and social expectations towards communication, empathy, assertiveness, conflict resolution, cooperation and teamwork.
The program includes two individual 30-minute online parent consultations, one before and one after the program, plus weekly email updates with the themes being explored and practical suggestions for home and school.
This helps parents understand what their child is practising and creates opportunities to notice and reinforce those skills between sessions.
The Best of Friends® is a structured group learning program. It does not replace individual psychological assessment or therapy where a child has more complex needs.
Some children with existing diagnoses or significant social, emotional or behavioural difficulties may benefit from a brief pre-screening before joining so we can consider whether the group format is appropriate.
Complete 10-week program: $1,050 per child.
Please review the important workshop information before registering. Some children with pre-existing diagnoses may need a pre-screening session at an additional cost. By registering, you accept the Terms and Conditions, including the non-refundable terms.
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