Adventure therapy and social skills groups for boys in Atlanta

What these groups are

The Launch Pad ATL runs adventure therapy groups for boys in Atlanta. They are small, they are led by a clinician, and they happen outdoors, in Piedmont Park and along the Atlanta Beltline.

Groups run in seasonal cohorts, each with a set number of sessions, a start date and a screening appointment. This season there is one group running, for boys ages 14 to 15. The details are below.

Currently enrolling

The Fall 2026 adventure therapy group for boys ages 14 to 15 started Wednesday, September 16, 2026, and meets weekly through November, 6:45–8:00pm. Enrollment is ongoing: new participants can join at any time during the eight-session group, space permitting. The program fee is $700, payable in full or in two payments of $350, with some need-based reduced-fee places available. A screening appointment is required before joining, and basic biking skills are needed for this cohort.

Full session dates, location and registration details are on the Fall 2026 adventure group page. To ask about a place, call Keri London at 404.939.7712.

What a social skills group looks like when it happens outdoors

Most groups aimed at social skills would ask your son to sit in a room and talk about how he relates to other people. If he is one of the boys who needs it most, that is very often the exact activity he is avoiding, and being asked to do it in front of peers makes it worse rather than better.

An adventure group inverts that. The skills come up because the activity produces them, in real time and under mild, manageable pressure: mountain biking, long-boarding, slack-lining, disc golf. Someone has to go first. Someone is faster than someone else. A plan fails and the group has to make another one. Somebody gets frustrated in front of everybody. Those are the actual moments social skills are made of, and they can be worked with as they happen instead of recalled a week later in an office.

The stated focus of the work is developing peer relationships and problem-solving skills, and building mindfulness and resilience in the face of challenges. The side door is that a boy who would refuse a talking group will often say yes to riding bikes.

Fall 2026 Adventure Group

The Fall 2026 Adventure Group is a weekly adventure therapy group for boys ages 14 to 15. Activities include mountain biking, board sports, slack-lining and nature hikes, and the work focuses on resilience, problem solving, healthy communication and mindfulness. Enrollment is ongoing, space permitting, and a screening appointment comes first.

WEDNESDAYS

6:45pm - 8:00pm

How groups and individual therapy fit together

A group does something individual work structurally cannot: it puts your son in front of peers, with an adult present who can see what happens and work with it. It is not a cheaper substitute for individual therapy, and it is not a step down from it.

Plenty of boys do both, and the two can run alongside each other — including when the individual therapist is somewhere else. If your son is already working with someone, that is not an obstacle to joining a group, and we do not require you to move his therapy here.

If what you are looking for is individual work, that is on the adolescent boys therapy page, and for older teens and young adults, young adult men’s therapy.

Who these groups are for

This season’s group is for boys 14 to 15 who are struggling with peers, with frustration, with confidence, or with being the one who hangs back — and who would benefit from practicing that somewhere other than a conversation. If that sounds like your son, we are here to help.

Every group requires a screening appointment first. That is not a formality: a group only works if the mix works, and the screening is where we find out whether this group, this season, is the right room for your son. If it is not, we will say so then rather than after you have paid.

These groups are not the right setting for a young person in acute crisis or in immediate danger. If that is where things are, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, call the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 1-800-715-4225, or call 911.

Common questions

Is this a social skills group?

In substance, yes — the focus is peer relationships and problem-solving. It is run as an adventure therapy group, which means the skills are practiced during a shared activity rather than discussed in a room.

Do you run groups for girls?

Not at present. The adventure therapy groups, and the practice’s therapy services, work with boys and young men. Executive function coaching, ADHD coaching and parent consultation are not limited that way and are open to any family.

Does my son need to be athletic?

No. The activities are a vehicle, not a test, and nobody is being scored. Basic biking skills are required for the current cohort, because that cohort rides — ask on the call if that is the sticking point.

What happens at the screening appointment?

A conversation to work out whether the group is a fit for your son and your son is a fit for the group, and to answer your questions before any money changes hands. Call 404.939.7712 to arrange one.

Does insurance cover a therapy group?

We do not accept any form of insurance. We can provide a Super Bill you may be able to submit for out-of-network reimbursement — tell us at the outset if you intend to. See the scheduling page.

What if he has already said no?

Common, and worth a call anyway. “Riding bikes with a few other guys on Wednesday” is a materially different proposition to “group therapy”, and the difference is often enough. The parents page has more on raising it.