Congratulations! You have made it through several LUNA modules! We hope you feel that your hard work and commitment have begun to pay off!
For Modules 8-11, we want to discuss some optional topics that will be helpful to some but not all families. Each of these modules describes different ways to change your mission plans for different fears or barriers you are facing. If you and your parent feel that any of these modules aren’t relevant for your family, feel free to skip ahead to the next module. Be sure to discuss this with your parent before doing so, as it is important that you and your parent read the same module each week.
In this module, we will discuss social coaching. Is being around other people one of your fears? If so, this module provides some tips on helping you learn some skills that will help you interact with people. We hope this module will help you during your mission plans that involve other people.
Take a deep breath and reflect on your progress
Facing your fears is hard work. We hope you are proud of yourself that you've come this far! Before we talk more about social coaching, take some time to reflect back on how your mission plan practice has been going so far and answer the questions on this worksheet: Reflect on Your Progress. Or make your own with the prompt below:
Answer the questions below with your parent. These questions will help you see how awesome you have been doing so far and what other things you can work on!
- What has gone differently than you expected?
- What challenges have there been?
- What do you think you need to keep doing?
- What do you wish to change?
- What has gone well?
Social Coaching
People struggle with social fears or anxiety for a variety of reasons. You might not understand what is expected of you in social situations, or you might worry about people thinking you are different or “weird.” Maybe you have been bullied or have had other bad interactions with others in the past. If that has happened to you, it would make a lot of sense if you worried about social situations. Just like the other kinds of anxiety we have discussed, the most important thing you can do to overcome social anxiety is to face it head on. For social anxiety, this means putting yourself in situations with other people.
Some people have trouble knowing what to say when interacting with other people, how relationships work, or what other people expect them to say or do in new situations with other people. People who struggle with social skills might need some extra support during mission plans for social fears. This is where “social coaching” comes in. Social coaching involves rehearsing and preparing with your parent or another trusted adult right before you jump into a real social interaction. This can feel a bit cringy, but please try it out, it can really help!
