Find Your People: Peer Support Groups for Teens and Young Adults on a Different Path

Whether they’re returning home after treatment or navigating school outside the traditional mold, connecting with other peers who can relate is everything! These groups are a place to connect, share, feel understood, and support each other’s continued growth. Each group runs in 6-week cohorts, and are entirely virtual (for now!).

Currently, we offer:

✨ Post-Treatment Support Group
For teens who have been in residential, wilderness, or inpatient treatment

  • A space to connect with peers who understand the unique experience of being in treatment

  • Support in sustaining the growth and insights they’ve worked so hard to gain

  • A supportive community to encourage next steps, new goals, and a meaningful life ahead

🌱 Alternative Education Support Group
For teens in non-traditional school paths (homeschool, hybrid, individual schooling)

  • Chat about life, school, interests, and what’s on your mind

  • Build real social connection in a way that feels natural and authentic

  • Explore friendships and community

You can find more details about these groups below. If you’d like to connect to explore which group might be the right fit—or just want to get a feel for things and ask any questions—please reach out anytime: welcome@hominginstinct.org.

Peer Support Groups

Life After Treatment: A Space to Talk, Connect, and Grow

For Teen Girls & Young Women

Coming home after residential or wilderness can feel strange. Maybe you’ve changed, but everything else feels the same. Maybe you miss the structure of treatment, the people, the inside jokes no one at home gets. Maybe your friends and family are struggling to relate with what you went through. Or maybe you just don’t know what’s next, much less how to get there.

One of the biggest surprises for many treatment graduates is how much they miss having a built-in community of people that truly understand that journey. That’s why we started Post-Treatment Support Groups—a space designed specifically for young people stepping into their next chapter.

This is a space to come as you are, connect, and support each other. Here’s what that would look like:

Sharing the highs and lows of treatment and life after
Peer support and advice from people who understand your journey
Figuring out how to hold onto the positive changes you worked so hard for
Guidance for navigating relationships, routines, and personal growth
 An encouraging team as you move forward, set new goals, and build a meaningful life

Each session will be a mix of real talk, group activities, and guided discussion to help make sense of this season of life with others who are doing the same.

Why Join?

We believe community is a vital part of sustaining recovery. This group is meant to help you find belonging and support among others that understand the unique challenges of post-treatment. When people working towards healing come together, these transitions start to feel a lot less overwhelming and a lot more possible.

What’s Offered?

One 1:1 session with Ciara and Erica
A dedicated one-on-one session to get to know you more personally, talk through anything you’d prefer to share privately, check in on how you’re doing, and offer personalized support and guidance from both Ciara and Erica

Weekly support group
A safe and consistent space to connect with peers, share what’s on your mind, reflect on the week, celebrate what’s working, and support each other in growth and progress.

Text chain between sessions
Ongoing connection through a group text thread—offering encouragement, check-ins, and gentle reminders.

Parent Q&A Session—with Ciara’s Mom!
 This round, we’re offering a bonus session for parents, hosted by Ciara’s mom who’s been through it all and now has insight and perspective to share. (Unbiased opinion: she’s truly wonderful.) You can get a feel for her in an interview here!

Thoughts from participants

“This ended up being my favorite part of the week.”

“I love this group because it didn’t feel like just another skills or therapy group. We talked about real stuff, the stuff actually on our minds, and gave helpful advice.”

"I had really complicated feelings about being sent away. I was angry and I was constantly fighting with my parents. Coming home was harder than I expected—people didn’t really get it, and I didn’t know how to explain what I’d been through. Talking to other girls who had been there was so nice. It was the first time I didn’t feel so alone. Plus, treatment girls give the best advice."

“I feel like all of us are mini-therapists when we graduate, and lowkey this space was more helpful than therapy. I felt like I could be more honest because everyone understands.”

“I usually hate groups but I’m so glad I gave this a chance. Coolest people ever.”

The Details

When: First Meeting June 17th (for six weeks)

When: Tuesdays, 4:30 pm PST / 5:30 pm MST / 6:30 pm CST / 7:30 pm EST

Where: Online—join from anywhere!

Group Fee: $750 (sliding scale available)

  • Right now, this group is completely online—we’ll meet on Zoom for our calls and stay connected through a group chat in between for check-ins, encouragement, and support.

    But this is just the beginning! In the future, we hope to host in-person groups and retreats, creating even more ways to connect beyond the screen. Stay tuned!

  • To begin, fill out the form below, and we will be in touch with information for next steps!

  • So, we want to be super clear—this is NOT a therapy group. While this space is supportive and facilitated with care, it’s not a substitute for therapy, psychological counseling, or professional mental health treatment. Any guidance shared here is meant to offer connection and support, not medical or clinical advice.

    If you need professional mental health or medical support, we strongly encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist or healthcare provider. We’re here to build community—but your well-being comes first.

  • This group is for YOU. Everything shared in the group is 100% confidential and stays within the space we create together.

    If your parent is signing you up, we might connect with them only for logistics (like scheduling) but that’s it. We’re not here to report back on what you share or update them on your personal experience.

    This is your space—to be real, to connect, and to have a community that’s just for you.

  • We want this group to feel close-knit, with everyone on the same page from the start, so we strongly encourage attending the first meeting. However, since this is a beta group, we're experimenting and seeing what works best!

    If you're unable to make the first meeting but still want to participate, we're open to making it work. Please reach out and share a little about your situation, and we can determine together if joining late is a good fit!

  • We are in the process of creating a group for teen boys and young men and have connected with potential facilitators. If you're interested, please share your details below, and we’ll notify you as soon as the group is ready to start.

  • We want every teen and young adult to feel safe, supported, and in the space that best fits them. Trans and nonbinary teens are welcome to join the group where they feel most comfortable—whether that’s our group for girls and young women, our group for boys and young men, or another option in the future. This decision is entirely up to them. If you’d like to connect with us to discuss which group might be the best fit, we’re happy to chat.

FAQ

If you don’t see your question answered here, please reach out to welcome@hominginstinct.org, and we’ll be happy to provide more clarity!

Meet Your Guides

I’m Ciara, and I know what it’s like to be the so-called “troubled teen” or “black sheep” (now I call myself the green sheep!). I went through all of it—therapy, meds, inpatient, wilderness, therapeutic boarding school. I know what it’s like to have a high school experience completely different from any of your peers — to go through the highs and lows of treatment, and then come home only to feel totally lost.

I started Homing Instinct—to be the kind of support I wish I had. Think of me as a wise, older sister—someone who’s been through it, and who’s here to remind you that you’re not alone in this.

When I left treatment, I had zero road map. But over time, I figured out how to rebuild—how to reconnect with my family, find real friends, finish school, and land a job. It wasn’t easy, and I had to make my own way. Now, I want us to share and learn from each other so you don’t have to figure it all out alone.

The hope for this group is that it becomes a space where we can be real, support each other, and keep growing together.

Bio

  • Mentor for Teens and Founder of Homing Instinct

  • Wilderness Specialist at Project Avary, a summer camp and community for children of incarcerated parents

  • Responder with Concrn, compassionate response for behavioral and mental health crises in San Francisco

  • Worked at Meta (Facebook), Pandora, and Recharge

  • From San Francisco, living in Denver, CO!

I’m Erica. On the outside as a teen, I looked like I had it together—I was doing all the right things. But inside I was stuck. No matter what I did, I couldn’t shake the shame, the dread, the feeling that something just wasn’t clicking.

What changed everything for me? Community. Finding people who actually got it—who let me be real about the hard parts, who I could show up for, and who showed up for me. It made me realize I wasn’t as alone as I thought. My hope is that this space can hold all of it—the good, the hard, the in-between. That we can build something real together.

I can’t wait to see where this goes. 💛

Bio

  • MSW (Master of Social Work)

  • Supervisor Support Specialist & Volunteer Coordinator at Family Promise, Inc

  • Behavioral Health Counselor at Eating Recovery Center

  • Clinical Intern, Addiction Counseling at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

  • Medical Social Work Intern, at The Medical Center of Aurora

  • From Seattle, living in Denver, CO!

Sign up here, and we will be in touch with next steps!

Peer Group for Teens on an Alternative Path

Whether you're homeschooling, taking part-time classes, or following a self-paced or individualized learning plan, it can be lonely when your day-to-day doesn’t look like everyone else’s. This group is a place to connect with peers who get it—and who might share some of the life experiences that led you here.

It’s designed for teens often described as old souls—curious, creative, thoughtful, and drawn to deeper conversations. If you’ve ever felt like the outsider in a traditional school setting, this group might feel like a breath of fresh air.

Meeting: 5 PM MST / 6 PM CST / 7 PM EST on Thursdays!

This is simply a space to be yourself— to have meaningful conversations, find support, and grow community with other teens who get it. In past groups, we’ve read books together, shared favorite quotes, and taken turns giving PowerPoint presentations about everything from Greek myths to video games. You belong here—especially if you’ve ever wondered where all the other teens like you are.

Please sign up below, and reach out to welcome@hominginstinct.org with any questions!