Westmead Feelings Program
The Westmead Feelings Program is an evidence-based social-emotional learning and feelings management therapy for children aged 6 to 12
Our Semester 1, 2026 Programs
If you would like to register interest for a Westmead Feelings Program group in 2026, we still have limited places remaining for our Semester 1, 2026 group, listed below:
Westmead Feelings Program
Nunawading
Group 1: Saturday 2:30pm – 4:30pm
Starts on the 31st of January 2026 | Recurring fortnightly
What is the Westmead Feelings Program?
The Westmead Feelings Program aims to teach emotional and social skills to children aged 6 to 12 years in group face-to-face sessions. In addition, the program develops parents’ emotion coaching skills, supporting children to understand emotions, solve problems and manage their feelings in everyday settings.
Skills Children Learn
- Understanding and recognizing emotions
- Measuring intensity of emotions
- Recognizing face, body and voice signs for each feeling
- Perspective taking
- Problem solving
- Feelings Control Kit for managing feelings
- Emotion coaching
What’s Included in The Program?
- Families attend fortnightly child and parent sessions.
- A Westmead Program kit consisting of workbooks and visual materials to reinforce skills taught is provided to each family.
- Children are shown social script videos introducing each new skill.
- Video clips of child actors are shown demonstrating various feelings, calming strategies, problem solving and perspective taking.
- Group Leaders model each skill.
- Children engage in role plays to provide opportunities to practice each skill with in-the-moment coaching.
- Visual prompts are used throughout each of the modules to support children’s learning.
- Structured breaks are provided and games are played during each session.
- Take home practice tasks are provided for each session.
Program Details and Pricing
- Cost: $3400.00 (Participants may use NDIS funding)
- Initial 90 minute parent only information session
- 9 two-hour face to face child group sessions facilitated by two Clinical Psychologists certified as Westmead Program Facilitators
- 30 minute parent session in last 30 minutes of child session (face-to-face)
- Westmead Program 1 Child Kit
- Westmead Program 1 Parent Kit
- Intermittent rewards
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the Westmead Feelings Program suitable for?
The Westmead Feelings Program was originally developed for children with Autism-Spectrum-Disorder (ASD), and is highly suitable for neurodivergent children, including those with ASD and ADHD, as well as those experiencing anxiety or emotional dysregulation.
Can parents attend sessions?
Parents attend an initial introductory session, and additional feedback sessions.
Do you accept NDIS funding?
Yes. Children with NDIS plans are able to use funding to cover costs.
Where in Melbourne are the groups held?
Our Westmead Feelings Program is currently held face to face in Nunawading, Central to Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
Who delivers the program?
Dr Sonia Prescott and Melinda Gladman are both clinical psychologists and certified practitioners of the Westmead Program. Click here to find out more about our team.
How do I register?
Complete the Register Interest form to join a group today!
Research Base
The Westmead Feelings Program has been developed and tested through evidence-based research, to ensure the intervention encompasses best practice, efficacious treatment. To date, at least two scientific research trials have evaluated the program. These research trials were conducted across 60+ Australian schools, involving more than 300 participants. The researchers found a significant improvement in emotional competence – the ability for a child to understand and regulate emotions (Wong et al., 2009), in children who completed the Westmead Feelings Program, as compared to those children who did not (Ratcliffe et al., 2014; 2019). Children who completed the program also exhibited reductions in anxiety and depression (Ratcliffe et al., 2014; 2019).
References
Ratcliffe, B., Wong, M., Dossetor, D., & Hayes, S. (2014). Teaching social–emotional skills to school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A treatment versus control trial in 41 mainstream schools. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 8(12), 1722-1733.
Ratcliffe, B., Wong, M., Dossetor, D., & Hayes, S. (2019). Improving emotional competence in children with autism spectrum disorder and mild intellectual disability in schools: A preliminary treatment versus waitlist study. Behaviour Change, 36(4), 216-232.
Wong, M., Heriot, S., & Lopes, A. (2009). The emotions development questionnaire. Sydney, Australia: The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.