Social Skills Program | Young Adults
PEERS® Social Skills Program for Young Adults
Friendships, Relationships & Real-World Social Connection
Wanting more connection and knowing how to make it happen can be two very different things.
You might want to make new friends but be unsure where to meet people. Conversations may feel difficult to start or keep going. You might have friendships that repeatedly fade out, feel uncertain about texting or making plans, or find dating and relationships particularly difficult to navigate.
Sometimes the hardest part is not knowing what went wrong — or what you could try differently next time.
PEERS® for Young Adults offers a structured, practical way to explore and practise strategies for navigating common adult social situations — while respecting that everyone has different communication styles, relationships and social goals.
- Evidence-Based
- Real-World Skills
- Social Coach Supported
- Practical Skill Practice
About the Program
Practical Social Skills for Real Adult Life
PEERS® for Young Adults is a structured social-skills program developed at UCLA for young adults who would like practical support navigating friendships, conversations, social connection and relationships.
The program makes commonly encountered social strategies more explicit. Rather than relying only on discussion, participants are introduced to practical strategies through structured teaching and demonstrations, then have opportunities to explore and practise them through role-play, behavioural rehearsal and activities between sessions.
Topics reflect situations young adults may encounter in everyday life — including conversations, meeting people, developing friendships, organising get-togethers, electronic communication, handling disagreements and, for participants interested in this area, dating and romantic relationships.
Each participant also attends with a social coach who learns the strategies alongside them and can support opportunities for practice outside the group while respecting the young adult’s independence and individual goals.
Program Suitability
Could PEERS® for Young Adults Be a Good Fit for You?
PEERS® for Young Adults may be considered for adults who would like structured, practical support to better understand and practise strategies for navigating social situations and relationships.
Wanting to make new friends but feeling unsure where to start
Finding it difficult to develop or maintain friendships
Feeling uncertain about starting or maintaining conversations
Difficulty knowing how or when to join social situations
Uncertainty around texting, messaging or making plans
Difficulty navigating disagreements or misunderstandings
Wanting a clearer understanding of common social expectations
Feeling socially disconnected or isolated
Wanting practical guidance around dating or romantic relationships
Wanting structured opportunities to practise social strategies
Young adults do not need to experience difficulty in every area. Suitability is considered individually, including the person’s goals, willingness to participate, support needs and whether the current group is likely to provide an appropriate learning environment.
Skills & Practice
Practical Skills for Everyday Social Situations
Conversations & Connection
Trading information and finding common interests
Having two-way conversations
Entering and exiting conversations
Meeting and getting to know people
Developing and maintaining friendships
Organising get-togethers
Communication & Social Connection
Electronic communication
Navigating humour in different social situations
Following up and making plans
Navigating different communication contexts
Sportsmanship during games and shared activities
Navigating Social Challenges
Responding to teasing or embarrassing feedback
Managing disagreements
Navigating rumours and gossip
Understanding reputational challenges
Responding to difficult social situations
Dating & Relationships
Letting someone know you are interested
Understanding common dating expectations
Dating safely
Navigating early dating interactions
Respecting boundaries and mutual interest
Responding when interest is not reciprocated
Dating and relationship content is available as part of the program curriculum, but participants may have different relationship goals and are not expected to pursue dating or romantic relationships.
Why PEERS®?
What Makes This Program Different
PEERS® combines explicit social-skills teaching with behavioural rehearsal, real-world practice and social-coach involvement. Rather than focusing only on discussing social difficulties, the program provides structured strategies and opportunities to practise them.
Structured & Explicit
Common social strategies and expectations are broken down into practical, understandable steps.
Real-World Focus
The program explores situations young adults may encounter in everyday life, including conversations, friendships, electronic communication, get-togethers and relationships.
Practise, Not Just Discuss
Role-play, behavioural rehearsal and between-session activities provide opportunities to explore and practise strategies.
Social Coach Support
A consistent social coach learns the strategies alongside the participant and supports opportunities for practice outside sessions.
Get-Togethers
Participants explore planning and organising social get-togethers as one way of applying relevant strategies in everyday life.
Developed at UCLA
PEERS® was developed at UCLA and has been evaluated in research examining structured social-skills intervention for autistic young adults.
How It Works
Learn. Practise. Apply.
- 01
Learn
Practical social strategies are broken into explicit steps through structured teaching, then demonstrated so you can see what each step looks like.
- 02
Rehearse
Role-play and behavioural rehearsal provide opportunities to try the strategies during the session, with feedback from facilitators.
- 03
Real-World Practice
Between-session activities provide opportunities to apply relevant strategies in your own everyday social situations.
- 04
Review & Troubleshoot
The following session begins by reviewing how practice went, discussing situations that came up and troubleshooting difficulties with the facilitator. Social coaches take part in this throughout.
Social Coach Involvement
Supporting Practice Beyond the Group
Social-coach involvement is a core component of PEERS® for Young Adults. While young adults participate in their group session, their social coaches learn the same strategies and ways to support practice between sessions.
A social coach may be a parent, sibling, family member, support person, mentor or another appropriate person who is able to participate consistently throughout the program.
The social coach’s role is not to manage the young adult’s social life. Instead, they become familiar with the strategies being introduced and can help identify appropriate opportunities for practice, provide encouragement and support the young adult’s individual goals.
The young adult remains central to decisions about their own friendships, relationships and social life.
Research & Evidence
What Does the Research Tell Us?
PEERS® for Young Adults has been evaluated through a randomised controlled trial and an independent replication, examining social skills, social engagement, social responsiveness and social anxiety in autistic young adults. Both studies were small — 22 and 47 participants — and involved participants aged 18–24 and 17–28 respectively, which is narrower than the age range this program is open to.
Key Research Findings
Social Skills & Knowledge
A randomised controlled trial of 22 autistic young adults aged 18–24 reported improvements in overall social skills and social-skills knowledge among those completing PEERS® for Young Adults, compared with a delayed-treatment control group. (Laugeson et al., 2015 )
Social Engagement
The same trial reported an increased frequency of social engagement, with most treatment gains maintained at a 16-week follow-up. (Laugeson et al., 2015 )
Social Responsiveness
Participants showed reductions on standardised measures of social responsiveness associated with autism-related social communication difficulties. (Laugeson et al., 2015 )
Independent Replication & Social Anxiety
An independent randomised controlled trial at another university, with 47 participants aged 17–28, reported improvements in social responsiveness, empathy and direct social interaction, along with reductions on a self-reported measure of social anxiety. (McVey et al., 2016 )
Important Context
Research findings describe outcomes observed across groups of participants and do not predict how an individual young adult will respond. Both studies above involved autistic young adults, so their findings should not be assumed to apply equally to everyone. Outcomes may vary according to individual needs, participation and opportunities for practice. Program suitability is considered individually.
The original PEERS® for Young Adults program is delivered over 16 weeks. The Social Space uses a condensed 12-week delivery format, covering the program content over a shorter period. The studies above evaluated program formats that differ in duration from the format offered here, and describe the studied protocols rather than our condensed delivery.
Flexible Delivery
Where This Program Can Be Delivered
Mascot Clinic
Structured face-to-face sessions at The Social Space Psychology Clinic.
Online / Telehealth
Selected program delivery may be available online, with social-coach participation incorporated into the format.
Tertiary Institutions / Community
PEERS® may also be delivered in collaboration with TAFE, universities or community organisations where appropriate.
Program availability, delivery format and intake dates may vary. Contact our team for current information.
Want to Learn More About PEERS® for Young Adults?
Our team can discuss your goals, explain how the program works, talk through program suitability and provide information about upcoming group availability.
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