KOKTIT KAPUJA

Time: Friday 08:30–09:30.

Location: Fireplace Room.

Age group: 5–7 years.

First semester: 15 sessions. Second semester: 15 sessions.

KOKTIT KAPUJA

Koktit Kapuja operates as an independent group at the MURMO Centre for Specialist Psychology and Art Therapy. Combining visual arts and child psychodrama methods, it offers preschool children opportunities for self-expression and play. The therapeutic space creates a safe environment in which children can strengthen their self-confidence, self-awareness, communication skills and social abilities. By using their creativity and imagination, they can invent stories and roles and bring these to life through play, expressing the thoughts and feelings that occupy them. As part of the therapeutic process, their problem-solving abilities can develop, they can discover coping strategies that help them manage inner conflicts, and they can become absorbed in play and the enjoyment of creating.

The group sessions are structured according to therapeutic principles. After arrival, we begin with a news circle: we sit together and each child may share one good and one difficult piece of news from the previous week. These accounts provide the therapists with diagnostically relevant information and help us understand the child's current emotional state and the atmosphere at home or at school.

This is followed by a movement-based warm-up, which supports arrival in the therapeutic space and strengthens group cohesion. During this section we use non-verbal games to help the children attune to one another.

The main creative phase is devoted to psychodrama. The children create the stories themselves. One child may invent and tell the main events and characters, after which the others can place themselves within the story: they choose which role they would like to play, whether they join the “good” or “bad” side, and they may also add to the original story. The therapist leading the session uses questions to help the story develop and, once the drama has been created, summarises what will happen during the play.

Everyone then dresses in costume, we arrange the space and the psychodrama begins. After playing out the story, we step out of our roles with three claps, bringing the play to a close. By saying our own names, we return to the therapeutic space, where we discuss what happened and everyone has an opportunity to reflect on the session.

Group leaders: Fruzsina Gellért – Clinical Psychologist; Piroska Móga – Mental Health Professional and Trainee Art Therapist.

HULLÁMLOVAS

Time: Tuesday 07:00–08:00 (60 minutes).

Location: Group Room.

Autumn–winter semester 2026: 6 sessions.

Spring semester 2027: 6 sessions.

HULLÁMLOVAS

An art therapy group for young people aged 14–18, designed as an introductory and socialising therapeutic group within the comprehensive Lotilko child and adolescent psychiatric programme.

Clinical focus: mood disorders, difficulties with impulse regulation and self-harm.

The group is offered for 6 sessions in the autumn–winter semester of 2026 and for a further 6 sessions in the spring semester of 2027.

ARK – PARENT SUPPORT GROUP FOR PARENTS RAISING AUTISTIC CHILDREN

Time: Thursday 18:00–19:30.

Location: Fireplace Room.

Autumn 2026 blocks: September 17 and 24, October 1 and 29; October 8, 15 and 22 and November 26; November 5, 12 and 19 and December 17; November 26 and December 3 and 10, 2026 and January 7, 2027.

ARK – PARENT SUPPORT GROUP FOR PARENTS RAISING AUTISTIC CHILDREN

What does an autism diagnosis actually mean? Why does my child behave the way they do? What can I do as a parent in everyday life? What support is available, and how can I navigate the often contradictory information out there?

We seek the answers to these and many other questions together in our new, small-group parent support group.

Format: Psychoeducational and support group for parents

Who it is for: We welcome parents raising autistic children who wish to gain a deeper understanding of their child's neurodevelopmental profile, the background behind everyday situations, and adopt a mindset and practical tools that support family dynamics and better align with their child's needs.

The group is interactive: brief professional overviews are complemented by shared discussions and structured explorations based on participants' questions. Our goal is not merely to convey knowledge, but to help understand autism in context, providing parents with a practical mindset and tools that can be effectively applied in daily life.

Main Topics:

  • Neurodivergent and cognitive background of autism – what might lie behind behaviors manifested in autism?
  • Understanding the diagnostic process – how is a diagnosis reached?
  • Post-diagnostic options, forms of support, entitlements, and questions of parental advocacy.
  • Modern perspectives on autism, societal questions, and commonly emerging new terms (e.g., AuDHD, PDA, masking).
  • Sensory processing, communication, emotional regulation, and self-regulation profiles.
  • Sleep, eating, and physical conditions associated with autism.
  • Secondary psychological challenges: anxiety and mood difficulties.
  • Practical parenting strategies for typical everyday scenarios.
  • Peer relationships, bullying, and sibling dynamics.
  • Developing independence and age-related transitions.
  • Family dynamics, the situation of siblings and parents, family and parental resources.

The programme consists of three predefined thematic sessions, followed by a final supplementary session tailored to the participants' interests and needs, with content based on group questions.

Group Leaders:

  • Orsolya Dancsó, Clinical Psychologist, Specialist Neuropsychologist
  • Borbála Koltai, Special Educational Needs (SEN) Teacher specialising in Autism Spectrum Pedagogy, Trainee Family Therapist

Maximum group size: 6–7 participants

SUITCASE – PARENT SUPPORT GROUP FOR PARENTS RAISING CHILDREN WITH ADHD

Time: Thursday 19:00–20:30.

Location: Fireplace Room.

Autumn 2026: October 1, 8, 15 and 22.

Winter 2027: January 7, 14, 21 and 28.

Spring 2027: April 8, 15, 22 and 29.

SUITCASE – PARENT SUPPORT GROUP FOR PARENTS RAISING CHILDREN WITH ADHD

Format: Psychoeducational and support group for parents

Focus:
We welcome parents raising children with ADHD who wish to better understand how their child operates, the reasons behind daily struggles, and receive practical tools to help family life, learning, and relationships run more smoothly.

Methodology:
The group operates in a psychoeducational and consultative format. Throughout the sessions, we share up-to-date knowledge on ADHD, a neuroaffirmative approach, and practical everyday strategies. Shared reflection and experience-sharing also allow parents to learn about similar situations, challenges, and proven solutions from other families.

Topics include:

  • Etiology and main characteristics of ADHD.
  • Profiles of attention, impulsivity, and self-regulation.
  • The role of executive functions in daily life.
  • Motivational difficulties, emotional regulation, and sensory profiles.
  • Practical tools for building daily routines, rules, and schedules.
  • Behavior management and positive reinforcement techniques.
  • Therapeutic and support options related to ADHD.
  • Parental burnout, self-regulation, and co-regulation strategies.
  • Communication with children, educators, and professionals.

The programme consists of 3 thematic sessions and one extra session tailored to participants' needs. The topic of the supplementary session is selected based on the group's interest (e.g., adolescence, learning strategies, educational support, the overlap between ADHD and autism).

Group Leaders:

  • Judit Jantner, Clinical Psychologist
  • Kamilla Kelemen, Special Educational Needs (SEN) Teacher

Maximum group size: 6–8 participants

Recommended for parents who want to feel more confident navigating their child's ADHD-related needs and discover tools that can be directly applied to their own family's daily life.

KIDOBOLÓ – Preschool Group

Time: Tuesday 12:30–13:20.

A neurologic music therapy group for preschool children aged 6–7 with neurodevelopmental characteristics, primarily ADHD. Through the integration of rhythm, thinking and movement, the group supports attention, body awareness, sensory self-regulation, emotion regulation and cooperation, while strengthening flexible adaptation and self-regulation skills needed for starting school.

REFLECTIVE PARENT GROUP

Time: Fridays 18:30–20:00, closed group of 8 sessions.

First semester: September 30; October 2, 9 and 16; November 6, 13, 20 and 27, 2026.

Second semester: January 13, 15, 22 and 29; February 5, 12, 19 and 26, 2027.

Detailed professional description

The reflective parent and adolescent groups are not personal-development groups. They are not intended for exploring individual personal difficulties or current life events; however, experiences arising in the group can usefully be discussed in individual, group or family therapy.

As human beings we are embedded in relationships, and the quality of these relationships has a major influence on mental health. Improving our capacity to mentalise therefore supports healthier relationship functioning and can also improve emotional regulation.

During the reflective group sessions, concepts are illustrated through practical examples. Participants' own experiences can support understanding, and homework is also given. These tasks are generally practice-based rather than written assignments.

Active participation is expected because the group works with participants' own examples. Although the group is not contracted to process personal difficulties in depth, members inevitably share some insight into their own challenges and discoveries. Confidentiality therefore applies not only to the therapists but to all participants.

The aim of the Reflective Parent Group is to support parents and adolescents in developing mentalisation: the capacity to understand their own and other people's mental states, emotions and intentions. Improved mentalisation is central to healthier relationships and better emotional regulation, both of which are important for maintaining mental health.

The group follows the approach of the Anna Freud Centre's Lighthouse programme. It is not a traditional personal-development group, but a supportive space in which participants learn about mentalisation through practical, problem-focused themes.

Participation: attendance at all eight sessions is required. After the first session, parents receive educational material and have six weeks to work through it.

Programme themes: the group works through approximately 10–13 experiential situations to help parents understand mentalisation and relationship patterns. Core themes include:

  • Sensations and emotions: learning to recognise and distinguish bodily sensations and emotions.
  • Attachment: understanding the role of attachment patterns in family dynamics.
  • Mentalisation and breakdowns in mentalising: how we interpret our own and other people's intentions, and what happens when this capacity is impaired.
  • Attention: developing attentive, active listening as a foundation for effective communication.
  • Window of tolerance and trigger points: recognising emotional limits and the 'red buttons' that can push us out of balance.
  • Emotion regulation: practical methods for managing emotions.
  • Parenting map and internal family patterns: understanding the parental role through one's own family patterns.
  • Emotional thermometer and validation: tools for recognising and accepting an adolescent's emotional state.
  • Coping cards and the parental safety net: practical exercises for managing stress and difficult situations.

On request, the group can place additional focus on parents of adolescents who self-harm, helping them understand what may be happening for the young person and how to offer support during difficult periods.

Group leader: Erika Pap – clinical psychologist, symbol therapist and MBT-A therapist.

LOTILKO – COPING Adolescent Group

Autumn 2026 LOTILKO – COPING adolescent groups:

  • Group A: September 29; October 6 and 13, 2026 – 08:00–10:00.
  • Group B: September 29; October 6 and 13, 2026 – 10:30–12:00.

Detailed professional description

As part of the MBT-I / Lotilko programme and drawing on the approach of the Anna Freud Centre, this three-session training programme supports adolescents in managing emotion-regulation difficulties, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. The module focuses on understanding breakdowns in mentalisation and the processes behind emotional dysregulation. Its aim is to help participants learn concrete coping techniques that can be used immediately in everyday life.

Parents also attend a targeted three-session educational training within the Lotilko Programme. They learn about mental states in which self-harm is more likely to occur and practise supportive techniques that can help them respond to their child during difficult situations.

Structure and themes of the training:

  • Sensations and emotions: learning to recognise and distinguish internal states.
  • Mentalisation and breakdowns in mentalising: understanding our own and other people's intentions and what happens when this capacity becomes impaired.
  • Window of tolerance and trigger points: recognising emotional limits and the 'red buttons' that can push us out of balance.
  • Emotion regulation: practical methods for managing emotions.
  • Understanding the emotional wave: urges to self-harm can arrive like an overwhelming wave. Participants learn to recognise these waves and interrupt them before they take over.
  • 'Life-jacket' techniques: practical tools for immediate support and stabilisation.
  • Temperature change: using cold or warmth, for example a cool stimulus or warm blanket, to help reduce acute stress.
  • Breathing exercises: short, deliberate breathing techniques to reduce stress and anxiety.
  • Physical activity: brief, intensive movement such as jumping, push-ups or squats to discharge tension.
  • Distraction and self-soothing: using sensory focus, strong tastes, scents or tactile experiences to redirect attention.
  • The 'Stop' technique: consciously interrupting a negative train of thought.
  • Mindfulness tools: exercises that support staying in the here and now.
  • Identifying triggers for self-harm: recording when and why self-harm thoughts arise in order to understand patterns and increase future control.
  • Creative self-expression and comfort activities: music and creative work can support emotional expression, while activities such as drinking tea or relaxing can help with calming and self-soothing.

Active participation is encouraged throughout the training. Young people test the techniques within the wider programme after the sessions and reflect on what worked for them. The ultimate aim is to help each participant build a safe internal 'life jacket' they can draw on during difficult moments.

It is not currently possible to register for this group separately because it forms part of the Lotilko Programme. If there is sufficient interest, the group may also be offered independently. Enquiries: murmomail@murmo.hu.

Attendance at all three sessions is required.

Group leaders: Erika Pap – clinical psychologist, symbol therapist and MBT-A therapist; Eszter Forgács – child psychologist, music and play therapist, with foundational MBT-A training.

LOTILKO – MBT-I Block for Parents

Autumn 2026 MBT-I block for parents:

  • Group A: September 30, 2026 online at 18:30; October 2 and 16 in person, 08:00–10:00.
  • Group B: September 30, 2026 online at 18:30; October 2 and 16 in person, 10:30–12:30.
  • Group C: September 30, 2026 online at 18:30; October 9 and 23 in person, 08:00–10:00.

Detailed professional description

As part of the MBT-I programme (Mentalization-Based Treatment information/education block), and drawing on the approach of the Anna Freud Centre, we offer parents a specialist educational training programme to help them better understand and support their adolescent children when facing mental-health difficulties.

The training consists of three sessions. Parents learn about mental states associated with an increased risk of self-harm and extreme behavioural responses. Through practical, problem-focused sessions, they acquire concrete techniques and tools that can help them support their child more effectively in difficult situations.

Theoretical themes include:

  • Sensations and emotions: recognising and distinguishing internal states.
  • Attachment: understanding the role of attachment patterns in family dynamics.
  • Mentalisation and breakdowns in mentalising: how we interpret our own and other people's intentions, and what happens when this capacity becomes impaired.
  • Window of tolerance and trigger points: recognising personal emotional limits and the 'red buttons' that can push us out of balance.
  • Emotion regulation: practical methods that support the management of emotions.
  • Coping cards: practical tools for managing stress and difficult situations.

If participating parents are caring for a young person who self-harms, the training also places specific emphasis on understanding what may be happening in the adolescent at moments of self-harm, when suicidal thoughts may arise, and how these warning signs can be recognised.

Where there is a need, an additional session can be organised in which parents practise how to remain supportively present with their child during a self-harm crisis. Parents who wish to continue after the three-session block can join the Reflective Parent Group, where the knowledge is developed further in a more practice-oriented format.

The programme offers a supportive environment in which parents can practise effective communication and problem-solving through individual and group-based exercises, helping to strengthen family relationships and support their child's mental health.

Attendance at all three sessions is required.

Group leader: Erika Pap – clinical psychologist, symbol therapist and MBT-A therapist.

SOCOM – School Adjustment Support Group (ages 7–10)

Time: Monday 15:00–15:45.

A school adjustment support group for children aged 7–10 with ASD, with a focus on developing social and communication skills.

Detailed professional description

A social-communication skills development group for primary-school children aged 7–10 with autism spectrum conditions. The sessions aim to support the development and maintenance of social relationships and help children participate more successfully in peer communities within a safe, supportive and development-focused setting.

Age group: school-age children aged 7–10.

Focus: underdeveloped social and communication skills, anxiety, adjustment difficulties, relationship problems and ASD-specific challenges.

Methods:

  • Cognitive behavioural elements, including reward and reinforcement.
  • Autism-specific tools, including visual supports and social stories.
  • Social learning and modelling.
  • Role play and situational practice.
  • Creative and hands-on activities.
  • Co-operative games.

Skills supported:

  • Recognising and expressing emotions.
  • Learning and understanding social rules.
  • Maintaining relationships, co-operation and problem-solving.
  • Self-esteem, self-protection and assertiveness.
  • Using verbal and non-verbal communication tools.
  • Managing anxiety.
  • Developing mentalisation skills.

How the group works:

  • Slow, closed group.
  • Weekly 45-minute sessions.
  • An initial parent consultation is required.
  • An individual assessment is arranged if needed.
  • Three to four introductory individual sessions with the group leader before placement.
  • Regular parent consultations are part of the process to monitor the child's development.

Group leader: Kamilla Kelemen – special educational needs teacher and speech and language therapist.

LOTILKO SZABAD KIKÖTŐ

Time: Thursday 17:15–18:45.

Ages 13–14, Lotilko Programme.

Detailed professional description

The principal aim of the programme is to provide children and young people who have received child psychiatric treatment with long-term art-psychotherapy support within a complex treatment system.

We aim to reach and support young people who have spent time in a psychiatric ward or psychiatric outpatient service because of serious psychological difficulties. Our goal is to help stabilise vulnerable personality functioning when long-term therapeutic containment and support are needed.

Age group: 13–14-year-old young people affected by child psychiatric difficulties, including severe mood disorders, difficulties in personality development, anxiety disorders or behavioural difficulties.

The programme creates an opportunity for therapeutic work to continue effectively over the longer term following hospital treatment. Through art therapy based on visual-art and drama elements, also incorporating symbol-therapy methods, we work to mobilise resilient aspects of personality and strengthen functioning that remains available to the young person.

Where necessary, we collaborate with the child's treating psychiatrist, individual therapist and the family's family therapist.

Conditions for participation following hospital referral:

  • Hospital discharge summary.
  • Regular participation in parent consultations.
  • Acceptance that, where necessary, we may contact the child's treating psychiatrist.

Group leaders: Fruzsina Marsalkó – art therapist and applied artist; Júlia Veres – clinical psychologist and child psychodrama practitioner.

Participation is available only through the Lotilko Programme. Enquiries: lotilkoadmin@murmo.hu.