Friendship Building Psychological Services, PLLC

02/13/2026

As we approach Valentine’s Day, we’re reminded that friendship and kindness are skills that grow through understanding and practice ♥️

One book we love using with children around this time of year is A Wrinkled Heart. Through a simple, tangible metaphor, the story shows how moments of unkindness, exclusion, or misunderstanding can leave a mark—and how empathy, repair, and kindness can help heal those moments.

For many children, this visual representation makes abstract social concepts easier to understand. It opens meaningful conversations about how words and actions affect others, and how small moments of repair can matter.

It’s a powerful reminder that social learning is not just about behavior, but about awareness, connection, and care.

Check out A Wrinkled Heart on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wrinkled-Heart-Tracy-Hoexter/dp/B0FXBBT3GJ

02/09/2026

Friendship Building Psychological Services is founded by licensed psychologists with deep expertise in child development, social thinking, and evidence-based approaches to care.

Dr. Fern and Dr. Kristin began working together over eight years ago, running social skills groups in a school setting. As their individual private practices grew, a consistent challenge emerged: children could learn social strategies in individual therapy, but struggled to generalize those skills naturally with peers.

That insight led to Friendship Building. Groups are intentionally designed to allow children to learn and practice real-world social skills, with expert guidance and carefully matched peers.

Dr. Fern and Dr. Kristin remain closely involved in every aspect of our work, personally overseeing screening and curriculum development, while continuing to run groups themselves.
As our community has grown, we’ve built a supportive team of licensed and certified clinicians who help lead groups and provide consistent, high-quality care. Many families stay with us for years, not because of promises, but because of progress.

We believe social skills can be taught, practiced, and strengthened when done thoughtfully, explicitly, and with the right support.

02/06/2026

Friendship Building Psychological Services was created to help children and teens build friendships, confidence, and comfort in social interactions.

Our programs are designed for children ages 4–17 who communicate verbally, show strong thinking and learning abilities, and would benefit from support navigating the more subtle and/or nuanced parts of building friendships. For example: joining conversations, sustaining reciprocal conversations, reading social cues, demonstrating flexibility/emotion regulation, or maintaining friendships over time.

Our groups are thoughtfully designed and led by psychologists, with a structured, evidence-based approach to social/emotional learning. Skills are explicitly taught, broken into manageable steps, and practiced through guided, supportive group experiences.

We believe meaningful progress happens when parents are supported, which is why we collaborate with families to help social skills extend naturally into school, home, and everyday life.

Our goal is simple: to help children build confidence through growing skills and competence, while ensuring families feel supported every step of the way.

01/20/2026

Making friends is a skill — and it can be learned.

Our 10-week social skills groups support children and teens (Pre-K–12th grade) in developing confidence, connection, and practical friendship skills they can use in everyday life.

Groups are thoughtfully structured to provide developmentally appropriate instruction, guided practice, and meaningful opportunities for growth, and are led by psychologists with decades of experience in social development.

📅 January groups are now enrolling and space is limited.
👉 Learn more and register today

Request to join Let’s take the next step. We’d love to talk to you and learn more about your child. Fill out the form and we will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also reach out directly atDr. Fern Sandler (646) 263-1029Dr. Kristin Schmermund (516) 509-0549FriendshipBuildingPsych@gma...

12/31/2025

Cheers to a new year filled with growth, connection, and building friendships. Happy New Year from the FBPS team—we’re so grateful for our families and community.

12/24/2025

Making friends is a skill — and it can be learned.

Our 10-week social skills groups support children and teens (Pre-K–12th grade) in developing confidence, connection, and practical friendship skills they can use in everyday life.

Groups are thoughtfully structured to provide developmentally appropriate instruction, guided practice, and meaningful opportunities for growth, and are led by psychologists with decades of experience in social development.

📅 January groups are now enrolling and space is limited.
👉 Learn more and register today https://www.friendshipbuildingpsych.com/join

Let’s build friendship skills together We help kids develop social competence, confidence, and coping skills for life. Inquire Today Social skills training by experienced, licensed psychologists Friendship Building Psychological Services, PLLC, is Long Island’s leading psychologist-led social s...

12/19/2025

🎉 Big news! 🎉 Our new website is live, and our January groups are ready! Our groups are led by credentialed professionals — so kids not only have fun but gain real-world social skills with expert guidance. 🤗💙
www.friendshipbuildingpsych.com

12/12/2025

Hey everyone! Our main website is being updated, but we’re excited to share that January programs are open for sign-ups! 🙌

All the details you need are on our temporary page:

http://januaryfriendshipbuilding.squarespace.com

Can’t wait to see you soon — new website coming your way!

Let’s build friendship skills together We help kids develop social competence, confidence, and coping skills for life. Inquire Today Social skills training by experienced, licensed psychologists Friendship Building Psychological Services, PLLC, is Long Island’s leading psychologist-led social s....

09/27/2025

09/17/2025