practice social and assertiveness skills (e.g., expressing needs, opinions, and feelings) through different activities including role playing. Conflict resolution and fair fighting skills can be learned to improve relationships.
COPING WITH VOICES
The group offers education about auditory hallucinations, sometimes called “voices,” and the opportunity for an individual to discuss their experience in a supportive environment. The goal of this group is to normalize the experience and provide ways to cope. New behaviors, activities, and ways of thinking will be explored that will help you regain your focus, decrease anxiety, increase relaxation, and improve mood. Through this, you will be able to decrease the intensity and/or frequency of the negative voices.
CORE BELIEFS
Core beliefs play a role in the very essence of how we see ourselves, other people, the world, and the future. Through reassuring group discussions, concrete reasoning, and your own life experiences, you will be guided through a process to find and challenge any beliefs you discover that may be “faulty or untrue” and then “rewrite” them into more realistic and balanced perspectives.
EXPRESSION THROUGH POETRY
This group provides a creative outlet for self-expression. By eliminating the structure of prose or verbal conversation, poetry facilitates the expression of feelings and emotions. The purpose is to teach a new method that you can use to identify and communicate your feelings. All skill and experience levels are welcome.
FOCUS GROUP
Focus group is an opportunity to express thoughts about your care (concerns, recommendations, and things that have been done well) with written feedback. The information obtained from this group is provided to the Nurse Manager and the Quality Council, where changes may be implemented to improve the quality of care provided to patients. In this group, you will have an opportunity to ask questions about the unit and what you can expect from your treatment team. You will also learn what is expected from you as a patient. Special hospital programs, such as Favors and the patient library, will be explained.
GENTLE MOVEMENT AND RELAXATION
The purpose of this group is to offer experiences in different forms of gentle movement: Tai Chi (slow movements in the Chinese tradition of a soft martial art), juggling, and/or drumming. The group also includes relaxation activities such as breathing meditation, guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, and/or mindfulness activities. Both gentle movement and relaxation activities can help decrease tension in the body and decrease anxiety in the mind, creating an overall sense of control, relaxation, and well-being.
GRIEF AND LOSS
The goal of Grief Group is to reach some grief resolution and to learn new coping skills. Grief and loss are a natural part of our lives, yet left unattended they take their toll on our physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual wellbeing. In the group, you will learn about the grief process and feelings while sharing and exploring your individual loss. This group is partly educational and partly active participation from group members.
JOURNALING
Writing in your journal promotes health through self-expression and aids in organizing and clarifying your thoughts and feelings. In this group, you will have an opportunity to write and share with the group if you so choose. The group leader may provide you with prompts or ideas for your writing.
LEISURE SKILLS AND ACTIVITY GROUPS
The purpose of these groups is to use resources in the unit to achieve specific goals identified by you and your treatment team. A variety of activities and materials are available, including recreational games, educational CDs and books, relaxation techniques, and exercise equipment. Patients may be permitted to bring a visitor to some of the leisure groups (particularly pet therapy, open art, karaoke, and games), though it will ultimately depend on the group leader’s discretion.
MEDITATION GROUP
This group is a chance to experience a mindfulness-based stress reduction/relaxation technique that has been around for thousands of years. Practicing meditation has been proven to lead to better health and improvements in our overall lifestyle and wellbeing. Each week we will practice a different form of meditation such as guided imagery, sitting meditation, body scan, or visualization.
MIND/BODY CONNECTION
This group discusses the relationship between our physical and mental health. You will take a deeper look into your mind/body relationship and identify methods of intervening when this relationship develops into a negative cycle. Mind/Body Connection group increases self-awareness and empowerment while providing tools and suggestions for maintaining physical and mental health.
MINDFULNESS
This is a relaxation/skills building group where you will discuss and engage in exercises that promote mindfulness, a state of being in the present moment, so you are not ruminating about the past or the future. Mindfulness can help you to become grounded and observe situations in a new way; it enhances your ability to think more clearly so that your tolerance of distress increases and your reactions to stress decrease.
MORNING CHECK-IN
Morning check-in is an opportunity for you to check in with your peers, yourself, and the group leader about your wellness, as well as set goals for the day. The objective is to help you get into the habit of assessing your own wellness and increasing your self-awareness, based on some of the tools from the W.R.A.P. group (page 7). Setting goals for the day increases structure and contributes to maintaining healthy activity levels and overall wellness.
NARRATIVE MEDICINE
In this group, the focus is on recognizing and validating one’s narratives as a way to promote healing, foster creativity, and encourage self-reflection. This allows us to treat patients as people with individual stories, rather than limiting our examination to clinical symptoms exclusively.
NUTRITION
Our psychological wellbeing is strongly impacted by the health of our physical bodies. You will learn about eating nutrient-rich foods, maintaining a healthy body weight, and keeping a balanced diet. Food sensitivities and allergies will be addressed if relevant to those in the group. This group also focuses on feelings of empowerment and motivation around self-care.
OPEN ART
The purpose of this group is to use color, form, and materials to express oneself in a supportive atmosphere. You will experiment with different types of painting, coloring, pastels, and collages while relaxing and socializing. This group is also about developing or restoring an interest in crafts, which can help one to foster new interests, achieve success, and accomplish goals. You choose from a variety of craft projects. Working with crafts can be a productive way to manage stress and increase concentration.
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