Summary
Contents
Group Activities for Families in Recovery offers therapists a wealth of activities designed to help families struggling with addiction address problem areas of functioning, and ultimately shift from dysfunctional patterns to healthy living. Written by expert practitioners in family-oriented substance abuse treatment programs, this text focuses on group therapy as a key component to treatment.
Beginning with a brief overview of the issues involved in working from a systemic family therapy perspective of addiction, the text discusses practical guidelines for working with families in groups and how to best utilize the exercise in the book. The collection of 30 group activities are suitable for a variety of family-oriented substance abuse treatment groups. They are divided into seven sections covering the key issues of:
1. Family Structure; 2. Family Identity; 3. Sober Fun; 4. Toward Health; 5. Anger Management; 6. Healthy Communication; 7. Parenting
The activities are varied and include topics presented through expressive arts (drawing, writing, acting), game-playing, problem solving, enactments, worksheets, and roleplaying. The activities can be used individually, incorporated into another program, or stand alone as a 16-week (or longer) program. They can also be adapted for use in groups where children or present, or for adult-family groups.
Our Different Experiences: Activity Title: Answer by Moving: Activity Mode: Experiential
Our Different Experiences: Activity Title: Answer by Moving: Activity Mode: Experiential
Rationale
In our experience, many group members come to group with reluctance, often thinking they are different than everyone else. After participating in group for some time, most group members move past this initial experience. As connection builds among group members, they will often share their initial experience with newcomers who enter the group.
This activity helps group members recognize they have surprising things in common with other people (including group leaders) in the group. The exercise facilitates the group answering various questions by moving to one end of the room or another so that the answers are very visible. For example, one question may be, ...
