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.
Do You Hear Me? Activity Title: Active Listening: Activity Mode: Psycho-Educational (Experiential)
Do You Hear Me? Activity Title: Active Listening: Activity Mode: Psycho-Educational (Experiential)
Rationale
This activity helps develop the skill of listening without immediately responding, as well as the experience of feeling “heard.” This can be a challenging process for everyone, our clients included.
In this exercise, we differentiate between reacting and responding and facilitate an active listening exercise that allows group members the experience of hearing each other and feeling heard. Many of the people we work with have little or no experience of feeling heard, and often we hear people respond in positive ways to this experience. Also, helping clients listen and not respond immediately can result in a new experience of more fully understanding ...
