Group Treatment Programs

Group therapy is one of the most important parts of our treatment program. Group treatment programs are both therapeutic and educational. The more our patients know about their disorders, the better they are able to understand and then control them. Groups are also effective for providing support for families and friends of our patients. We also educate them about eating disorders and psychiatric disorders, so they can better provide the support our patients need.

Group treatment programs are held at both the Thoreau Center (psychiatric care) and the Alcott Center (eating disorders service). Our group treatment programs include:

Thoreau / Milieu Groups:

Goals Groups
Individuals with mental illness are encouraged and supported in setting realistic personal and therapeutic goals for the day, which are reviewed and discussed in the evening wrap-up meeting.

Community Meeting
This meeting provides the patients and staff with the opportunity to openly discuss any issue which affects the entire milieu in a safe and supportive environment. Patients are encouraged to ask questions and give feedback regarding his or her experience on the Thoreau Center.

Wrap-Up Group
This group provides closure to each day by helping patients reflect on the challenges and successes of their daily goals along with an opportunity to discuss the days events.

Thoreau / Education Groups

Mental Health /Dual Diagnosis Education
This group helps patients understand the various aspects of dealing with (a) Mental Illnesses (b) Addiction to Alcohol and/or Drugs (c) Eating Disorders, Anorexia and/or Bulimia. Participants learn about their particular disease processes, ways to cope with their illnesses, and how to utilize the best treatment options.

Medication Education
As with any disease, the right medication can help people control and overcome their psychiatric disorders, addictions, and/or eating disorders. Medication sessions include discussions about side effects, tracking symptoms, self-monitoring and the importance of taking medication as prescribed, and the challenges of compliance.

Nutrition Education
Learn the basics of nutrition and how to create and balance healthy eating habits that foster good health and increased energy.

Thoreau / Coping Skills (Various Topics):

Communication Skills
This group focuses on understanding how to improve social skills as a way to minimize stress. Topics include: communication styles, assertiveness techniques, and strategies for positive social interactions.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Skills
These groups provide an introduction to concepts and skills taught through Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Strategies for self-care and safety, coping, managing emotions as presented under the DBT topics: distress tolerance, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness.

Dual Diagnosis/ Relapse Prevention
This group addresses the challenges of living with mental illnesses, addictions, and/or eating disorders identifying and preventing potential barriers to recovery. Topics focus on recognizing relapse symptoms, such as, early warning signs, and ways to be pro-active in treatment.

Anger Management
Focus of the group is on understanding healthy and unhealthy expressions of anger. The impact of unhealthy relationships along with expression of anger is explored and discussed, along with identifying options and strategies to cope with triggers.

Life Skills
This group explores the meaning of wellness and methods to create a balance of life. Topics address identifying daily challenges to wellness, ways to enhance well being and health, and how to improve self-care, time, and money management skills.

Dual Diagnosis/Recovery Skills/ Recovery Workbook
These groups address the special issues of members living with mental illness, eating disorders, and/or chemical dependency. Material will cover understanding addictions, identifying and preventing potential barriers to recovery, recognizing early warning signs, identifying ways to be pro-active in treatment, and seeking and accepting support.

Self Awareness
Through activity and discussions this group provides an opportunity to learn about factors that impact self-esteem and strategies to improve it. Clients will explore personal values and strengths and practice self-acceptance in a safe and supportive environment.

Thoreau / Activity Groups

Creative Expression
This group explores creative ways of expressing thoughts and feelings in a relaxing and supportive environment, examples include: collages, writing, drawing, ect.

Current Events
Newspapers are read and current topics and discussed in a supportive setting. This group provides participants an opportunity to express opinions on relevant issues, to stimulate discussions, and to raise awareness around local and global current events.

Gentle Exercise, Stretch/Relaxation
Beginning the day with either an enjoyable series of gentle exercises, stretches, or relaxation techniques can improve health, decrease tension, and improve focus and concentration.

Leisure Skills
Through experiential activities and discussion, this group helps clients to explore and identify new interests, and offers the benefits of healthy leisure activity as part of a balanced lifestyle.

Project Groups
This group offers a relaxed and friendly setting in which to work on creative projects. Therapeutic activity provides an opportunity to explore and develop new leisure interests, improve self-esteem, increase concentration, practice new coping new skills, create a sense of accomplishments, and explore creative ways of expressing thoughts and feelings.

Recreation
This group helps to engage individuals in interactive recreational activities. The focus will be on creating a fun and relaxed setting in which to practice and improve social, leisure, and relaxation skills. Activities may include: board games, group games, cards, ect.

Relaxation Skills
This group teaches the benefits of practicing specific relaxation techniques (guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, and breathing techniques ect.) that can be used for managing symptoms of stress and anxiety, sleeplessness, pain, or physical discomfort, and can become part of a balanced lifestyle.

Snack & Chat
This is an afternoon social hour with healthy snacks, good conversation and a relaxed fun atmosphere in which to experience positive social interactions.

Therapeutic Games/Activity
Creative games and activities designed to teach self awareness, coping, and social skills in a fun and educational format, games include: Coping Skills Scattegories, Insight or Social Bingo, Values Auction etc.

Alcott / Milieu Groups:

Intentions
Each morning patients come together after breakfast and "check in," individually explaining how they are doing and stating an intended goal for the day. At the end of the day, during a wrap-up session, they reflect on whether they achieved their goals.

Wrap-Up
The "wrap-up" group mirrors the work of the intentions group. It provides an opportunity to come together at the end of the day to review progress toward goals outlined in the intentions group, and to discuss what went well and what did not.

Alcott / Education Groups:

Nutrition
Nutrition recommendations and guidelines are discussed continuously, including why eating is necessary and what impact various foods and nutrients have on the body and the brain. Nutrition groups also discuss strategies for interrupting disordered eating behaviors.

Eating Disorders
It is difficult to conquer the unknown. The better our patients understand their eating disorders, and the more they know about them, the better their chances of recovering. Discussions cover the impact of eating disorders on a person's physical and psychological well-being.

Medication
As with any disease, the right medication can help people control and overcome their eating disorders and psychiatric disorders. Groups include discussions about side effects, tracking symptoms, self-monitoring and the importance of taking medication as prescribed.

Adolescent Groups
Adolescents aged 13 to 18 are grouped together to discuss developmental issues and other issues that are specific to their age groups.

Process Groups
Recovery is a process that is affected by many issues. Sometimes smaller groups are formed to discuss specific issues in greater depth. These "process" groups focus on a particular theme and discuss very in-depth information based on that theme.

Alcott / Coping Skills (Various Topics):

Interrupting Cycles and Promoting Behavioral Change
The same principles that are used for changing other harmful behaviors, including drug and alcohol abuse, self-injuring behavior and even anger, can be used to control eating disordered behavior. These sessions include discussions covering many different strategies for altering behavior, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), self-monitoring, identifying triggers, cognitive restructuring and chain analysis.

Adaptive Coping
What triggers eating-disordered behavior or psychiatric disorders? This group blends theories and strategies, and includes discussions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and related therapies, including chain analysis, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), mindfulness and self-care. CBT emphasizes the role of thinking and its impact on how we feel and what we do. Because thinking causes us to feel and act the way we do, CBT teaches that we can affect how we feel and what we do by identifying the thinking that is causing unwanted actions and replacing it with thoughts that lead to desired actions.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
DBT is a type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that begins with accepting our behavior, then working to change it. It teaches patients skills for dealing effectively with others, handling emotions and changing harmful behavior.

Media and Culture
The perfect body image fostered by the media and by our culture manipulates people and creates feelings of fear, insecurity and decreased self worth. By understanding it, we can better avoid being negatively influenced.

Stages of Change
Using a model that has proven to be effective, this group examines how ready people are to make real, lasting changes in their behavior. Once patients have a realistic assessment of where they are today, they can more accurately assess what steps they need to take to advance to the next stage.

Assertiveness
Participants learn to identify, value and validate their feelings and needs, and how to appropriately express themselves with others. They learn the difference between passivity, assertiveness and aggression, and develop their skills through role-playing.

Family Issues
Family dynamics can have a major impact on an individual's health. Participants discuss family issues, both past and present, and gain insights about the impact of these issues and how to deal with them.

Body Image
Individuals with eating disorders have distorted images of their bodies. This group explores body image and how it relates to participants, thoughts, feelings and perceptions, as influenced by messages received through the media and other cultural forces.

Relapse Prevention
Strategies for making a successful transition to a less intensive level of care are discussed. The group identifies high-risk situations, strategies for preventing relapse, the importance of maintaining healthy connections with people who can provide support, the role of the outpatient team and what to do if a relapse occurs.

Stress Management
The health implications of stress are discussed, as well as how to deal with and decrease stress, and general wellness principles for enhanced health and well-being.

Bulimia, Binging and Compulsive Eating
The focus of this group is on nutrition, overeating and strategies for controlling binging. Discussion includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), general wellness strategies and the use of Fairburn's Model.

Alcott / Activity Groups

Writing Therapy
Writing facilitates reflection and expression of thoughts and feelings. It helps many people gain a better understanding of themselves and increases self awareness.

Expressive Therapy
People express themselves in many ways, including art, movement, drama and writing. Creativity, imagination and spontaneity help patients to explore and discover themselves - and by discovering themselves, learn to better control their behavior.