We support and guide young people to get reconnected in a healthy way to their mind, body, and people, community, natural world, and everything beyond the individual. We provide guidance and opportunities for teens to experience themselves and their peers as creative, confident, aware, caring, connected, intelligent, capable beings through activities and healthy, direct, real, honest conversations.
Whole Person Facilitation
A healthy life includes a healthy mind, body, heart (emotions), and solid connection to the world around you (friends, family, community, and environment). Here’s what we do each week to help create greater health in each of these areas:
Mind – We provide opportunities for our members to be more aware of and use their mind to solve problems together. We teach tools to help teens observe their thoughts, evaluate their effectiveness, and use their creativity and experience to solve problems for themselves and the group.
Body – Most people are too sedentary in life and school. We get our group moving from the start. Every week we spend time outside, moving and being aware of our bodies and all they feelings and abilities they contain.
Heart – We talk directly about feelings. Good and bad. As you can see in the group statement below, we teach and practice developing caring, healthy relationships with one another. And when we hurt each other, which of course we always will do either intentionally or unintentionally, we learn how to repair it to regain trust and connection.
People and Community – Each week there are discussions about how we are relating to each other in both healthy and unhealthy ways. We make connections between what is happening in the group and what is happening at home, school, and other aspects of our lives.
Natural World – Each weekly group meets outside in good weather, and spends at least part of the time outside in poor weather. This helps teach resilience and not avoiding challenges. We teach and practice Leave No Trace to develop a healthy relationship with our environment and we engage in mindfulness exercise to reawaken our sensory awareness in the natural world. In addition, we have special trips monthly for committed and engaged members where we have fun, dive deeper into the outdoors, and use our body extensively and reconnect our senses and mind to the natural world.
Each Weekly Meeting
Each week has a different topic depending on individual and group needs. There is no set curriculum, rather each week is customized based on the current needs of the members and the dynamics present in the group informed by the leaders’ years of individual therapy and group facilitation experience. The general outline is this:
- Short Weekly Check-In
- Time For A Change – A movement based activity that gets people in their body and verbalizing their own needs and desire to make a change.
- A Short Fun Activity
- A more in-depth experiential activity designed to teach a skill the group needs through experience. Some
potential outcomes include problem solving, interpersonal relations, mindfulness skills, personal expression, emotional intelligence (awareness and regulation) trust, communication, behavioral control, goal setting, coping skills, conflict management, motivation, and more. - Discussion processing the activity, drawing out the lessons, connecting to life challenges and goals.
- Check out and commitment to apply a lesson for the coming week.
potential outcomes include problem solving, interpersonal relations, mindfulness skills, personal expression, emotional intelligence (awareness and regulation) trust, communication, behavioral control, goal setting, coping skills, conflict management, motivation, and more.Who attends the group?
Well the problems people are working to address are varied including social issues, academic performance, anxiety, depression, and more. One thing they all have in common is a desire to show up and learn to be better. What they see quickly, is what great people they are. In the first weeks of the group, the group members created and agreed on the following guidelines and expectations for the group that we revisit often:
OUTSIDE->IN GROUP STATEMENT
This is our group. The success or failure is up to us as members and as leaders. We are meeting together in search of ourselves. We work together to overcome common obstacles and we all share common ideas. What we share is HONESTY and COURAGE; what we hope to gain is TRUST. By expressing our feelings, hopes, fears, challenges and dreams, we can become know to one another and to ourselves. FRIENDSHIP and self-understanding are the rewards for working hard in this group.
Here are the agreements for this group to live by:
While in this group we will RESPECT the privacy of each group member by keeping the business of this group within this group. We SPEAK THE TRUTH and HEAR THE TRUTH. What we see here, say here, and do here, stays here. All members will keep each other SAFE, both mentally and physically. We are ACCEPTING of one another OPEN MINDED and RESPECT others personal space and possessions. It is just as important to be COMMITTED, PATIENT, ENTHUSIASTIC and SAFE. We follow directions and do not mess around. We keep our group space safe by not destroying property and cleaning up after ourselves. We will treat others the way we want to be treated. We will be HONEST, SENSITIVE and COMPASSIONATE. We will not interrupt others when they are talking and we will LISTEN to peers and leaders. Aggression, drugs and alcohol will not be tolerated in the group. There will be no side conversations as well. It is important that we are KIND to one another and most of all we want to learn about our own obstacles while HAVING FUN.
I agree to be challenged by choice and I will try to use “I” statements when expressing myself. I agree to give the best of my ability to this group and my experiences in it. I also agree that I will attempt to use the skills and tools that I am learning in this group in my daily life. I also agree to try to overcome my obstacles in a healthier and more positive manner. In this way, I am giving myself a chance to bring the benefits of the outside world and healthy relationships experienced here into my daily life.
Ready for More?
As you can see, this group is fun, challenging, and powerful. To ensure your teen gets the most out of it and doesn’t quit when things get hard, we ask for an 8-week commitment. Most people choose to stay longer, but there will be times when they are challenged and they may not want to go. We ask that these desires be shared with the group, the group leaders, and there is a commitment to work through them. That’s what this is all about.
To get started with the group. Contact Chuck or Alex for a free 30-minute consultation. We’ll talk more about what needs you have, how the group will meet those needs, and be sure the group is appropriate for your teen.
Do you have more questions not answered here? Contact us today at [email protected] or 970-556-4095 to learn more about how this group can help your teen.