Common Rules
Phone rules and expectations
What is turn on vibrate, phones down during group beside me, if I have an important call I can step outside and take it and return quickly back to class unless its an emergency I will talk to group leader.
Group times and days
What is:
BASIC: Tuesday and Thursday 9am-11am
IOP: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 9am-12pm
SACOT: Monday-Friday 9am-1pm
Cut off to enter group is 9:15 am (Group starts)
The group leader has the ability to approve if notified in a timely manor BASIC and IOP the option to let you come in late and stay over to make that time up AS LONG as it not disturbing check-in and your peers and its not a everyday occurrence.
The meaning of Active Listening
What is the meaning of Active listening it is a communication skill that involves fully concentrating, understanding, and responding to the speaker. It goes beyond merely hearing words; it requires engaging with the speaker's message both verbally and nonverbally. Key aspects of active listening include:
The meaning of "Strong opinions, loosely held"
What is the idea "strong opinions, loosely held" is that anyone is allowed to express their strong opinions, but at the same be open to change their mind if they new data suggests that they might be wrong.
The meaning of "Be present, or be elsewhere"
What is The more people zone out of a meeting, the quality of the meeting and its output will diminish rapidly. Often people do this unconsciously because they feel that the meeting isn't relevant for them. "Be present, or be elsewhere" is a good meeting guidelines to establish shared awareness and clear expectations one participants.
Break expectations
What is we get a 10 minute break around 10am, 11am, 12pm where we can go outside and handle any business that we need to, smoking or vaping is NOT aloud on the property.
What is also if you need to take a break, a breather, a moment we understand everyone has rough days. However if you spend more time outside of the group than inside of the group we will talk and see what is going on and how can we assist, if this is a common occurrence you will be marked present for check in and not present for group time, this is to keep if fair across the board to your treatment recommendations to be present in group and to your peers that are in groups as well.
The meaning of "Confidentiality"
What is It’s not just for Las Vegas. What’s said at group stays at group. No one wants to find out he or she has been the subject of gossip or well-meaning “prayer discussions.” This is probably the most important ground rule of all.
This could be grounds from termination from the program. This is a small town and we will find that we will see people that ran in similar circles however what happens in group stays in group. If you happen to run into someone you know that is entering treatment that could be a risk to you please let the group leader know so that we can see if we can adjust and assist.
The importance of group rules
What is
Ground rules serve multiple purposes, including:
The meaning of "Disagree without being disagreeable"
What is Disagree without being disagreeable" means that it's fine to have a different opinion, but that participants should express their disagreement to each other in a constructive way. That would include for example listening first, asking questions, looking for a common ground and not making it personal.
The meaning of "Share the air"
What is This ground rule strengthens the importance of being inclusive and making space for other – often quiet and hesitant – participants. It's everyone's responsibility, to find ways that everyone can contribute their ideas and thoughts to the meeting.
If I am going to be late or absent expectations.
Call the office 704-476-4106 so a note can be entered into your chart, if you are provided transport please give the driver as BIG as and advanced notice that you can. (A lot goes into making routes for two programs)
Any substances and alcohol
What is we should not come to group under the influence, that includes smelling like alcohol or weed.
This may be grounds for your group leader to ask that you leave for the day as this could be a BIG trigger to your peers and that is not fair to them to be exposed to it.
War stories, boasting, bragging, glorifying
What is this is a safe space and where we will begin to process a lot of our past hopefully, however the past does not define us.
Examples
Good: processing addiction, substances, guilt, shame, who we hurt including ourselves, living situations, who we were and where we are going
Bad: everything is surrounding your comments about how trying to be the biggest and baddest, beating your chest, trying to be the ALFA, this is not the life we are headed to and we do not have to keep that persona of "street cread" "jail cell" "the center of attentions"
This room is a safe place within this group to show your true self not to be the leader of pack we are all as one doing our best at the moment and trying to find a true pack of support and understanding.
The meaning of "Seek first to understand, not to be understood"
What is Normally, we do this in reverse. Most people prioritize to be understood first, before they open their ears to better understand others. This can have a negative impact on the meeting. Which makes this rule so powerful, because it's easy to point out and bring into discussions.
The meaning of "Discuss undiscussable issues"
What is Undiscussable issues are those issues that are on everyones mind, but no one is able to bring them forwards. Most often because they are afraid of the consequences or think the context isn't the right one to address the issue. "Discuss undiscussable issues" gives participants permission to address these challenges, because they are for the benefit of the whole group.
Drug screen expectations
What is upon admission you signed and agreed that drug screens are once a week unless asked by my group counselor. This is part of your responsibility as well as the group counselor to ensure that these are completed. Sometimes these quick dip test can throw a positive this way we can challenge if need be and send to the lab instead of filing that one and then a question come up when you request records and that urine is long gone there is no going back.
Relationships
What is relationships is that we are coed and everyone wants connections and love, however it is not a good choice to date within the group setting due to conflict of interest and both of you are currently working on yourself. It has been tried before you and the ending 9.9 times out of 10 it did not end well for either party.
The meaning of gossip
What is Gossip and secret grudges can be very destructive in a group. I agree that if I have something to say to another group member, I will try to say it to the member directly rather than talk about him/ her behind his/her back.
Do you really want to be the reason someone chooses not to come back the next group?
The meaning of "Tackle problems, not people"
What is When people feel that they personal viewpoint is under attack, they often feel hurt, lash out and attack back. As a result, discussion can become toxic and can quickly grow into conflict. "Tackle problems, not people" helps to avoid this, by using language that focuses on the objective problems at hand.
The meaning of "Agree to disagree"
What is "Agree to disagree" highlights that there is always an option to come to an agreement, even though two people or a group disagree with each other. How? Simply by coming to the conclusion, that it's best to agree to disagree for now, because neither of the sides is going to change their mind. After this agreement, the group can stop arguing and move on.
If I need a letter for court, probation, DSS, parole, etc
What is please let the group leader know in advance IF you can before the appointment or need. We have the same break as everyone in group and it allows us to get a materials, breathe, or bathroom during this time.
The meaning of respect
What is respect this a mutual requirement for you as a group member and us as a group leader. Our goal is to have common ground and be supportive of each other by no means from either party be a power struggle or showing dominance. We have managers, surveys, phone numbers, and Grievance Forms at anytime that you would like one if you encounter any instances that you feel like your voice was not heard by the group leader, we do encourage you talking to us and give us a chance to address any issues but if you feel that you have and no results these are options as well. We want a therapeutic team with us all but we also understand if it ain't the right fit and this is your recovery. We will try to accommodate anything that we can to assist.
Programs I have access to this is my recovery treatment
What is we have a lot of different things within the umbrella of Phoenix Counseling that you can access or if we don’t have it we can find a referral source:
Groups day and evening
Transportation can assist with getting to group IOP and SACOT they can also assist sitting up Transportation with your insurance carrier. (Daytime)
Med Management they offer MAT, Mental Health medications, assistance with sleep issues (really big issue in soberity for a lot of people) anything except physical health med management
Community Peer Support: Jackson is Shelby OP he can assist on the outside with a lot of different things (ID paperwork, Job applications, appointments, A LOT) if you are interested I can have him talk to you.
Individual sessions: everyone might not feel like talking about personal problems or needs within a group setting please reach out if you are interested in this service.
Partial Hospitalization (PH) Edy runs this program and this is geared towards when your mental health is the primary over your substance use, the Dr comes every Wednesday working with mental health stabilization. The program is Monday-Friday 9am-1pm.
Moores and adolescent program if you are needing assistance with your kids mental health or substance use.
The meaning of "Everyone participates, no one dominates"
What is There are always a mix of extrovert and introverted people in a meeting. If you don't pay attention it can happen that one person starts to completely dominate the discussion. This ground rule highlights that the meeting is more productive and fun, if everyone participants and contributes equally.
The meaning of "The 3-before-me Rule"
What is The "The 3-before-me Rule" says that everyone should wait until 3 other people have spoken, or 3 minutes have passed before speaking again. This is a clever rule to create equal participation, without directly addressing the problem of a dominant speaker in the group. Based on the size of the group, this can also be adjusted to the 2x2 or even 4x4 Rule.