5/9/22 - Fun Icebreaker: "What's the First Thing You'd Do If.". READ: To Control or Not to ControlIs that the Question? The process is easy: Take turns allowing everyone in the group to make a thoughtful statement. Everyone has some kind of story where they were on a path in a direction that was not working for them and they were able to somehow turn it around and get moving in the right direction. 5/26/22 - Brief Outline for Discussing Violence in the Media. What skills will you use to COPE? LOW - What do you think will be the most difficult thing you will have to do in the next month (and why?). Have some fun answering questions as a group using this random question generator website -. Imagine a fantasy scenario where someone else is going to take your place in life for one month. takingtheescalator.com Addiction and Substance Use Resources, Non 12 Step Motivational Harm Reduction Tools for Substance Use & Mental Health, This page contains regular updates with brief group therapy modules, discussion points, icebreakers, . April 29, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT. New fun, easy, interesting group therapy activity - Sure to get group talking: "The Randomizer" -. EXAMPLE - "I feel like if I tried to be more outgoing I would have more friends. Go around the group and have group members share about a person (real - dead or alive - or fictional) whom they can relate to and why. New group therapy material - Insight and self awareness building for SUD/COD groups - Find Yourself - https://takingtheescalator.blogspot.com//find-yourself.html takingtheescalator.blogspot.com Find Yourself What is Self-Honesty and Why is it So Important? takingtheescalator.com Addiction and Substance Use Resources, Non 12 Step Motivational Harm Reduction Tools for Substance Use & Mental Health. What was the BEST job you ever had and why? This icebreaker is about innocent* ways that we all go against the grain in our own unique way, *The only rule is to keep discussion innocent (harmless) and light. The Real in Substance Use Treatment, Escalator Second Floor: Acknowledge and Reinforce Strengths, Simple Insight Inventory - Strengthening existing insight to build motivation, Simple Insight Inventory II - (External/Support) - Working on external motivators and supports, Pick a Card - A variety of questions for insightful discussion. If not how can you increase your time in nature? Special Message for People Who Have Signed Up, Simple Questions During Complex Challenges. What could this group achieve if everyone worked together in unity? 2 - What is one thing you can say that you are "great" at? The Setback-Motivation Guide - Start here to determine what areas you need to work on below: Staying the Course Toward Success Know the SIGNS, Before and After: Preparing for and Coping with Special Events, Weekend Plan - A basic planning tool for surviving weekends, Holiday Survival Plan - Planning ahead to get through any holiday without setbacks or relapse -, Escalator Seventh Floor: Supplemental Suggestions and Considerations, Meaning and Purpose in the Change Process, Coping with Death and Dying - A simple outline for discussing coping with a recent loss without abusing substances, FOR COUNSELORS READ: Engagement Tool - Values and Values and CBT, VIDEO LINK - Values - What's Important - (Corresponds to the above worksheet), Lifeboat Activity - Lifeboat exercises are nothing new but this one has had good success, It's Easy to Be Honest When You Have Nothing to Lie About, READ - Personality Issues: The Honest Truth, Getting Your Needs Met: Manipulation vs. Persuasion, (The Escalator method is a harm reduction approach overall however the following info specifically addresses harm reduction issues and topics), Understanding Harm Reduction and Medication Assisted Treatment -The Basics, Understanding Harm Reduction - The Podcast - (Based on the above outline - click title to listen), Taking an Honest Look at Abstinence, Harm Reduction, Substitution & Cross Addiction, READ -Straight D's -A Simple Harm Reduction and MAT Illustration, Adolescent/Young Adult Specific Worksheets and Information, For Counselors: READ: Working with Adolescents and Young People, Adolescent Substance Use - A basic educational outline for those working with adolescents and parents, Adolescent Substance Use Group (Multiple Choice) - This is a kahoot activity for adolescent substance use groups, ADOLESCENTS: RISK FACTORS - Exploring risk factors for substance use issues with young people, Icebreakers and Group Cohesion Building -, (These are less about education and more about building up the group in a positive manner which can be equally important), Group Glue - This one has a little bit of education because it explains the power and value of group cohesion, Brief Group Module and Icebreaker Collection 1 - Multiple shorter activities to choose from in this collection, Brief Group Module and Icebreaker Collection 2 - More, Making the Most out of Substance Use Treatment - This one is different because it is an interactive Kahoot activity, Telehealth Specific Group Cohesion Building Activities - Ideas specifically for virtual video groups, Declare-Disclose-Display - A variety of ways to get the group talking and interacting, Social Media Icebreaker - Exercise for self expression based on social media, Grading the Group - Interactive group report card, Grab Bag - A great list of interesting, questions and other situations to get people talking, Giving Activities - There is more happiness in giving than receiving, Fun Facts - Group Cohesion Building with some substance use and mental health info, Group Member Fill In the Blank - A great exercise to have fun and make group interactive, Describe - Draw - Describe - Get group sharing thoughts and feelings with art, Deep and Personal - Some in depth personal questions for opening people up, Slips of Paper - A quick and easy icebreaker that gets a group talking with no prep time, Unique - Discussing what you would and wouldnt do, Care or Don't Care Icebreaker - Another basic tool for starting group discussion, Majority - Interactive exercise, better for an established group than a new one, Choose or Lose Icebreaker - Some basic multiple choice questions for opening up discussion, Icebreakers for Break Time - Short but interesting group assignments for breaks in between groups, Sophisticated Debates - Communicating your viewpoint in a respectful way, Pointless Pursuits - (Warning: only try this if you and the group members have established a degree of comfort with one another), The League of Just Us - A basic activity about superheroes just for fun, Escalator Jeopardy - A comprehensive educational review in relaxed game format, Group Topics, Ideas and Worksheets for Closing Group, Goodbye Group - An outline for group when someone is leaving, graduating or moving on, VIDEO: Life Story Video - LB HEARS Episode 1 - Nikki Tierney - (Click to view). How are you living your life differently as a result of these experiences? Take turns answering the following amusing "what if" scenarios by completing the sentence: There are moments in life that serve as "eye openers" in the sense that they suddenly get us to view the world in a completely different way. Icebreaker question: When you stare into a vast expanse like the night sky filled with stars or the ocean, what are some of the thoughts that come into your mind during those deep moments? As an icebreaker discussion: Everyone in the group should give their thoughts on this scenario:If you could unite the world to agree to work together on one goal or project,what would you choose and why? For Counselors - READ: What are Coexisting Issues? There is also a large selection of TREATMENT PLANNING material on this page too. How can technology be used in a positive way to improve mental health? The 11 Step Guide for Life Coaches, Pastoral Counselors and Therapist, Grief and Loss Workbook from Better Endings, Substance Abuse and Overdose: When a Loved One Dies, Understanding and Coping with Guilt and Shame, Simple Insight Inventory II - (External/Support), Should I See My Friend's Therapist? At the end of each subheading section are some additional resources from around the web for Taking the Escalator users to look through and download. A time when I wish I would have listened was. Did you know that Taking the Escalator is not just a resource site but it is also a highly effective Method for counseling? Consider some examples below: " I always aced my way through school my whole life until graduation, then the first time I went to college and got a bad grade because the work was just too hard for me, it was like a smack in the face that I could no longer breeze by without trying too hard any more", "For the first half of my life I thought that people who got addicted were weak until one day in my 50's I had surgery and got hooked on pain pills and now I see the real struggle involved", "I dumped or cheated on everyone I dated for years until one day I got really attached to someone who ended up suddenly dumping me for someone else and it crushed me and I have a new perspective on how I treated other people in my past", AS A GROUP: Share some of your own "Eye Opener" moments, 4/27/22 - Group Discussion: "Gratitude Moment: I Thought I Would Never But I Did! The invention of the escalator was, literally, ground-breaking. You get to sit and have dinner with any three people in the world or in history, alive or dead, for one hour to have a deep discussion on the topic of your choice. More therapy material posted several times per week - JOIN: Need a quick icebreaker to start out your group? ", For this brief group exercise, everyone in the group should share at least one positive life achievement that has exceeded past expectations. Based on what you have heard in this group so far, what else can you do to increase your motivation to successfully get going in the morning? Directions: Discuss the following three points as a group icebreaker. Some potential topics - FOOD, HOBBIES, MUSIC, EXPERIENCES, ENTERTAINMENT, We all know about warning labels on things like medication which may have a warning label that says "Do not drive or operate heavy machinery after taking" or something like that. Going the Distance: Sustaining Motivation, Outside In - Building yourself up on the inside by developing a solid plan, Pet Appreciation - Discussing how animals can help us cope, Systems Check - A checklist review of what is needed to move forward and upward, Motivation, Determination, & Habit in Recovery- (Submitted by Cassie Jewell), Self-Assessment: Giving Yourself Credit Where Credit is Due, EXTERNAL MOTIVATION - Strengthening existing supports and outside motivators, READ: External Motivation Background Information, External Motivation - Looking at what pushes us to change and ways to increase support, Support Report - Assessing and maximizing exisiting potential support system, Healthy Families - Looking at positive family qualities, Family Match Game - An icebreaker discussion for multii-family therapy group, Escalator Third Floor: Enhancing Areas of Need, Check In - A basic tool for checking in where you are today, Check In Cheat Sheet - A comprehensive list of information and ideas for the check in process in therapy, Taking a Trip to the Other Side - Again exploring insight and motivation building from new perspectives, Change Analysis - Examining the actual, the real and the ideal, Point of View Adjustment - Looking at other viewpoints to gain awareness, Shielding - Looking at how we may try to protect ourselves from incomfortable realities, A Journey Through Change - Looking at change from various perspectives, Life's Education: Breaking the pattern of repeated mistakes, Garbages and Gardens (Attitude Made Simple). To Control or Not to ControlIs that the Question? Back Submit. What is a lesson you learned from a difficult time or event in your life that you will never forget? This is a straightforward group activity for building insight. Everyone has some kind of story where they were on a path in a direction that was not working for them and they were able to somehow turn it around and get moving in the right direction. Materials that are from outside sources are marked with a square bullet point as done for this line. San Francisco's empty $2.2 billion Salesforce transit center is a microcosm of the city's fading downtown, which is having the slowest recovery among U.S. cities. 6/1/22 - Icebreaker: "The Old Soul in Me". What are some things from your life that would be included in the exhibit? This page is the primary source for therapy material. You should be receiving an order confirmation from Paypal shortly. ", "Since I have been more health conscious I have become accustomed to eating vegetables, which I used to hate", "I used to go to concerts and get so high and drunk I would forget most what even happened, but I have since really learned to love and appreciate the show and the music with a sober and clear mind", A billionaire handed you a credit card and said go out and buy anything you want, The president called you and said you can do anything you want today and you will be legally pardoned, You woke up with the opportunity to trade lives with one person in the world for the next 24 hours, You could snap your fingers and change one thing for good, As you know, to "go against the grain" means to choose a path that does not go with the flow of society. - Getting honest about the real reasons for coming to treatment, Wisdom, Intelligence and Changing Your Paradigm, READ - Integrity - (Reflective reading submitted by Charles Radiola, MA, LCADC), Life Story Outline - An outline for presenting life stories in substance use treatment groups, Living Up to Your Potential - Part 1 - Opening the Door, Living Up to Your Potential - Part 2 - Imagining Your Potential, Living Up to Your Potential - Part 3 - The Me I want to Be, Matrix Model (SAMHSA) - See "Stimulants" below, Meaning and Purpose in the Change Process, Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment (See also Feelings, Thoughts and Emotions - See also Co-Occurring), Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Overview, Read: Should I See My Friend's Therapist? As an icebreaker, use this list of 93 Stupid Questions to generate some interesting group discussion: Link: https://icebreakerideas.com/stupid-questions-to-ask/. You get to sit and have dinner with any three people in the world or in history, alive or dead, for one hour to have a deep discussion on the topic of your choice. What was the WORST job you ever had and why? READ: To Control or Not to ControlIs that the Question? takingtheescalator.com Addiction and Substance Use Resources, Non 12 Step Motivational Harm Reduction Tools for Substance Use & Mental Health, (Same tools, but organized according to the Taking the Escalator Method). Systems adi Group Ltd 3,545 followers 5d . This is not an opportunity to brag about behaviors that would be considered dangerous, aggressive illegal or anti-social, Share and discuss your own unique ways of going against the grain, Taking the Escalator needs you - Click here to see how you can support - (It won't cost you a cent), Finally a New Way to Combat the Opioid Epidemic, Alternative Counseling & Recovery Coaching Tools. . I often feared it would happen but it never did. What is something positive or unexpected that happened to you that you will never forget? We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Just about everyone of us can do more if we get the courage and motivation to expand outside our limits even just a little. The techniques explained in his method, Taking the Escalator: An Alternative to the 12 Steps, help individuals who are resistant to traditional approaches gain the tools needed for learning to increase insight and motivation for positive change. Its Okay Podcast - Topic: Opioid Addiction - Audio/Visual Version (Facebook Live), "Strategy List for Families" via Facebook Live video, Supported Employment: Caring for the Whole Person - Interview with Supported Employment Specialist Ayla Fleming LCSW, Understanding Insight and Motivation for Positive Change, Treatment Videos - Interviews for individuals and families inquiring about seeking substance use/co-occurring treatment, The Ideal Vs. Are your judgments based on feelings rather than facts? Self Esteem II - More self esteem, continued Self Esteem Boost: Building Self Esteem and Increasing a Sense of Self Worth, Self Value - (Submitted by Lesley Sanfilippo, LCSW), Self Esteem and Affirmation Development - (Submitted by Caitlin Kennedy, LCSW, LCADC), Self Awareness - (Submitted by Caitlin Kennedy, LCSW, LCADC), The Truth about Self Esteem - An in depth look at Self Esteem from a realistic perspective, Associations - Honestly considering how your choice of associations affect you, The "Cushion" Concept for Managing Setbacks, FOMO -How to Identify, Prevent and Overcome the Fear of Missing Out, Getting Over the Hump - An activity for those who have been at this a long time, Holiday Survival Plan - Planning ahead to get through any holiday without setbacks or relapse -, Plan to Avoid Relapse - (Submitted by Caitlin Kennedy, LCSW, LCADC), Stability and Setback Prevention Checklist, Staying the Course Toward Success Know the SIGNS, Triggered: A Discussion on Coping with Mental Health and Substance Use, UNG- Unnecessary Grief - Thinking and planning ahead to avoid trouble later, Weekend Plan - A basic planning tool for surviving weekends, Spirituality (Moved to "Meaning and Purpose"), Coping with Stress - A comprehensive list of effective coping skills, Killer Bs The Effects of Stress and the Body, Brain and Behavior, Stress PowerPoint Slides- CLICK HERE FOR ACTUAL POWERPOINT VERSION, Melissa Mackolin on her Journey to Recovery - Podcast, Nicole Tierney: A Story of Recovery and Hope, Megan Reeves: Hold on Pain Ends - (With discussion questions), (For additional information on Trauma see the Escalator Trauma Resource Page), Unforeseen Circumstances: Adapt or Collapse, It's Easy to Be Honest When You Have Nothing to Lie About, Lifeboat Activity - Lifeboat exercises are nothing new but this one has had good success, VIDEO LINK -VALUES - WHAT'S IMPORTANT