by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator
We have modified our group schedule at Breakthu House to include a new group: Sober Support Skills! These groups will introduce new activities that have been shown to support sustained recovery in various ways. These group activities will include exercise, art, meditation, and leisure skills (games, movies, etc.).
Each of these types of activities have been shown through research to benefit and support sustained recovery in various ways.
It is important to not only encourage clients to participate in these activities in their free time, but to set aside group time to introduce new methods of exercise, relaxation and meditation, creative expression, and leisure to clients, as well as to give them an opportunity to practice these skills. It is natural human behavior that we are more likely to do an activity later when we have already begun the action! So, when we practice a meditation technique or exercise activity in group, it allows clients to experience for themselves, "hey, this is actually helpful! (and fun!)" Then they are much more likely to continue the behavior in their free time and continuing on after treatment to enhance and support their recovery efforts.
For further reading on how each of these types of activities are supportive of recovery, you may want to check out some of these articles!
Benefits of Exercise in Addiction Treatment and Recovery
"Active Replacement" - Benefits of Leisure Skills, including Exercise in Addiction Treatment and Recovery
Benefits of Meditation in Addiction Treatment and Recovery
Benefits of Meditation in Addiction Treatment and Recovery (second article)
Creative Arts Therapy and Addiction Treatment and Recovery
Women in Recovery from Alcoholism: The Place of Leisure
Therapeutic Recreation and Addiction Treatment
To read more about another new group at Breakthru House that focuses on creating safety to address trauma and addiction, please see our article about our new Seeking Safety curriculum!
About Me
- Breakthru House
- Breakthru House, Inc., is a member of the Action Ministries family of ministries. Action Ministries, Inc. is an independent, faith-based, Georgia non-profit corporation with roots in the United Methodist Church. As the first long-term residential recovery program for women in Georgia, Breakthru House is designed to meet the unique needs of women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. Utilizing the 12 Steps and a Therapeutic Community, Breakthru House provides a safe, structured drug free environment to foster a life of recovery while therapeutically addressing addiction as a disease, unresolved grief, trauma, and poor self-esteem issues commonly associated with female addicts. Since its founding in 1969, Breakthru House's founding principle remains constant: physical, emotional, and spiritual healing through recovery is possible when each woman's treatment program is designed to meet their individual needs.
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