Kenneth Pecoraro

In certain instances, we may have to grind through a tough situation in life because of the aftermath of our own choices. We all do what we can to try to always make good decisions but in our own imperfection at times we find ourselves confronted with stressful circumstances due to having to “face the music” related to an undesired outcome of a bad decision. This worksheet is specifically for coping with these types of situations when we know a tough period of time may be ahead due to the consequences, ramifications and reverberations of our own past actions and choices. So, if you are in a situation where you are thinking something like: “I got caught…”, “I took a bad risk”, “I wish I would not have done that”, “I messed up…”, “I regret…” then this worksheet can help you grind forward in a positive way, even though you may need to face the music.

Scientists have made a breakthrough in space travel and now every corner of the universe is easily accessible. Because of the vast size of the universe, selected people on earth are being chosen for the opportunity to rule their own planet. If you had this opportunity to set up a new world on a new planet, what are some of the things you would want to include? Consider the following areas below:

Everyone in this group has probably heard this before:  Sharing openly about life situations, even difficult ones, is helpful and good for our personal process of positive change and recovery. Yet, still in substance use treatment groups, hiding the truth or even lying about relapse still may occur. Why?

Most people know the importance of honesty for therapy and treatment to be truly effective. Still, even knowing that, why do deception and dishonesty still happen sometimes in groups? Discuss some of the thoughts and feelings that may trigger dishonesty in therapy

Picture this: Something is wrong…You feel anxiety and depression increasing lately, but you cannot assign it to a specific stressor. Your feelings are increasingly uncomfortable and difficult. What is making it worse is that you are not sure what is really bothering you. Maybe you can identify several things that could be triggers, but it is not clear in your mind what the real deal is. This state of not knowing why you feel this way may even be making you feel even more anxious and depressed.

This is an icebreaker which is focused on helping people express themselves openly. Everyone should try to identify one thing in each category that is meaningful. Be prepared to discuss why each answer is meaningful to you personally. There are examples provided first and then some process questions at the end:

Although there can be a lot of similarities when it comes to each individual's experience with substance use issues, every person's journey is unique. Developing a problem with substances often involves a complex array of factors over the course of time. One well accepted definition of "addiction" supports this viewpoint: Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual's life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences.-American Society of Addiction Medicine (2019) This definition tells us that there are a variety of factors that contribute to the development of the disease of addiction. The same is true as well for most mental health disorders. For this group exercise, group members will identify some contributing factors related to their own substance use (and mental health conditions as well, if applicable). Please keep this important point in mind: Cause is extremely hard to determine. Since addiction can be complex and unique, it is not easy to simply say that one thing "caused" an addiction. This activity is for group members to discuss their own unique life's journey and perspective rather than focusing on blaming one or two life circumstances as the "cause" of a substance use or mental health disorder. For example, if someone came from a dysfunctional family situation it would not be appropriate to conclude "My family caused my addiction." Rather, for this activity, we will look at multiple types of life issues that may have been "contributing factors" rather than just one "cause". Directions: On a blank piece of paper, everyone in the group should make a "Contributing Factor Diagram." An example is provided on the next page. To make the diagram, think of some factors that may have contributed to substance use issues in your life. If you also have mental health issues as well, you can consider those factors too. Write down each factor in a circle and label the circle. Make larger circles for contributing factors that you believe had larger impact and make smaller circles for less significant issues. You may add explanations for your contributing factors on your diagram (See example.) When everyone is done making their Contributing Factors Diagram, discuss your diagrams and then answer the process questions.

As we all know, certain life situations can make life feel overwhelming. However, the goal is to keep grinding forward even when times are tough, and circumstances are complicated. One way to help reframe challenging and complex situations that we may face is to break things down in simple terms. An effective way to do this is to carefully think about simple, strength-based questions in the face of stifling self-statements

I have established my career working with people in mental health and substance use treatment, particularly youth who can be challenging to engage to participate. This practical and informative video provides skills and perspectives for effectively working with this population. These skills work well for adults as well

Relationships tend to be parallel with one's lifestyle. For example, when a person is active in misusing substances, relationships tend to go downhill. The same is true when things may not be going well with mental health for an extended period: relationships may also be strained as well. To the contrary, when changing for the better, part of the change process involves working on improving relationships.

Sometimes in the grind of life we may feel like overwhelmed because too many things seem to between where we are today and where we want to be (our goals). Some people call those things barriers and some call them obstacles. Whatever we call it, it is important to be able to devise a workable plan to move forward in spite of what is in our way. That is what grinding it out is all about: Pushing forward past barriers and cleverly circumventing obstacles. Therefore, this exercise is all about identifying what is getting in our way so we can build hope and momentum to move forward in a positive way and to keep pushing through when life is a grind

Intro: Sometimes in substance use treatment groups and programs the focus on substance use can be overemphasized. Of course, learning skills specific to substance use recovery is important. However, there is so much more involved in the long-term positive change process. There are things about just living life in general that may need to be addressed. Areas of need must first be identified with a host of positive "life skills" to follow. Managing life without substances involves just that: Managing life. This exercise is focused on identifying and discussing positive life skills. Everyone's needs are unique and different so share what you need and be open minded and honest in this discussion.

Positive self talk is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) coping skill that has been around for quite some time. Positive self talk is known to be effective for many types of mental health conditions. This activity is focused on using positive self talk to cope with anxiety. However, there is a slightly different spin on the concept. For some people, being positive does not come naturally. This can be due to a variety of issues possibly stemming from childhood or it can be a personality trait. Whatever the reason, it can be easier to start with “Realistic Self Talk” as an easier to identify with method for starting a dialogue with ourself to overcome challenges. This worksheet takes you through the process of learning to practice realistic self talk to cope with anxiety and other stressful life challenges. Learning to have an encouraging but realistic dialogue with ourselves can be a life changing way to cope when things seem overwhelming or difficult to face

This exercise tackles some difficult topics that some people just may not be ready for. This exercise should be done in a supportive and safe environment. There is a degree of insight and experience needed to honestly ask and answer some of these difficult questions. COUNSELORS to use this effectively watch this brief introductory video first (2 minutes)-https://youtu.be/nvlSdT4t84E Intro: Something is wrong, and you can't describe it. This feeling is lingering, and it won't go away by itself. Why do you suppose it can be helpful to identify and name your feelings especially in times like these when you aren't fully sure what is going on? Thinking of this logically, whenever there is a problem, it helps to better clarify what that problem is. Examining our feelings can help us open a doorway of insight and self-awareness into our own minds. This can put is in a better position to cope. Like the way a mechanic diagnoses what is wrong with a vehicle that isn't driving right, it can be helpful for each of us to dissect our own mental state by first understanding and then even naming our difficult feelings when something does not seem right. This can then help us to choose a correct course of action to cope and make healthy decisions. The hard part of this process is asking ourselves honest questions about our innermost feelings and then providing honest answers. This can be very difficult and for most people it takes practice. The process of acknowledging the ugly truth can at times feel…. ugly. Still, when we are honest with ourselves and face the truth, then the coping and healing can take place at a deeper level.

Setting goals can be easy and at times it is even fun. Dreaming about some of the things that we can achieve can be quite inspirational and imaginative. However, the actual work needed to attain our goals is often much more challenging and time consuming. For example, many people set the goal to get in good physical shape. They may even join a gym or buy exercise equipment and make a good diet plan. However, eating right and going to the gym over the next several months is a lot harder in practice. Often the "follow through" is a lot harder than just setting the initial goal. Therefore, the purpose of this exercise is to examine some things to keep in mind and try that will increase the chances of actually staying with our goals so that we can achieve them.

This is just a simple group activity to generate discussion about what good things people wish for themselves, for their loved ones, and for others, and how to take action to attain these hopes. First watch this VIDEO INTRODUCTION  = https://youtu.be/U-xJi6SbaM0

Video Intro  - https://youtu.be/84Ok7UH5FHU

Every now and then when life gets overwhelming, anyone one of us may have the experience of feeling lost. Just like it sounds, feeling lost is a mental state where we just don’t know where to turn - GROUP activty

Acceptance is rarely (if ever) just a brief event. Rather, acceptance is much more of an extended process of increasing self-awareness. Certain "eye-opening" events can speed up the acceptance process. Still, even when life situations open our minds to different new facts, it is essential to actively seek to mentally test and confirm or disprove various realities and perspectives that are presented to us. If we can be open minded about examining and questioning ourselves and what we see, then we can learn to accept the truth about important life lessons and adapt our lives as needed for self-growth.

This exercise is for people who have made some progress and now want to "stay the course" in a positive direction. If we know the signs and take heed of them, we can avoid setbacks and pitfalls. These activities are focused on identifying and discussing some of these important signs

The Escalator approach is a person centered, proactive substance abuse counseling perspective which strategically combines aspects of several existing evidience-based treatment practices including: Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, the Stages of Change model, and Harm Reduction under the umbrella of subssequent integration of mental health and other coesxisting issues

When a family member cares, the temptation to nag is understandable, and may even seem justifiable. However, there is one unavoidable and indisputable truth about nagging and addiction: It is extremely ineffective. In many cases, nagging may even have the opposite effect than what is desired. Nagging can make things worse instead of better.