 Group Therapy
Specialty groups are conducted by the therapists Monday through Thursday for 60 minutes per group. There are 3 or 4 groups each day for our 32 students, which allow us to keep the group sizes relatively small. In addition, with her therapist’s input, we do our best to place each student in the groups that fit most closely with her treatment goals and concerns. Below is a listing of groups that are generally offered at La Europa. Other groups may be integrated as necessary. Please click on any group title for a description of the group.
The La Europa student body is divided into two separate communities. Girls from both communities are participants in all of the specialty groups. On Fridays, they have an opportunity to participate in a Community Issues group with the 16 girls from their individual community. This group is also conducted by one of the therapists and provides an opportunity for students to identify and resolve concerns that they have within their peer group. The therapists who conduct the Community Issues group will occasionally use music or games as other ways of addressing current concerns and providing fun and engaging therapeutic interventions.
Specialty groups
Sexual Reactivity
This group explores the issues surrounding sexual, romantic, and/or intimate relationships. Common topics include abusive or unhealthy relationships, sexual abuse, and patterns within relationships. Each student has the opportunity to explore the choices she has made with regard to relationships and how she perceives herself as well as others in those relationships.
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Emotional Intelligence
Many of the girls who come to La Europa struggle with managing and understanding their emotions. This can manifest itself through depression, anxiety, bipolar symptoms, anger, and other mood-related issues. This group focuses on learning how to recognize and manage those types of emotions more effectively. It is an opportunity for students to feel validated in their emotions, as they are often similar to those of the other students in the group, as well as to develop more personal power in dealing with those emotions.
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Addictions/Recovery
Recovery group focuses on acquiring skills for overcoming addictive behaviors, generally but not always related to substance abuse. This group allows students to explore the thoughts, beliefs, and emotions that contribute to their use of substances or other addictive behaviors. Students acquire skills for dealing with those triggers in a less addictive way. Depending upon the students participating in the group, the 12-step principles may also be incorporated. Students who participate in this group may also earn the option to go to weekly AA or NA meetings off campus.
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Eating Disorders
Some of our students have struggled and may continue to struggle with eating-disordered thoughts or behaviors. In addition to addressing traditional behaviors related to anorexia (restricted eating) and bulimia (bingeing and/or purging), this group also addresses issues such as body image, self-esteem, obsessive thinking, control, and negative mind. Because eating disorder groups can sometimes become competitive, this group focuses not on the behaviors but on the thoughts and emotions around eating disorders and on skills as well as on solutions for recovery from eating disorders.
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Trauma
Many of our students have experienced some type of traumatic event in their lives. This trauma may include sexual abuse or rape, death of a loved one, divorce of parents, a difficult move, bullying, or major illness or injury. This group is an opportunity for students to share their stories in a safe and supportive therapeutic setting in which they can work toward healing from their experiences. As they work on healing, students also have an opportunity to recognize some of the errors in their thinking which may have resulted from their trauma and work toward more balanced and informed thinking.
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Relationships
The students may participate in a weekly group based on the Arbinger principles. The group draws on the principle that the power of our relationships is found deeper than in our behaviors with each other, in the way we see others. The group is facilitated by an Arbinger-trained therapist and allows the students to learn and practice the principles of responsive relationships.
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Self Esteem
This group addresses some of the specific issues associated with self-esteem for our students. The girls have the opportunity to discuss core issues related to feeling worthless or feeling like they are not good enough and to address some of the faulty beliefs that contribute to these beliefs. They also have the opportunity to participate in activities designed to help them improve their self-esteem.
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Anxiety
Many of the students at La Europa struggle with anxiety, whether this is their diagnosis or not. This group is designed to give them some specific tools for dealing with their anxiety. They have the opportunity to recognize and understand the way that their anxiety affects their daily lives and to acknowledge their ability to deal more effectively with that anxiety. The group includes basic relaxation techniques as well as other anti-anxiety skills.
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Student Life
This group gives students the opportunity to explore the effectiveness of their social skills. This group can include students who have difficulty processing and interpreting nonverbal information as well as those who struggle to decipher social cues. Students are given opportunities to acquire appropriate social skills for navigating interpersonal interactions more effectively, improving their relationships, and feeling more confident with themselves. These skills are taught through role play, games, video replay of interactions, as well as didactic instruction.
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DBT
Dialectical Behavior Therapy has emerged as the leading therapy for working with those who tend to get caught up easily in their emotions, tend to think in black and white (extremes), and who do a great deal of pushing and pulling in their relationships. This type of student benefits from the skills learned in DBT group, which include Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotional Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
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Accountability
This group gives students an opportunity to take accountability for their behaviors and interactions rather than just talking about accountability. Through a “hot seat” format, the students are given an opportunity to hear from their peers about how the others see them working toward their goals. As peers give feedback, they also have the chance to recognize how their own actions might invite or discourage others to work toward their goals.
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Anger
This group posits the notion that anger can only be a secondary emotion. Therefore, students are encouraged to explore the primary emotions that they may be hiding behind their anger. The group also explores the students’ thoughts and behaviors associated with their anger. Students who have difficulty managing their anger often benefit from being able to hear from other students who are working on the same issue. They also are able to acquire skills to deescalate themselves when they are feeling angry.
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Adoption
Some of the issues common to our adopted students often include fears of abandonment, feelings of loss, issues of puzzled identity, and confusion about their desire to contact their birth parent(s). This group addresses those issues and provides a therapeutic environment in which students can share these common feelings without judgment. In addition, the group helps to normalize the feelings of our adopted students so that they can more effectively move beyond their adoption-related issues.
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Therapeutic Integration
For an vivid example of the integration of therapy, arts, and student activities, click here.
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