Residential Groups & Programming

Group expectations, guidelines, and rules are determined specifically for each group. These are referred to as “Comfort Agreements”. Comfort agreements are reviewed prior to the start of each group.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Group
ACT helps people live more meaningful lives by teaching them to accept difficult thoughts and feelings while committing to actions that reflect their values. Using mindfulness and practical strategies, ACT builds psychological flexibility—empowering individuals to stay present, adapt, and move forward.

Alternate Experience Group
For participants joined by shared goals and values, it incorporates a fundamental belief that there are many ways to understand hearing voices, seeing things others do not see, and/or other unusual or commonly misunderstood experiences. It is a place where people can meet to talk about their experience without fear of judgment. It offers mutual support with the opportunity to explore experiences and learn from others with similar stories.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Group
Supports identifying and modifying unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that underlie symptoms caused by psychological distress. CBT inspired concepts focus on learning how to change thoughts from negative and self-defeating to positive and self-affirming.

Community Integration
Times are scheduled throughout the week for participants to be part of the outside community to practice skills, identify triggers, or just enjoy life. The goal of these activities is to increase social confidence, prevent feeling isolated and to experience sober fun. Each weekend, participants will work together as a community to identify an activity to engage in.

Community Meeting
A group that is facilitated weekly by participants and staff that provides a forum to discuss issues related to the house, including general issues, relationships, maintenance and activities. Impromptu Community Meetings can also be called in order to have an opportunity to work through something in the moment.

Coping Skills & Problem Solving Group
Using a number of different resources, this group aims to help participants develop awareness of emotional responses and develop or enhance effective coping strategies and decision making skills to reduce distress, regulate intense emotions, and improve relationships.

Enhanced Illness Management and Recovery (E-IMR) Group
Helps participants acquire information and skills to develop more mastery over their mental illness and make progress towards their own personal recovery. The goals of E-IMR are to instill hope that change is possible, help participants establish personally meaningful goals, teach information about mental illness and co-occurring disorders, and develop skills for reducing relapses, dealing with stress and coping with symptoms.

Expressive Arts Group
Encouraging the creative process as a part of growth and healing, different mediums (drawing, painting, collage, music, drumming, etc.) are introduced.

Goals Group
Occurs daily and is facilitated by a peer or residential counselor. Each group begins with a thought of the day or reflection and allows each participant to identify their personal SMART Goal: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Beginning the day with a positive “can-do” attitude can be encouraging and uplifting.

Guided Recovery Activity
Guided recovery activities provide structure and support to participants navigating the process of healing and recovery, whether from mental health challenges or co-occurring disorders. These activities are guided by one’s treatment plan and include a combination of therapeutic techniques and coping strategies to promote recovery and personal growth.

Healing Roots Group
Designed to support individuals in understanding and healing from the psychological and emotional impact of trauma. The group allows participants to explore trauma-related experiences, develop coping strategies, and build resilience. It focuses on skill-building and stabilization to support trauma recovery.

Health 101 Group
Facilitated by members of the Medical Team, this group provides an opportunity for participants to learn new skills, concepts and ideas as well as practice healthy behaviors in the arenas of physical health, exercise, nutrition, smoking cessation, sleep hygiene, and other common chronic health conditions. Using Addressing Chronic Diseases: Health-Management Strategies for Use with Behavioral Health Clients by Mary Brunette, MD, and Delia Cimpean Hendrick, MD, sessions are facilitated through education, discussion and implementing self-management strategies that encourage participants to put more emphasis on their health and wellbeing.

Individual Appointments
Times provided may be utilized for individual sessions, family updates or educational sessions, medical appointments, or other clinical interventions.

Mindful Change Group
Serves as a structured, psychoeducational therapy group designed to help participants develop skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness. The group aims to enhance participants’ ability to manage intense emotions, reduce maladaptive behaviors, and improve overall functioning in relationships and daily life.

Mutual Help Meetings
Peer support and healthy connection are essential to wellness and achieving one’s goals. Attending community mutual help meetings can be an integral part of recovery. These groups may support learning about the structure and function of meetings, the 12 Steps, and sponsorship through community participation.

Nutrition/Culinary Group
Cooking is a basic skill for daily living, a social experience, and an entertaining leisure activity. Cooking can also be therapeutic. Under the supervision of our chef, participants learn about kitchen safety, technical skills in the kitchen, discuss healthy eating patterns and practice basic meal planning skills that will support independent living.

Personal Time
Times provided to be used for participant’s choosing. This may include using the time for personal reflection, rest, socializing within the milieu, connecting with team members or other interventions that may support individual goals.

Progress Group
A group that occurs nightly and is facilitated by participants and staff. It provides an opportunity to review accomplishments, goals, and areas that may need more attention in relation to daily living and working towards daily goals.

Recovery Activity
Recovery oriented activities may take place as a group in-house or in the community. These group activities may include discussion of a mutual help nature, be facilitated by peers or alumni, and involve activities such as journaling, creative expression, tai chi, mindfulness, etc.

Relapse Prevention Group
Focuses on providing participants with the skills, strategies, and emotional support needed to maintain their recovery and reduce the likelihood of returning to harmful behaviors, such as substance use or unhealthy habits. By addressing underlying issues, building resilience, and developing coping skills, participants are able to work towards sustained healing and personal growth.

Seeking Safety Group
The Seeking Safety curriculum is built on trauma-informed principles, working toward having group members feel safe, respected, and empowered while exploring the interplay between trauma and substance use. Trauma often plays a significant role in the development and perpetuation of addictive behaviors. By simultaneously addressing trauma and substance use, this group helps individuals break the cycle of using substances as a coping mechanism for unresolved trauma.

Skills for Independent Living Group
Helps participants in developing skills necessary for independent living in the community. This includes promoting self-sufficiency through managing daily tasks, such as cooking nutritious meals or cleaning, promoting social connections and personal empowerment.

Skills in Practice Group
Designed to bridge the gap between learning and doing, this group focuses on practicing strategies that promote emotional regulation, healthy communication, problem-solving, and resilience. Participants will build confidence through role-play, feedback and reflection, practice coping techniques and reinforce skills learned in individual and group therapy.

Social Skills Group
Participants build social competence and self-esteem by developing essential communication skills, build empathy, learn to navigate social situations, and improve their ability to interact effectively with others.

Suite Checks
Occurs each morning by residential staff, usually while participants are in goals group. They are done to support creating healthy routines, daily habits and structure in early recovery. Staff will check that rooms are being maintained in accordance with expectations (i.e. cleanliness, bed made, laundry off the floor, etc.) and to offer participants side by side support and/or prompting around these daily living skills as needed.

Team Meetings
Meetings between individual participants and multidisciplinary staff to provide mutual feedback, check in, explore progress towards goals and set new goals. This encourages forward movement and remaining goal-oriented in treatment. Teams can also be called as an opportunity to address something in the moment.

“This Is How We Do It” Group
Characterized as a “peer-to-peer” group format, WestBridge’s Alumni Coordinator shares recovery-related experiences with the group. The emphasis is not to tell participants the “right way” to navigate recovery, but to discuss what has worked best for some alumni in recovery. Recovery and sobriety are always underlying themes, but discussions include family, work, relationships, hobbies, money, goals, etc.

Vocational Group
Provides support, skill building, and resource sharing to help participants identify and attain their vocational goals. Computers will be used for resume development, letter writing, and on-line job searches. Topics covered may include identifying vocational strengths and goals, resume writing, how to interview, how to dress for success, managing stressors, conflict or triggers at work etc. At various times there may also be a group volunteer component.

Wellness Activities
Participants are provided daily opportunities for physical activity. Learning to reconnect with sober activities and utilize exercise to manage stress, anxiety, weight gain, or emotional well-being are valuable additions to treatment and increases self-confidence.

WRAP Group
The Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), as developed by Mary Ellen Copeland, PhD, is a structured system for monitoring, reducing and eliminating uncomfortable or dangerous behaviors and feelings, including addictions. In this group participants develop their individual WRAP to enhance awareness and understanding. This plan is based on empowerment and personal responsibility. It encourages participants to focus on their personal resources, strengths and wellness.

Yoga
Yoga, a mind and body practice, has positive benefits on physical and mental health. Yoga increases body awareness, relieves stress, reduces muscle tension, sharpens attention, as well as calms and centers the nervous system. Growing research has shown that yoga enhances social well-being through a sense of belonging, and improves symptoms of depression, ADHD, and sleep disorders.