#iuroquae

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Constructive Patterns

Time: This is a five-day course. Each daily session lasts 50 minutes. Attendance: This course consists of five clients and one counselor. For this course to contribute to Coping Mechanisms Certification, all five days of the course must be attended in sequence. 

Day One will focus on the difference between constructive and destructive pattern behavior. For instance, at what point does cleaning or washing shift from being a beneficial or cathartic behavior into a destructive and stress-inducing behavior?  Day Two will move forward from identifying destructive habits into a personal cataloging for each individual of their own destructive habits. Each client will be asked to list their destructive habits and select one from the list to focus on for the course. The course counselor will outline various positive coping skills for universally destructive behavior, as well as discuss common yet ineffective go-to coping mechanisms which are to be avoided.  Day Three will consist of deep discussion of behaviors that are physically destructive. This portion of the course will challenge clients to shift outside any perceived superficial comfort zone and to endeavor to understand the ways that different destructive patterns have similarities, psychologically. Topics included in this session will include trichotillomania, excoriation, self-medicating, and O-C cleaning. Genetic ties to these behaviors will be discussed.  Day Four will consist of actively exploring and practicing coping mechanisms. Clients will focus on self-aware behavior, non-shaming self-talk, affirmations, and positive personal reward tiers. Day Five will be a group share. Clients will be encouraged to share openly and honestly to encourage non-shaming and personal pride.

This course contributes to the Iuroquae completion certificate in the vein of Coping Mechanisms. Clients will attain a comprehension of how destructive behaviors, which may have roots in genetic predispositions, may be challenged and surmounted through constructive patterns. 

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Lesson Plan

Manage Your Character Sheet Self-Esteem Exercises, 1 hr

Many individuals who suffer from low or no self-esteem seem to easily conceptualize tabletop adventuring games. This could be because the activity of tabletop adventuring games is a non-confrontational venue where many introverts meet one another.

Clients will be introduced to the concept of creating a character sheet for themselves based on a standard worksheet. In this way, clients may be able to track their own perceived value and progress toward their personal goals.

The client’s age will be entered in as their “level.” This serves as a visual reminder that suicidality, the go-to response for clients with no self-esteem, is an essential “re-roll”, in which the individual starts all over from a random benchmark.

What are the clients legitimate skills? These could include cooking, archery, knowledge of local botany, carpentry, and so forth.

In what ways are these skills valuable? Which skills is the client interested in improving? 

Because clinical Depression often causes a phenomenon where the patient completely “forgets” their own value, the resulting “character sheet” is a reminder to the client that they do have desirable traits, dreams, and goals. 

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Lesson Plan

Make an Angel Shrine Transforming Sorrow Group

In this group, which will repeat over the course of the 10 day inpatient stay, will allow patients to create a paper collage of an Angel Shrine they will re-create at home after discharge.

To confirm, Angel Shrines are groupings of items that correspond to the grief or loss event in the patient’s history. These items can include photographs, letters, drawings, battery-powered candles, small belongings, and so forth.

Patients will select from paper shapes to add to their collage, and use them to make a scene taped to paper. 

Patients can work on this project throughout their inpatient stay. After discharge, this can be used as a blueprint until a more permanent arrangement of items significant to the individual can be made.

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Grounding Techniques

What is “Irrational thinking”? What is a Delusion? What is Hypochondria? What is Psychosis?

These are some examples of the degrees of anxiety that can happen to an individual when they can’t make sense of their surroundings. 

When an individual is diagnosed with a mental illness or personality disorder, it often becomes second-hand for others to dismiss, or teach the individual to self-dismiss, feelings as being unreasonable.

Patients at Iuroquae will take part in in-depth discussion with workers about what is reasonable or unreasonable. Clients will learn how to be certain when they have legitimate cause to fear danger, or when to attend to and dismiss the danger.

In this way, clients are able to better understand the toxicity of manipulating tactics and ground themselves in sincere reality.

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Diffuse Abuse Identifying and Denying and the Script of Abusers

Patients who have co-dependent traits, PTSD, self-esteem challenges, and self-validation difficulties will be assigned to this group.

Patients will be introduced to common phrases and tactics used by abusers, and become skilled in recognizing when a relationship has escalated to the level of abuse.

Different kinds of abuse, “paper tigers”, and methods of relieving the stress of an abusive relationship. 

Common phrasing and tactics will be countered with logical response that is designed to diffuse the situation and place the control back in the hands of the individual.

“How to Say No”

Patients will also learn when to remove oneself from a situation, when to ask for help, and the resources available for help.

Clients will gain the ability to quickly recognize abusive behavior and either distance themselves or diffuse the issue, bringing them empowerment and independence. 

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Lesson Plan

Hands-On Practical Journaling  Therapeutic Journaling Group 1 hour

The purpose of this group is to introduce patients to the merits of journaling. Patients will be invited to pick out 2 softbound journals for themselves from a selection. 

Patients will use the 2 journals to make a Hopes and Dreams and an Anger Release journal.

Patients will be introduced to separating journals into distinct, segregated purposes. The purpose of this is to encourage healing by not combining or “polluting” a journal about one’s hopes and dreams with the ruminations and anger of unresolved traumas. 

Patients will write their first entries beginning with defining where they are, emotionally, in both categories.

Patients will be invited to share at the end of the class.

Also to be discussed is the inherent hazard of the privacy concerns that come with journaling, and the necessity of respecting the privacy of others’ journals, both within the facility and after discharge.

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The iuroquae facility functions as a 10-day mental health inpatient “workshop” for appropriate candidates for treatment. 

The 10-day inpatient stay is standard, however patients may be transferred to a more appropriate facility if needed, or their stay may be extended if necessary. These are some highlights of the 10-day inpatient stay that the patient can expect while at the facility. To clarify: All individuals entering the iuroquae facility for treatment must sign a contract to demonstrate the understanding of the purpose of the inpatient stay.

First Day: Patients will be given a 30-min window (or less as needed) to present their core issues to a panel of five professional mental health clinicians who will anonymously submit their treatment plans to the patient. The patient then chooses from the treatment options what they feel is best matched to their needs and life goals. The patient is then given a thorough physical evaluation, dietary and clothing needs (which may include socks, shoes and underwear) are established, and then the patient is presented with Accountability Chores for what will be expected of them during their stay at iuroquae. The patient is invited to meal times and acquainted with their sleeping space. The patient is under heavy observation during this time by all facility workers for appropriate care, and will wear a special welcome badge to alert individuals in the facility to welcome the individual. 

Second Day: The patient meets with the social worker and is introduced to their group schedule, which is intensive and made in great detail with their selected clinician from the day before. The clinician, social worker and physician work closely concerning each individual patient. The patient is given a soft, flexible workshop folder with multiple pockets for containing their work, and a soft-bound journal for diary needs. 

Third Day: This is the first day that NEW medication needs are introduced for the patient. During the first two days of treatment, the patient may continue their medications that they entered the facility with, but additional medications or adjustments to medications will not be addressed until the third day of treatment. The purpose of this waiting period is for the observing clinicians to establish an understanding of who the patient is, how their illness may be manifesting or exacerbating due to being over- or under-medicated, as well as to identify any personality disorders or mental health diagnoses that were not identified upon admission. The patient will also meet with their clinician every other day of treatment to chart progress or adjust treatment needs.

Discharge: The patient may be extremely eager to leave the facility at the point of discharge. On the final day of treatment, the patient will meet with their treatment team (clinician, social worker and physician) to identify key points of discharge, which includes aftercare appointments (therapy, psychiatry, community support groups, identified support system, and accountability chores and active therapy). Patients may elect to follow up with the social worker within three days of discharge to address any confusion concerning aftercare.

Upon discharge, the iuroquae graduate will be given their parting gift worth $50 as well as a certificate confirming their successful completion of the program.

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Making Peace with Your Diagnosis:

Patients will demonstrate understanding of their diagnosis through this group.

Patients will be educated on specific diagnoses in a group setting. Individual medical information will not be disclosed in this group.

Patients will learn what diagnoses mean, what symptoms of these are, and the prognoses of each.

Patients will illustrate through written format how they either agree or disagree with their diagnosis, what they are comfortable with, or uncomfortable with, concerning their mental health treatment, to demonstrate understanding of the purpose of their stay and what they must actively do as individuals concerning their mental health.

Patients will outline what they feel they will need to change in their lives to adapt to and overcome the limitations of their diagnoses. This may include making daily schedules, carrying a datebook, keeping contact with a sponsor, and so forth.

A diagnosis is not an excuse for behavior. A diagnosis is merely a definition of what the behavior is, and the patient’s challenge is to adapt their lives to challenge and overcome this definition.