Taking the Escalator Articles

Two new worksheets and an interactive Premium widget! Looking for a fun and engaging way to get your group talking? Our newest activity, Righteous Rankings, turns simple choices into interesting conversations, unexpected disagreements, and opportunities for self-awareness and personal growth. The concept is simple: Participants are given several choices and asked to rank them in order. Then comes the interesting part—explaining their rankings, comparing perspectives, and hear

New resources for everyone, Members, and Premium Members! Stress and anxiety are challenges almost everyone faces, which is why having a variety of practical, engaging coping tools is so important. This week, Taking the Escalator is introducing a collection of new resources designed to help individuals and groups explore stress management in creative and meaningful ways! FREE: Coping with Stress and Anxiety in a Changing World We've created a brand-new companion worksheet and

If you could go back in time and spend a few minutes with your childhood self, what would you say? Our childhood experiences help shape who we become. Some memories bring smiles and laughter, while others remind us of challenges, fears, or things we needed but didn't always receive. Regardless of what our childhood was like, looking back can sometimes help us better understand ourselves today. Young Me in the Room is a new creative, interactive group exercise from Taking the

Have you ever tried so hard to fall asleep that you ended up wide awake? Or avoided something stressful, only to find that putting it off made things even worse? Sometimes the very things we do to make life better end up having the opposite effect. That's the paradox effect! VIDEO INTRO These situations can be funny, frustrating, or surprisingly revealing. They can also teach us something important about ourselves. For example, trying too hard to control a situation can leave

What if the people attending a treatment program got to help design it? What would they want to talk about? What would they leave out? What kinds of activities would they choose? What do they think people in recovery actually need? The original idea for Build Your Own Program was submitted by Ryan Cooperhouse, LCSW, and I loved the concept. It creates an opportunity to turn the usual treatment-program dynamic around and ask participants: If you were in charge, what would you

Some decisions are easy. Green Light: This feels right. Keep going. Red Light: Something is clearly wrong. Stop. But real life is rarely that simple. A large percentage of the decisions people face fall somewhere in the middle. That is where the Yellow Light becomes important. VIDEO INTRODUCTION LINK Learning to Notice the Signal In everyday life, people are constantly making decisions about relationships, recovery, mental health, friendships, family, work, money, boundaries,

“Tell me about yourself.” It sounds like a simple question, but for many clients it can be surprisingly difficult to answer. People often describe themselves using facts: their job, age, family, where they live, things they like, or things they have been through. But identity goes deeper than a collection of facts. How clients see themselves can influence the choices they make, the goals they pursue, and what they believe is possible for their future. This can become especial

Sometimes things are getting better, but something still doesn’t feel right. A person may be showing up for treatment, making healthier decisions, improving relationships, managing mental health symptoms, or making progress in recovery. They can look back and see that things really have changed, yet still have the feeling that something is missing. VIDEO INTRO - https://youtube.com/shorts/s9xJ3_Us7LE?si=CFGuYykLf1VoS43f That feeling doesn’t necessarily mean something is wron

Join Ken Pecoraro, LCSW, LCADC, CCS, creator of Taking the Escalator, for the live seminar: Mastering the Method: Getting More from Taking the Escalator Taking the Escalator is more than a collection of worksheets, activities, and discussion exercises. Behind the resources is an approach designed to help clinicians increase engagement, encourage meaningful discussion, and meet clients where they are in the change process. In this live seminar, we’ll look at the Taking the Esc

When we talk about mental health and substance use struggles, we understandably spend a lot of time talking about what they cost people. VIDEO INTRO LINK Relationships can be damaged. Opportunities can disappear. Trust can be lost. Physical and emotional health can suffer. People may lose money, jobs, freedom, confidence, stability, and years of their lives. Those losses are real, and there is no reason to put a positive spin on them. But they may not be the whole story. What

What do we do when a client is facing a situation that really isn't going to change anytime soon? Maybe they are incarcerated, in long-term treatment, dealing with court involvement, facing serious consequences, rebuilding after addiction, or simply stuck in circumstances where the way forward feels very long. As clinicians, these situations can be challenging because encouragement can sound unrealistic, while focusing only on acceptance can start to sound like, "Just deal wi

Social Atoms have been used for years as a visual way of exploring the important relationships in a person's life. They are simple, interactive, and can lead to some surprisingly meaningful discussion. After using Social Atoms in groups over the years, one thing became increasingly clear: people aren't the only things we have relationships with. We can have a relationship with our job. A neighborhood. A hobby. A pet. Social media. Music. The gym. A recovery group. Alcohol or

Most of us have an inner lawyer. When we are thinking about making a positive change, there is often a part of us that can come up with a pretty convincing argument for why we should change. At the same time, another part of us may be just as good at arguing why we should keep doing exactly what we are doing. That is ambivalence, and it is a normal part of the change process. My Inner Lawyer: Building a Case for Positive Change turns that internal debate into an interactive g

I’ve been running a lot of groups myself these days, and of course my favorite website for group activities is Taking the Escalator! It is great to provide education in group and to give group members opportunities to open up and really process emotions, trauma, recovery, and other important therapeutic issues. However, there are also times when the best thing we can do is simply give everyone an opportunity to feel comfortable, interact, share, and maybe even have some fun t

Why do people continue making choices they know work against their long-term goals? The answer usually isn't a lack of motivation. More often, it's that two competing desires are pulling in different directions. One side wants immediate relief, comfort, or gratification. The other wants something bigger; a healthier future, stronger relationships, personal growth, or lasting recovery. Tipping the Scales: Understanding Internal Motivation uses a simple balance scale metaphor t