Build Your Own Program: What Would You Choose?
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 do?
There can be a lot to learn from the answers.
A Free Version to Try With Your Groups
A free Build Your Own Group Program worksheet is available for everyone.
Participants get to identify topics they believe should be discussed, consider some of the real-life challenges people face in recovery, design their own group-program week, and ultimately narrow everything down to their Top 5 priorities.
It can generate some interesting discussion while also giving counselors useful feedback about what group members actually find relevant.
Download the free version and give it a try with your group.
Members: Take It to Another Level With
THE PROGRAM DRAFT
For Taking the Escalator Members, I wanted to take Ryan's original idea and turn it into something much bigger, more interactive, and a little more fun.
So we created:
THE PROGRAM DRAFT
Think sports draft meets treatment planning.
The group gets one shared Draft Board packed with choices covering mental health, substance use and recovery, relationships, life skills, personal growth, coping and wellness, along with different ways the program itself could operate.
Then the draft begins.
One person makes a pick. Once it has been drafted, it's gone. The board moves to the next person, who has to make another selection. Participants can also write in their own ideas.
By the end, the group has literally drafted its own program.
But that is only the beginning.
From “What Should the Program Do?” to “What Can I Do?”
The completed Draft opens the door to a much bigger conversation.
Participants first get to talk about what they want from treatment, what they may actually need, and what makes a group environment helpful. From there, the focus gradually shifts.
Instead of only asking:
“What could this program do better for me?”
the group begins considering:
“What could I do to get more out of this program?”
That can be especially useful when working with clients who are struggling with motivation or who may be going through the motions in treatment.
Rather than lecturing someone about needing to “try harder,” the activity gives participants a chance to arrive at that conversation themselves. What could I do more of? How could I participate differently? What could I contribute to the group? If I really decided to take advantage of this opportunity, what would I do differently?
The message is that treatment works better when both sides are contributing to the process.
That makes The Program Draft: Build Your Own Program more than an activity about designing the perfect treatment program. It becomes a tool for exploring motivation, personal responsibility, participation, and effort without starting the conversation with a lecture.
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