Community Group

If you live in the Blacksburg, Virginia area and have loved ones, friends, colleagues, employees, and fellow citizens with substance use issues, you are invited to join a group whose purposes are to provide:

  1. information about the latest findings from addiction science on effective treatment for substance use issues, and
  2. the opportunity to give and receive compassionate support during a time of challenge.

The group can:

  • help people gain the increased sense of well-being that knowledge can offer.
  • help people learn skills to help themselves and their people feel better and do better. Skilled family/partner/employer/citizen involvement improves outcomes for people with substance use disorder.
  • offer the creative synergy of many hearts and minds together.
  • co-create, as pioneers engaged in research-informed care, novel ways to address challenges our people with substance use disorder face locally.

Anne Giles, M.A., M.S., L.P.C. will facilitate the group. Anne has served as a counselor to people with substance use concerns since 2014.

Community group sessions will be held on Tuesdays from 5:15 to 6:15 PM in Anne’s Blacksburg, Virginia office. Registration is required. We currently have seating for 7 group members. Sorry, no child care is available at this time.

To foster safety, information exchange, support, and time for all to share, the group will follow a structured protocol that will include a brief, 10-minute presentation. We’ll use a timer to give each member a chance to do a check-in, take a turn to share during post-presentation discussion, and do a check-out as we close. Members are invited to meet before and after the group in other locations for further discussions.

For reference, we will use How to Help a Loved One with Addiction: An Evidence-Informed Guide, and the sources to which it links, including Outline of an Evidence-Informed Treatment Plan for Substance Use Disorder.

Subsequent presentations will address requests from the group.

Calendar of topics:

  • 3/26/19 – “Why can treatment take so long and cost so much?”
  • 4/2/19 – “What are the challenges people with substance use disorder face in our locale?”
  • 4/9/19 – “What are the central skills needed by a person with substance use disorder?”
  • 4/16/19 – Meeting location and and time moved to 6:00 PM at NRVCS: “Addiction: A Community Conversation.”
  • 4/23/19 – “How do I balance my longing to advise and protect with my respect for the person’s autonomy?”

Directions to Anne’s office

By ethics and law, Anne is unable to confirm or deny whether or not any individual is a client of her private counseling practice. Even if a client has signed a release to discuss a case with a particular individual who might be present at the community group, to protect clients’ privacy and confidentiality, Anne is unable to confirm, deny, or discuss any identities or details.

The imperative of privacy and confidentiality must be emphasized. Substance use is believed to be a moral failing deserving of punishment. The resulting stigma can cause people to lose their social standing, their jobs, their children, even their freedom. To not endanger others, you are required to refrain from mentioning, referring to, or asking about any known or potential client before, during, or after the group.

All are welcome. Drop-ins are welcome. 

To become a member of the group, please provide Anne with your email address by sending her an email or text. Different email addresses are needed for clients and registrants. Anne will send you a link via email to register online.

To register, you will be asked to sign that you have read, understood, and agreed to:

  • Informed Consent to Participate in a Community Group
  • Notice of Privacy Practices
  • Community Group Policies

In the next section is the current version of the Community Group Policies.

. . . . .

COMMUNITY GROUP POLICIES

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Information about the group, and the topics covered in group sessions, are posted publicly. However, you agree to keep the identities of all individuals present and all personal content disclosed in the group strictly private and confidential.

IDENTIFYING INFORMATION

Others Not Present

You understand that mentioning the names of individuals with substance use issues may endanger them. You, therefore, agree to mention no individuals not present in the group, either by first or last name, before, during, and after the session. Further, you agree to honor the rights of others to privacy and confidentiality.

If you have a person with substance use issues in your life and want to mention the person, you agree to refer to the person as “My Person” before, during, and after the group.

Others Present

You agree to refer to people attending the group using their self-identified name even if you know them by another name, or by their full names, in other contexts.

Self

Inside of the group, you are invited to identify yourself by your first name, and also by your last name if you choose. You may also use a pseudonym or choose not to disclose your name. Outside of the group, if you choose, you are welcome to disclose privately and publicly that the group exists and that you are a participant.

URGENT AND EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

If you have concerns about yourself or others, you agree to contact the counselor directly via text, phone, or email. If you or others are experiencing an emergency, you agree to call 911 or proceed directly to the nearest emergency room.

GROUP SESSION POLICIES

You agree to follow these group session policies:

  • Arrive on time.
  • Safety first.
  • Self-kindness and other-kindness next.
  • Protect each other by keeping confidential each other’s identities and everything shared in group
  • Use “I-statements.” Avoid “you-statements” (intrusion without permission) and “we-statements” (inclusion without permission).
  • Observe silence during each other’s sharing.
  • If you find yourself wanting to react/respond to a group member’s statements, become aware of what you are feeling and thinking first. Even if you choose not to follow up, practice being able to state your feelings and thoughts in reaction/response to others.
  • Ask for permission – and wait to receive it – before asking a clarifying question or making a suggestion. With your request, identify the type of follow-up you want to offer. Examples: “Are you open to a clarifying question?” “Are you open to a suggestion?”
  • Be cautious about giving advice. This is usually experienced, consciously or unconsciously, as a violation of the other person’s autonomy and personhood.
  • Balance gaining and giving.
  • To foster open communication and discourage triangulation, disclose making contact outside of group. You are welcome to have contact with group members outside of group, whether by text, phone, or in-person meetings. You may simply discover you have crossed paths in our small, rural community. If you have had contact, please share that with the group.

For everyone’s sake, you understand that violation of any of these policies may be grounds for dismissal from the group.

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Suggested reading:

Recommended reading:

With questions or to register for the group, please contact Anne Giles.

Last revised 4/11/19

This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical or professional advice. Consult a qualified health care professional for personalized medical and professional advice.