Congratulations on registering for Regulate and Restore! I am so excited to support you on your journey!
Group work can be a powerful and valuable venue for healing and growth. The information contained below is designed to inform you about what you can expect from your group experience.
A SAFE ENVIRONMENT
A safe environment is created and maintained by both the facilitator(s) of a group and its members. Primary ingredients are mutual respect and a chance to create trust. Your group facilitator(s) will monitor discussions and maintain a respectful environment to keep safety and trust a priority.
Another primary ingredient for a safe environment has to do with confidentiality. Your group facilitator, Christina Russell, is bound by law to maintain confidentiality. Group members are bound by honor to keep what is said in the group in the group. Keeping confidentiality allows for an environment where trust can be built and all members may benefit from the group experience.
However, group members are not bound to the rules and laws that govern your faciliator. You may want to share what you are learning about yourself in group with a significant other. This is fine as long as you remember not to talk about how events unfold in group or in any other way compromise the confidentiality of other group members.
LIMITS OF CONFIDENTIALITY
As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Christina Russell will follow the laws of confidentiality in Georgia, including the exceptions below.
If you are a threat to yourself or others (showing suicidal or homicidal intent), your facilitator(s) may need to report your statements and/or behaviors in order to keep you and others safe. The facilitator is also required by law to report any suspected child or vulnerable adult abuse to the proper authorities.
Records may also be released with your written permission. In a psychoeducational group, records include attendance and topics covered in the group. Records do not include information about your personal process or about other group members.
Facilitators may consult with other professionals regarding group interactions. This allows a freedom to gain other perspectives and ideas concerning how best to help you reach your goals in group. No identifying information is shared in such consultations unless a release has been obtained from you as a group member.
ATTENDANCE
Your presence in group is highly important. A group dynamic is formed that helps create an environment for growth and change. If you are absent from the group this dynamic can suffer and affects the experience of you and other members of the group. Therefore, your facilitator(s) would ask that you make this commitment a top priority for the duration of the group. It is understood that occasionally an emergency may occur that will prevent you from attending group. If you are faced with an emergency or sudden illness, please contact your facilitator(s) before group begins let them know you will not be present.
WHAT TO EXPECT
This is an psychoeducational group, meaning you will be learning information and doing various exercises and activities designed to help you better understand the material, yourself, and each other. Group time consists of teaching, experiential exercises, and processing time.
Processing may revolve around an issue one member of the group is working on with time for feedback and reactions by other members of the group. At times the group may focus on a topic with all members verbally participating. In either case, the group offers a place where you can experience support, give support, understand more clearly how you relate to yourself and others, and examine your own beliefs about yourself and the world around you.
These dynamics provide a very powerful environment for change. The more you give of yourself during the sessions, the more you will receive. The more honest and open you are, the more you allow for insight and growth.
This psychoeducational group experience is not a replacement for individual, couples, or group therapy, legal counsel, or medical advice. If issues arise that are not suitable for the group’s process, you may benefit from individual therapy sessions. If applicable, you can discuss this with the group’s leader. You are free to participate in your own individual counseling during or after this experience.
You are responsible for creating your own decisions and results. You agree not to hold me, or any company I am affiliated with, liable for any outcomes resulting directly or indirectly from the group process.
This psychoeducational group group experience will not provide emergency or crisis services. If needed, the facilitator can give a list of needed resources.
RISKS AND BENEFITS
Participation in this experience can result in many benefits, including improved coping, improved self understanding, improved life satisfaction and improvement in the specific concerns that led you to seek attendance in this psychoeducational process.
During the psychoeducational process, you may also encounter unpleasant feelings or thoughts. You may also decide about changes you want to make in your behaviors and/or relationships. This experience may result in changes that were not originally intended.
PRACTICE SELF CARE
You are encouraged and expected to practice self-care while participating in this group. You are free to participate to whatever degree is comfortable for you. You can decline participation in any exercise at any time. If you are feeling overwhelmed, you can slow down, take a break, or step away.
FEES
The fee for this 7 week group is $525. Current clients receive a 20% discount.
Your card will be billed in full upon registration unless other arrangements are made.
You are responsible to pay for each session even if you do not attend the session unless other arrangements are made.
Insurance will not be billed for this group.
I have read the above information, understand the information, and agree to the terms of group participation as shown by my signature below.
X. CONSENT TO GROUP EXPERIENCE
By accepting this Agreement you acknowledge you have reviewed and accepted the terms provided.
