Conversation is a very important part of the recovery aspect of therapy. This conversation is not necessarily limited to the therapist and the resident.
Like a support group
Some of the most powerful conversations can occur when a therapist utilizes group therapy or concurrent therapy.
It is amazing hearing the conversations and encouraging statements that happen when there are multiple residents in the room.
Comforting to be in the same situation
Sometime it is simply the conversation of “What did you do?” That helps them the most. The feeling of having some support system of someone truely empathetic of what they are going through. It helps to know they are not the only ones going through such a trying time.
Group and concurrent therapy
Group and concurrent can help to establish some friendly competition among the residents you are working with.
Competition can make a huge impact
This competition can gradually start with something as simple as laps of walking around the therapy room. It can help to encourage each resident to push just a little harder to make just one more lap.
You can also purposely add in some competition into a group session. You will be surprised how easily a table top game while standing can get the juices flowing and help them to significantly increase their standing time and tolerance as they focus on playing “War”, “checkers”, or “connect 4”.
It can even carry over beyond the group
I was lucky enough this past year to see this phenomenon in action. The competition had gotten to the point that every day they were asking how many laps the other was able to do. So the shear experience of starting the competition in a group carried over the drive for improvement into the individual treatment sessions.
It helped to foster more fun in rehab and continued to encourage them to push further every day. By spearheading the competition they had helped each other to push beyond what they thought was possible.
