How to Start and Grow a Recovery Peer Group Sharing Experience, Strength, and Hope

“It is the courage to be open and loving which is the manifestation of underlying strength and power. And it is only in embracing the possibility that you have a Higher Self that knows how to love, that knows truth within, that is truly powerful, that you can begin to face and dismantle the false beliefs of the protected self, the ego. You can’t begin to look at these and deal with them if you don’t believe there’s anything else. You can never move into the feeling of personal power until you recognize truly that there’s a peaceful place within you that is already there, that doesn’t have to be fixed.”
Jordan and Margaret Paul

Having been a teacher and counselor in addiction/mental health, I learned that most people love to learn about themselves. I realized that many of the labels used by counselors are unknown to all the people who never attend therapy. So I took these labels and developed a short test that will teach anyone 10 of his/her labels.

As individuals, we sometimes choose paths that are harmful to us. To get off that path and onto a new path takes exploration and experimentation.

My test, called the Changemaker Test, offers education for self-discovery as I believe that change within a person involves the courage to see(insight) and the courage to act (action). Therefore by using the labels to change themselves, the changemaker is the person who decides to learn and make the change happen.

The Changemaker Test includes:

• The test of 25 personality traits include the categories of NLP (neurolinguistic programming), birth order, family roles, emotional energy, and MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)

• From the 25 traits, each person will learn 10 of his/her personality traits

• Each of the 25 traits is explained in an individual description

• Included is the Big Five Test and enneagram information

• A bibliography for all the personality traits

• Also recommended websites for the included personality schools

By learning our personality traits, we can determine the positives about ourselves to enrich our self-image. The Changemaker Test is meant to be the starting point for self-discovery. Using this blog, anyone with compassion and interest in others can use these materials to begin discussion groups to help others.

In compiling this test, the answers, and explanations, I know that people with a desire to help others can use these tools to help any who want to continue with self-discovery.

This test and related materials are available free at Finding Our Passion.

In Changemaker groups, the group leader leads only by getting the group together. By caring for others, the group members can learn as well as teach self-discovery. The group leader/leaders may choose to charge or ask for donations to pay for the meeting room and materials.

To lead education groups, Changemaker groups, the only requirement for the business is to have an occupational license to run a business. Changemaker groups are not therapy groups so no other license is required.

Changemaker groups are grow groups as the members have a desire for self-discovery. The groups may be a group who never formally meet but instead are joined together in a virtual group. They may choose to come together by some basic personality labels in common. They also may exchange email addresses, instant messaging addresses or meet in a chat room.

Through Changemaker Groups, we provide short-term specialized direction and solutions to help others to better understand themselves and ourselves.. With this direction and self-knowledge others will learn to implement techniques designed to lead to greater self-mastery.

Groups are the recognized best method for people to gain information and acceptance from others. One of the main underpinings of AA is that all members are peers. Anyone has the opportunity to share and to be heard.

The following excerpt from Treatment4Addiction summarizes the power of peer support groups:

“The celebrated physician and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, once stated: “In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flames by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” Indeed, no man is an island, and human beings are by nature interdependent on one another for their emotional survival. Oftentimes, individuals feel helpless and hopeless when confronted by a crisis. Support groups are a reminder that they are not alone, and that help is just a meeting away. Research corroborates the belief that the peer support mechanism furthers the recovery process. According to two studies conducted in the cancer research field, patients who attended support groups and followed their medical treatments, had a higher longevity and experienced depression and anxiety to a lesser degree than those who did not participate. Many experts maintain that receiving emotional encouragement from others in a support group environment decreases one’s mental distress and anxiety, as well as enhances one’s mood. This in turn boosts the peer group member’s immune system and emotional well-being.”

“Attending a local peer support group is therapeutic in that it allows individuals undergoing the same illness to open their hearts to others who have traversed similar straits. Typically, support group attendees voice their personal experiences, listen to other members’ stories, express empathetic understanding, and create social networks. Peer groups might focus on specific issues such as coping with a loved one’s suicide or tackle more general problems such as depression. Some support groups help individuals, such as drug addicts, modify their behavior, implement constructive strategies, and sustain healthy change. Other peer groups equip attendees (i.e. relatives of a homicide victim, cancer patients) with psychological support and coping skills. Still others shed light on phases that peer group members, such as those struggling with bereavement, must work through.”

“There are numerous benefits to be reaped from support groups, including the following:

• A secure, non-judgmental medium for verbalizing powerful emotions and personal experiences
• Coping skills that enable participants to manage specific symptoms
• Valuable information about new medications, the latest treatments, and disease research
• Learning skills, such as visualization methods, relaxation exercises, and breathing techniques
• Mutual emotional support and encouragement to look after oneself”

Thanks to Treatment4Addiction for the above quote (link included in our blogroll also).

All of the Changemaker Blogs may be used as free information for the groups:

Addiction Recovery

Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) Online

ACA Red Book Twelve Steps

Emotional Sobriety: Becoming Friends & Lovers

Twelve Steps

Changing Your Life

Finding Your Passion: Learning How to be Happy, Joyous and Free

Physical, Emotional and Mental Health

Books to Help You Become Stress Free: Add to your Library for Stress Reduction

High Energy Fitness: Positive Energy Comes From Positive Choices

Reparenting

The Free Road: Reparenting Ourselves and Others

Spirituality

Gratitude is the Only True Gift We Have for God: If We Stay in Gratitude, God Lives Through Us

Our Online Retreat: A Place to Strength Our Faith

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