Welcome to the robust family programming experience at Elements. With us you will be wrapped up in an entire team of professionals, providing updates, support, guidance, coaching and education. Elements is dedicated to helping the entire family forge forward into a new future together.
At Elements we use every opportunity available to us to incorporate the entire family system wherever possible. As such, each family will have a host of opportunities to engage with their loved one in the program, be it via therapeutically driven letters and phone calls, embedded in the group for one or more visits, or immersed in a 3-day Family Focus. Most of our parents engage in all aspects of family communication and visits, including bringing siblings or other close family members out for the Family Focus.
The Parent Visit provides a unique opportunity for families to step into their loved one’s Elements experience by joining them right inside the group, meeting all of their peers and mentors, and getting a first-hand account of their progress. This experience is integral to our program, and accordingly, to encourage all families to participate, we include the Parent Visit at no extra cost.
It is designed to coincide with the work the clients have been doing, and to deepen parents’ understanding of their loved one’s needs, while developing new communication skills and a new-found connection with each other. Parent Visits are all individually tailored to the families’ needs, and can vary in length from an overnight to a day visit.
The Elements Family Focus provides families the ideal space to open up and connect on a deeper level. Set within our beautiful field area, we make the three-day experience comfortable and fun so everyone can be emotionally present for the important therapeutic work at hand.
Each Family Focus will be open to all family members as deemed clinically appropriate, and will work within a curriculum specific to the family’s needs, designed in conjunction with the client’s primary therapist and referring professional. Families will gain insight into their current relationship dynamics and learn healthier ways of relating to each other. The Family Focus is an impactful shared experience in moving the therapeutic process forward.
Families have the option to add an adventure program activity to their 3-day Family Focus. The activity will occur on the second day of the 3-day intensive. Adventure Program staff will come out and facilitate one of the many adventure program activities we offer to clients. Activity choices will depend on the season and weather conditions. Just as the goal of adventure programming is to encourage clients to push their comfort zones and feel empowered to face challenges, so will be the goal for families.
While adventure activities can be a fun way for a family to connect, often the goal is for families to dive deeper together. With the support of the adventure program staff and the family focus clinician, families can use the adventure experience to increase their vulnerability with one another, support one another through obstacles, practice working together as a cohesive family unit, and explore processing emotions together as they naturally arise.
Parent guidance is an additional form of support which is provided by licensed therapists who work collaboratively with the client’s therapist and referring professional. The intent of the parent guidance program is to provide parents the opportunity to work through their own emotional processes of having a child in treatment. It allows time for the parents to discover what they would like to get out of the experience for themselves. With their guide, parents have an opportunity to recognize their strengths and struggles.
Guidance is also an avenue to process and speak to challenges that siblings or other family members may experience with a family member in treatment. Parent guidance helps parents decide what they can best obtain from their time with treatment, gaining insights, understandings, and techniques to support themselves and all family members.
The parent support group is an online meeting that occurs bi-weekly for all enrolled families. This is a shared experience amongst our Elements families. This is a valuable opportunity to meet other parents, share, and hear one another speak to their experience. Each family may be at a different point in their process, however many of the feelings and challenges are shared and familiar. The parent support group is moderated by the Elements Family Services team, and provides a platform for parents to seek the support that they need.
The Spotlight Seminar is a live online seminar that occurs bi-weekly for all enrolled families. The seminar is moderated by the Elements Family Services team and available for all parents to attend. Every other week, a therapist from Elements, a Family Services team member, or a member from the Field Department will teach a segment on the therapeutic modalities or program components of Elements. It is an opportunity for the families to learn more about what occurs in the field and participate through active, live Q&A. The intent is to provide a spotlight lens for parents to become more familiar with what their loved one is learning and practicing day to day.
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