What is the Seeking Safety Group?
Seeking safety is a structured, present-focused therapy designed to help people with substance use and trauma to achieve safety in their current lives. Safety includes the ability to:
- Manage trauma symptoms, including flashbacks, nightmares, and negative feelings
- Cope with life without the use of substances
- Improve self-care
- Find safe, supportive people
- Separate from abusive relationships
- Prevent self-destructive acts including self-harm, suicidal impulses, and unsafe sex
- Find ways to feel good and enjoy life
The Seeking Safety group seeks to help improve self-respect, self-understanding, and self-esteem.
Fall 2024 group details
Seeking Safety Group will be on Tuesdays from 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. beginning September 17, 2024.
Call Student Health at 703-993-2831 to set up an intake appointment.
What will be covered in treatment?
Over the semester, the group will cover a specific topic each week and will focus on working with thoughts, behaviors, or interpersonal relationships utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Example Topics: Honesty, Asking for Help, Setting Boundaries in Relationships, Taking Good Care of Yourself, Compassion, Recovery Thinking, Creating Meaning, Self-Nurturing, Respecting your Time, Getting Others to Support your Recovery, and Community Resources.
What to expect at each group session?
Sessions follow the following format
- Check-in questions
- Topic handout
- Discussion/Practice of skills related to the topic
- Check-out questions
Common Questions
Do I need to stop all substance use to participate?
No. The goal is to help you enjoy life and cope with distress without relying on substance use. We want to help you learn and understand better what motivates the choices you make.
Will I get a chance to talk about my trauma?
Yes, but the aim will be to talk about the impact of your trauma on your current life. Sometimes people want to talk a lot about the past, but then are unable to manage overwhelming feelings and memories that come up. Our goal is to help you establish safety first and to learn strategies to cope with intense negative feelings. Because discussing details about past traumas or substance use in group therapy can be too upsetting to other patients, we ask that you participate in individual therapy at the same time so that you will have a place to talk about the past if you want to.