Seeking Safety Group Therapy by Qualified Clinicians
The Seeking Safety* group at Wings Recovery Women’s Program assists in focusing on and increasing your individual strengths and developing new tools for coping with life’s stressors. Our goal is to help you to stay in the present while you develop the tools to cope with triggers, ground yourself, and detach from emotional pain. Contact us today to speak with an expert on this unique treatment modality.
Who Is the Ideal Seeking Safety Candidate?
Seeking Safety was designed for people with a history of trauma and/or addiction, focusing on coping skills to help you become safer in your relationships, thinking, and actions. “Trauma” means a distressing event, such as a child abuse, major accident, combat, domestic violence, natural disaster, etc. “Addiction” means destructive use of alcohol, drugs, gambling, food, shopping, and more.
What Does Seeking Safety Cover?
- Safety
- Taking Good Care of Yourself
- Honesty
- Asking for Help
- Recovery Thinking
- Setting Boundaries in Relationships
- Healthy Relationships
- Creating Meaning
- Compassion
- Detaching from Emotional Pain (Grounding)
- Community Resources
- Discovery
- Getting Others to Support Your Recovery
- Integrating the Split Self
- Commitment
- Respecting Your Time
- Coping with Triggers
- Self-Nurturing
- Red and Green Flags
- Life Choices
How Do I Get Started?
Every session of Seeking Safety is structured with a check-in, an inspiring quotation, discussion, and check-out. The goal is to use time well to help you get the most from each session. Once you begin, you’ll find that the program focuses on the present. This means you will not be asked to reveal upsetting stories of trauma or addiction. We focus on what you can do right now to create a better life for yourself.
Who Can Join Seeking Safety?
Anyone can join. You can get a lot from participating, especially if you are open to new coping skills to improve your life. The program is relevant to all types of trauma and/or addiction. For example, you may have survived traumas such as child abuse, combat, natural disasters, accidents, or violence. You may have addiction to substances, gambling, food, or other behavior. If you have both trauma and addiction issues, we address the link between the two—how common it is for the two to go together.
Does Seeking Safety work?
Seeking Safety has been successfully used for more than 20 years across genders and with people struggling with many different life issues, including HIV/AIDS, homelessness, serious mental illness, and incarceration. It is the most popular and scientifically studied counseling model for trauma and addiction, and can be used for group or individual counseling as well as be delivered by peers. Research shows that it works for both trauma and addiction issues, is cost-effective, and very safe.
Is Seeking Safety culturally sensitive?
Yes. Seeking Safety has been implemented with diverse cultural and ethnic groups, who have consistently expressed strong satisfaction with it. It has also been translated into more than 12 languages. Seeking Safety emphasizes adaptation to each person’s needs.
*This summary was written by Lisa M. Najavits, PhD, the developer of Seeking Safety (June, 2018)