From January-May 2018 I served as a Family Services Educator in the Seeking Safety evidence based program at COBYS Family Services located on East King Street in Lancaster city. In my role, I co-led weekly 1.5 hour open-ended group meetings (in conjunction with a licensed therapist) for participants selected from the Lancaster County Drug Court and Mental Health Court programs.
Each class session followed a psychoeducation lesson plan as outlined in the Seeking Safety instructional (evidence-based) materials. Seeking Safety classes were held on the same day that clients attended/appeared at mandated court sessions at the county Court House. Attendance averaged between 5-7 clients each week. At the conclusion of each week’s group, clients were given a gift card for lunch redeemable at 3 local restaurants within walking distance from the COBYS offices and the Court House.
Seeking Safety program was a grant-funded collaborative between COBYS and Lancaster County Drug Court. The program was selected from those available on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practice (NREPP) database.
As part of my training to teach Seeking Safety, I completed an online course, observed drug court proceedings, observed a drug court graduation ceremony, attended AA meeting, viewed training DVDs, and successfully passed a series of knowledge and application quizzes. I also met with Judge David Ashworth in his chambers with other members of the grant team. Judge Ashworth is director of Adult Drug Court for Lancaster County. Click to view his TED Talk.
Seeking Safety is different from other prevention models because it addresses trauma (including PTSD) and substance misuse from a present-focused, psycho-educational model. Clients examine their substance misuse and trauma simultaneously, rather than as two separate conditions. In this program participants are not required to delve into their trauma narrative. Instead, the program gently guides clients to recognize patterns unproductive behaviors and develop new methods for self-care.
Seeking Safety was designed to increase client resiliency factors and decrease their risk factors by focusing on healthy ways to prevent retraumatization and learning ways to cope without the use of alcohol and/or other drugs.
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- COBYS
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- street view
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- advertising flyer
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- program manual
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- workbook cover
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- Drug Ct. grad. prg.
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- Drug Ct. grad. prg.
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- weekly sign-in
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- active learning at board
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- active learning at board
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- COBYS mission
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- COBYS classroom