Spring seems to have finally come to Klamath Falls and with it many exciting events at Dragonfly. The students have returned from Spring break and are now back in school or working on other projects. Dragonfly has set a new group schedule for the spring term.

Below are descriptions of the groups currently being offered. As with all terms, the students, mentors and clinical team put their heads together to develop the group schedule and each student has been assigned those groups that work best with their individual treatment plan.

Upper Phase Gathering

Upper Phase gathering will occur every other week and involves all of the Phase 2 and up community getting together for a sweat, a dinner, or a bonfire. This gathering time will give the students a chance to talk about current struggles, or successes. Occasionally a Phase 1 student will be invited to join to receive feedback from the upper phase community and have a chance to gather wisdom from them as well. This group will allow our upper phase students to feel a sense of unity and community as they continue their journeys through and eventually away from dragonfly.

Rec Group

Many of our students work better when their lives have some enjoyment and excitement. The Rec Group is used as an outlet mid week to allow students a chance to challenge themselves and try new activities. Rec group consists of a variety of activities such as painting, board games, pool, cards, as well as outdoor activities such as whiffle ball, soccer, football, tennis, racquetball, disc golf, hiking and enjoying the nice weather when it arrives.

International Trip Group

Students who have elected to go or are still considering attending the International Trip are assigned to this group that meets weekly. The group covers a variety of topics from specific cultural education about Cambodia to logistical concerns and preparations for the trip. Additionally, the staff team running the trip has a chance to observe the potential trip members in a setting as a group. There will be experiential activities as well as education oriented groups.

Nutrition

This group is normally in combination with a separate weekly shopping trip where Nikki works closely with a small group of students showing them how to make healthy choices and pick food that will assist them in meeting their fitness goals.

Boot Camp

An hour-long intense exercise group held 2 times per week. Boot camp is a combination of strength training and cardio, incorporating Pilates, yoga, weight lifting, Piloxing, and aerobics.

Beginner Cooking

It’s a space to be creative and learn about food. Some classes we are experimenting with food and learning why and how it does what it does. Other classes we are learning to prep healthy meals. This involves learning about new food, new prepping techniques, and tasting new food. Every class is fun and we end it by all sitting down and eating together.

Women’s Group

Women’s Group is a safe place for the women of Dragonfly to bond and communicate with each other. Our focus is to discuss what it means to be a women and encourage each other in this journey. Some examples of groups activities are self exploration activities, watching documentaries, empowerment circles, and creative expression. We also discuss what is currently happening in the community, in our own lives and how we want to change or keep what is good. All women in the community attend this group.

Men’s Group

Men’s Group is a forum that provides a space for the men of the Dragonfly community to grow as men and build closer more intimate relationships among themselves and others. Men’s Group is a safe place where all the of the men in the community can come share, listen, and support each other. Each group commences with introductions and a pledge of confidentiality to the group in an effort to promote vulnerability. From there we have either a specific topic for the group to discuss, or if need be, we discuss the current happenings in the men’s community. All men in the community attend this group.

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” -Albert Einstein

Meditation Group

The Meditation Group explores a broad variety of practices including techniques designed to promote relaxation, build internal energy, and develop compassion, love, patience, generosity and forgiveness. Meditation aims at effortlessly sustained single-pointed concentration and single-pointed analysis, meant to enable the students to enjoy a sense of well-being while engaging in any life activity.

Ceremony Group

Ceremony Group is an exploration in the use of ceremony to recognize the many transitions and accomplishments of the human life cycle. This group uses ceremony as a form of experiential therapy, helping students to develop insight and new perspective about their personal path. It will include nature elements and give students a connection with the work that they may have began during their previous wilderness experience. Students will have an option to participate in an in-depth 4 day solo vision quest at the end of the term.

DBT

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is an evidenced based form of cognitive behavioral therapy that treats individuals who have difficulty regulating emotions and behaviors. The Dragonfly DBT skills group focuses on changing one’s thoughts through the use of specific coping techniques and psycho-education. The goal is to replace problem behaviors with more adaptive ways of coping with distress.

The program is divided into four skills modules:

• Mindfulness is designed to teach a person how to focus their mind and attention.

• Distress tolerance is centered on accepting the current situation and finding ways to survive and tolerate the moment without engaging in problematic behaviors.

• Emotion regulation skills include learning to identify and label current emotions, identifying obstacles to changing emotions, reducing emotional reactivity, increasing positive emotions and changing emotions.

• Interpersonal effectiveness skills teach effective strategies for asking for what one needs, saying no, and coping with interpersonal conflict.

Social Thinking

Social thinking is what we do when we interact with people: we think about them. And how we think about people affects how we behave, which in turn affects how others respond to us, which in turn affects our own emotions. Whether we are with friends, sending an email, in a classroom or at the grocery store, we take in the thoughts, emotions and intentions of the people we are interacting with. In Social Thinking group, we will work to improve our social thinking abilities and apply different skills and tools to improve our social interactions with others.

Technology Related Abuse Potential Group

T.R.A.P. Group is a combination of psycho-education, skill development, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal process and relapse prevention. We explore the epidemiology of abuse/addiction as it relates to the use of internet connectedness and digital technology use from both a global and personal aspect. We live in a world which is often difficult to “unplug” from. Learning to effectively balance a technology dependent world can prove to be challenging. Group members are encouraged to take what they learn in group and to put the knowledge to work outside of the group experience. Group members are introduced to and practice skill development such as feelings identification/management, alternatives to engagement in technology to escape, manage negative emotions, or situations and moderation management. Cognitive restructuring techniques are employed helping group members identify core beliefs which drive unhealthy technology related.

The Alcohol and Other Drugs (A&D) Group

A&D group is an opportunity for group members to become educated about all aspects of their substance use, misuse, or addiction. We explore each group member’s personal epidemiology of substance use, the positives and negatives of substance use, post-acute withdrawal syndrome, relapse prevention, recovery planning, harm reduction strategies and more. Several evidence-based practices are utilized to fit the dynamics and needs of the group.

Group member’s become actively involved in research and didactic, interactive presentations, focusing on topics of interest to them as they relate to the intention of the group. This helps incorporate and reinforce learning, while offering a safe and supportive experience. Recognizing the therapeutic benefit of processing, time is reserved for this honoring event in each group.

Recovery Group

Recovery Group is an interactive, experiential group. Students learn to interact in non-using ways to the world around them, as well as create an internal dialog that is key to long term successful recovery. Participants work to explore on and off site resources to enhance their recovery network. As group members grow and develop in their recovery process they often face situations which may prove difficult, resulting in cravings, or urges to use. These triggers, high risk situations and warning signs, as well as successes and brought to the group and processed in a safe, supportive atmosphere.

Sex Ed

Sex Ed group serves to bring awareness of the body where society has deemed it taboo. It serves as an education of anatomy, prevention, protection, and identity. Sex Ed creates a space for students to openly ask questions and become more aware of what is happening to them physically and emotionally during physical acts and sexual identity. We hope to empower students by helping them take ownership of their bodies.

Photography Basics

Out at the homestead, springtime provides a great opportunity to get out and examine our world a little closer. Through a series of field trips both on and off site, students will be introduced to the fundamentals of creative photographic expression and composition. Students will also begin to learn to speak articulately about art, employing artistic language to critique their own work as well as others in a constructive manner.

Farm Camp

During Farm Camp this semester we will be germinating seeds in the new greenhouse and transplanting them into the Aerie Acre field as the season progresses. Students will learn about optimal soil mix ratios, seed depth for planting, and watering techniques. Additionally, we will be preparing beds in the field and discussing how to properly care for organic flowers and vegetables with intention and focus.

Art Therapy

Horseback Riding

Women’s Self Esteem