Choices, they’re what life is all
about. From the moment you get up, to
the moment you go to bed, making choices is what gets you through the day. Due to their choices in behavior, our clients
have come to the Mary Davis Home for one reason or another. Some, through a court order, are enrolled in
the behavioral modification program called Choices. While with us, our clients are assigned a
counseling team of two counselors, giving them someone to “check-in” with on a
daily basis. A “check-in” is the term
used for a counseling session. Through both individualized sessions and groups,
each client’s thoughts and actions are challenged. Their current thinking and behavior have led
them to violations of the law and detainment.
Simply put, what they’re doing isn’t working. It’s time for something new.
We use a cognitive based approach
called Reality Therapy. This approach is
used with all clients. It was developed
in the 1960s by Dr. William Glasser. There
are several concepts surrounding Reality Therapy. First, he believed behavior is derived from
individuals’ incorrect approach to meet their needs. Second, individuals deny the reality they are
in or create for themselves. Third, they
refuse to let go of the past rather than focus on the present and future, and
finally, regardless of any situation, we all have choices to make and we are
responsible for them. Here’s an example,
a fifteen year-old wants the attention of his peers. Rather than gain that by joining sports or
clubs, he chooses to join a gang and attacks others to prove his worth which
leads to battery charges. He’s
detained. In counseling sessions, he
focuses on the fact that he doesn’t have a male role model because his father
left when he was five, and when discussing his crime, he talks about the
negative influence of the gang which led to his attacks. In this situation, the need of this youth is
real. In Reality Therapy, we all crave
the need to feel loved or have the feeling of belonging. However, how he goes about it is wrong. He chooses to take the negative route and
denies the reality he has created for himself.
Rather than create a life with genuine respect and a nurturing
environment, he has chosen one of fear and violence. He sees this life for what he needs it to be
but not what it really is. He denies the
reality of the situation. In counseling,
he blames the past (his father’s absence) and the gang life (something he chose
to be involved in). Through the Choices
Program, we would challenge both his thoughts and his actions, getting to see
his needs (versus his wants) and how he can meet them. With certain key factors identified, we would
then focus on goal setting, plan making, and how to achieve and meet his needs
in a socially acceptable way.
In addition to the individual
counseling, each program client is automatically enrolled in several of the
groups. We currently have: Evening Education Class, Girl’s Group, Social
Skills Group, and Young Men’s Group. We
are currently developing a Home Economics Class. Although each group approaches topics and
tasks in different ways, the underlying theme is the same. We want the client’s to open themselves to
new, positive ways to interact with their peers, authority, meet their needs or
their wants while understanding they can have a better, brighter future.
For those clients who are not
enrolled in the Choices Program, we have what’s called the Detention Level
Program(DLP). It is an incentive-based program, allowing
them to earn privileges when showing responsible behavior. They’re graded on their behavior (A-F) for
their interaction with peers, authority, room neatness, and room behavior. Much like the Choices Program, what clients
achieve and how fast they achieve it is up to them.
For more information:
Microsoft Publisher--Choices Program Handbook
Microsoft Word--Choices Program Handbook
