“How was your day? How are you feeling?” Deep down we hope for someone to ask us these questions. We all have the same basic human desire to be heard and for someone to care. We all want the opportunity to talk about our day regardless of whether it consisted of big or little things. Not only that but sometimes school life and home life can be difficult for our kids. This is why at Higher Ground we carve out the time in our programming for each of our kids to participate in group therapy.
For 30 minutes each week, every student, has the opportunity to participate in group. The goal of our group therapy is to give our kids a platform to speak and share their experiences allowing them the opportunity to express their fears and have other students normalize it.
Our group is lead by an amazing team of Marriage and Family Therapists. One of our most faithful MFT’s is Cecilia who has been volunteering her services at Higher Ground for over a year. Mondays through Wednesdays she comes to Higher Ground with the hope that each kid feels listened to after each session.
Every week she picks a different topic to be discussed. She will use holidays or different activities to open the discussion. One example is Mother’s Day, she will lead a Mother's Day craft but use it to discuss their relationships with their mothers and the role a mother plays in family life. By picking topics that revolve around school life, play life and family life, she hopes to give the kids a positive experience and ideas of how to solve everyday issues that may arise such as disagreements with friends.
Cecilia says she also grows from this experience. When asked what she personally gets out of coming to Higher Ground, Cecilia expressed, “Great joy!. These kids are funny and cute, and I can see they are very open to relationships. I love having the opportunity to share my own life experiences with them. Some of these kids have difficult lives and the fact they share them with me is very humbling.”
Cecilia hopes that these young people realize their value and that each one recognizes they are blessed with a gift. “The most important thing I hope they take away is that they know and believe they are loved, valuable, and are capable, regardless of their circumstances because when people BELIEVE they can achieve, they DO achieve.”
We are so grateful at Higher Ground for people like Cecilia who bring their skill sets and gifts to pour into our youth!