Substance Abuse Group Orientation

Please watch the video in full.

Group rules:

You must remain on camera at all times. If you need to go to the bathroom or leave the screen for any reason during group, please use the chat feature in zoom to tell the facilitator what is going on so you don't get removed.

You must participate. If the facilitator asks a question, please answer. If the facilitator asks you to write something down, please write it down. Please dig deep and do the work. You are paying for this and you might as well get something from it. Do not give surface level answers.

This is group therapy. It is not a class. It is covered under HIPAA laws, which are federal privacy laws. This means you may not have anyone else in the room with you during group. If someone does enter the room while you are in group, you must turn your volume all the way down so they cannot hear us and turn your screen away and ask them to leave, or you leave the room.

You may not do anything during group other than group. If this were an in person environment, we would all sit in a circle and talk to each other. This means you may not participate in group while at work, driving or sitting in a moving vehicle, doing community service, shopping in Wal-Mart, playing video games, watching TV, cooking, etc. Give the other group members respect by paying attention.

Your facilitator is a counselor. This means that whatever you say in group is held under the most strict confidentiality. However, the other group members are not held to the same confidentiality laws as the counselor, so be mindful of what you say in group. Your clinician is not reporting what you say back to anyone, so do open to speaking freely.

A counselor is what we call a mandated reporter. This means that under the law, the clinician is mandated to report certain things despite the confidentiality protections. The reasons your clinician could break confidentialit is if you report instances of child abuse, elder abuse, if you are homicidal or suicidal, for reasons of reporting an offense to the clinician's person or property done by a client, for matters of national security, or if there is a court order or a release of information where you have given the clinician permission to report things to someone else.

You are considered late 10 minutes after the start of the group. If you are late, the group will not be counted toward your required number of groups. However, if you remain in group, you will not receive an absence for the group. You are allowed 3 absences in a row before you are at risk of discharge. If you are discharged from the program due to absences, you will be permitted to re-enroll in the program, but you will have to re-start the program and none of the classes you completed before your discharge would apply to the number of required groups.

You may not carry a balance for longer than 2 weeks or a balance that exceeds 2 groups fees. You will be given the opportunity to make payment arrangements or adjust your group schedule to fit your financial situation. If you do not adhere to the payment policy, you will be at risk of discharge and may have to re-start your program.

During your treatment, you must remain substance free. GRC understands that some individuals are prescribed medications. If you are prescribed a medication that may interfere with participating in group, please let your facilitator know what medication you are taking before the start of group. If you use substances during group, you will be immediately discharged from the program and referred to a higher level of care. If you fail a drug screen, you must be re-evaluated (at your cost of $60) and may be referred to a higher level of care. This is an outpatient group designed for those who are not in active addiction. If you feel you need a higher level of treatment, please let your facilitator know.

You may be called to do a random drug screening. If asked to complete a drug screen, you must comply or you will be at risk of discharge from the program or being re-evaluated (at your cost) for a higher level of care. The cost of the re-evaluation is $60. You may either complete this drug screen in our office or at a lab of your own choosing. Drug screens are $20 in our office. The cost of the drug screen is your responsibility.

You may reach out to your facilitator for any questions or concerns about your treatment program.

You must pass the quiz with at least a 90% to pass the course.