Running the race at your own pace
There is no actual running involved, but the Illness Management Recovery (IMR) group at Bert Nash is a lot like training for a long-distance race.
“We use the example of running a marathon,” said co-leader Kendra Powers. “We would be able to run a marathon if we trained for it, but we couldn’t just get up today and go run a marathon. You’d have to start training. Or it could be something as simple as buying running shoes. Or where are you going to run? So, breaking it down into those attainable steps for people is helpful.”
That’s what the IMR group at Bert Nash does — it breaks goals down into attainable steps.
“It is a step-by-step program that gives people information and skills to help them set and achieve personally meaningful recovery goals,” Powers said.
The evidence-based group is based on a protocol developed at the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center.
“They did the research that shows this is an effective way to help people achieve their recovery goals and help reduce mental health relapses,” said co-leader Cassie Peters. “Because that is the ultimate goal, to not only help them achieve their goals for recovery but help them define what that means to them. And work with them to create a plan to prevent relapses.”
The Illness Management Recovery group is for people with severe and persistent mental illness. They also must be a Bert Nash client and they have to be referred by a case manager or therapist. The group meets weekly for an hour and a half. There is an educational component to the group, which helps members stay focused on their goals.
“Each week we have an education piece, where we go through the workbook and talk about how that is applicable to each consumer’s life,’ Powers said. “There is also homework each week on how they apply what they learned. We do a check-in every week to see how they did on their personal goals.”
Say a client has a goal to lose weight. With input from the group, the client will break the goal down into smaller, attainable goals. And, there’s a check-in each week to measure progress. The group is there for encouragement and accountability.
“Someone may come up against unexpected roadblocks, so we will brainstorm as a group as to what might be a solution to mitigating those barriers,” Peters said. “And, that accountability piece helps people stay on track, knowing they are going to have to share with the group every week. With setting small goals, people are able to see progress and it keeps them moving forward to the larger goal.”
Co-leaders Peters and Powers do a weekly check-in with group members as a follow-up to the group meetings.
“We do outreach every week and follow up on the phone or in person,” Peters said. “We check in to see how they are doing with their goals. We also talk about building social supports and helping clients build a social network and support system outside of the Center. That is something that people have said is really helpful for them.”
In addition to the group sessions at the Center, the co-leaders incorporate outside activities to help clients build a social network and support system outside of the Center.
“We try to have fun activities sometimes,” Powers said. “We’ve had a picnic. We’ve gone to coffeehouses. Sometimes we’ve played games. The outreach component is really important. People have found that helpful.”
The group runs for a year, so it requires a commitment from group members to complete the course.
“The nice thing about that is that people will identify personal goals at the beginning of the group sessions. Those could include losing weight, completing activities of daily living, finding a new apartment, or having better relationships,” Powers said. “Everybody who completed the group was so pleased with themselves. Some accomplished their goals, some made smaller strides, but everyone had some success and was happy with their progress.’
