Decision Points

Gemeinschaft Home Implements a New Cognitive Behavioral Program
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Harrisonburg, VA - One of the hallmarks of the Gemeinschaft Home residential program is the cognitive behavioral component, a curriculum of life recovery topics covered in group and one-on-one counseling settings. During the 90-day program, residents participate in sessions that are designed to help them manage issues ranging from anger control to addiction.

In October, Gemeinschaft Home launched another type of cognitive behavioral curriculum called Decision Points, an established program used both in re-entry and incarceration facilities around the country. The Virginia Department of Corrections uses the program in some institutions as well, and some residents arrive with experience already in the program.

The approach asks residents to use critical thinking to avoid a “trouble cycle,” using the following questions as a framework: What am I thinking and feeling right now? Who else cares what I do right now? What could I do right now? What are some motivating thoughts?

Residents are given an opportunity to think about the choices surrounding any given decision and the people affected in the process, as a means to establish new, healthy patterns of thinking and living.

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