Alternative Therapeutic Approaches at CGE
At CGE under Covid-19, healing is not cancelled. New clients have safely integrated into our continuum of care and several clients have successfully completed residential treatment.
During their time as residents of CGE, each woman has a customized, client-centered treatment plan, interfacing with as many as seven highly-skilled therapists and staff members on their relationship-based Treatment Team. While at CGE, clients also engage in activities such as Horticultural Therapy, yoga and music, all part of alternative therapeutic approaches offered at CGE. “Engaging in Expressive Arts provides a creative way for clients to develop success skills, express emotion, improve brain health, bond with their children and engage in positive hobbies,” says Kathy Moser, Founder and Director of Music for Recovery. “These alternative approaches give clients hands-on ways to engage with recovery skills, including letting a process unfold, slowing down and working as a group.” Harvard’s Recovery Research Institute’s 2016 study of Music for Recovery for example, found “participation is shown to enhance engagement with and retention in treatment, by mobilizing common therapeutic mechanisms that ultimately enhance the likelihood of long-term recovery.” Likewise, when a client engages with the garden, during horticulture therapy, she is learning how to eat healthy, grow and care for something, be part of a group and connect with nature—all very positive and healing pursuits for herself that she will also be able to then pass on to and share with her children.
“Expressive Arts allows a person to access other parts of themselves words cannot describe,”
– Jennifer Unger, LCSW, LCADC, CCS, Adult Residential Program Manager.
Recently, during Music for Recovery at CGE, one adult resident, Dee, embarked on a multi-step project for her daughter while working to be legally reunited. She created lyrics to a song written for her daughter, Brooklyn, using the melody from “You Are My Sunshine.”
The process of writing, editing and recording the lyrics took several sessions. According to Kathy Moser, Dee was able to overcome her insecurity about singing, stay with the process of making the words fit the music, learn to play it on ukulele, learn how to record herself on the iPad and then complete the final recording. In the Expressive Arts program, under the leadership of Art Educator, Doreen Lorenzetti, Mom also created an accompanying picture book for Brooklyn, with hand-drawn illustrations for the lyrics. The final song was then posted on SoundCloud so mother and daughter could access it at any time. The “You Are My Sunshine” song and book were tangible ways for mother and daughter to remain connected while Mom was in treatment.
Several peers in the residential program went on to affirm Dee for showing up for herself in creating and completing this very special project. Dee expressed pride in herself and even wanted to share the book with her Treatment Team.
We just know this song and book will be a precious keepsake for both mother and child for years to come…
