Educational Counseling & Juvenile Classes - Contact Family Crisis Counseling Solutions

Current Family Solutions Services Offered:

Introduction
When behavioral or psychological difficulties arise, people and communities need specific information about what is happening – the diagnosis, the meaning of specific symptoms, what is known about the causes, effects, and implications of the problem in question. The more family and friends know, the less they will blame the person who is experiencing it, or themselves for thinking they had somehow caused it.

Families and communities need help in understanding why an individual's behavior may be frightening and bizarre, why the person denies that anything is wrong, why there is resistance to taking medications or being hospitalized, and why very often the family itself is blamed by the patient and health care professionals. Families need timely, basic education about the painful and long-term effects.

Families and communities need information on management and coping skills; information about why certain medications are being used and their side effects; an understanding of the reasons and implications for noncompliance with prescriptions or following through with recommended treatment.

What is it?
Educational counseling is the education of a person or people in subject areas that serve the goals of prevention, treatment and/or rehabilitation. Educational counseling involves teaching people about their problem, how to treat it, and how to recognize signs of relapse so that they can get necessary treatment before their difficulty worsens or occurs again. Family educational counseling includes teaching coping strategies and problem-solving skills to families, friends, and/or caregivers to help them deal more effectively with the individual.

How does it work?
Educational counseling works by improving the knowledge patients, families and communities have and providing a greater understanding of the importance and benefits of medication. Families are encouraged to keep a journal of pertinent information so they have a reference to consult.

Information is provided on medication, prognosis, alleviating and aggravating factors. Early signs of relapse are described and actively monitored. Families are helped to understand how high expressed emotion environments can perhaps help to maintain or aggravate symptoms.

This crucial information allows families to plan and adapt around the reality of prolonged emotional or behavioral difficulty; it enables them to put the situation into perspective and to begin to modify their own lives as necessary. Participants are taught skills that change their lifestyle, enhance their therapy and assist them to live more productive and fulfilled lives.

Family educational counseling reduces distress, confusion, and anxiety within the family, which may in turn help the individual recover. Children, adolescents and adults learn skills that will complement their therapy and may reduce the use of more costly treatment modalities.

Does it work?
Extended studies have noted that eleven or more individual educational counseling sessions were significantly more effective than treatment alone in preventing relapse at 9–18 months. Brief group educational counseling was also more effective than treatment alone in preventing relapse or readmission to hospital by 1 year. Combining the results from all trials, relapse rates at 9–18 months’ follow up were significantly lower in the educational counseling group than in the control group.

Who should try it?
Educational counseling in combination with medication has been used successfully in relation to people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depression, as well as assisting their family and caregivers. People being treated for, or who are attempting to prevent depression, often require ongoing assistance to change their behavior and life style.

Our Approach
GFCS provides programs both on and off sight and is able to create programs and tailor them to the specifics needs of the individual client or community. Groups often vary in size and may e either a few interested people or an entire elementary school student body. Examples of program interventions may include non-violent crisis intervention techniques, anger management, divorce, addiction and substance abuse, creating positive work environments, communication skills, management and team-building skills, death and bereavement issues, family violence, parenting, interpersonal skills, behavioral health, healthy living, building values, positive thinking, self-esteem and body image issues, and teen relationship issues

Educational Counseling & Juvenile Classes - Family Crisis Counseling Solutions