Acceptance Recovery Groups

   At Acceptance Recovery Counseling, our Foundations of Recovery Group is designed for people who want support in changing their relationship with substances, improving mental health, and building a life that feels more meaningful and sustainable. This outpatient group is grounded in a harm reduction philosophy, meaning clients do not have to be fully abstinent to participate or benefit. We meet people where they are and focus on helping each person reduce harm, strengthen motivation, and move toward their own goals at a pace that feels realistic and supportive. Whether someone is early in the change process, returning to treatment after a return to use, navigating legal or family stressors, or simply wanting more structure and connection, this group offers a welcoming and non-judgmental environment.

   The curriculum integrates evidence-based approaches including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA), mindfulness practices, and psychoeducation about addiction, mental health, stress, emotions, relationships, and behavior change. Sessions are interactive and practical, focusing not just on understanding substance use, but on building coping skills, emotional awareness, healthy routines, communication skills, values-based living, and resilience. Clients explore topics such as cravings and urges, emotional triggers, self-compassion, boundaries, relationships, stress management, and creating a recovery-supportive lifestyle that actually fits their real life.

   Unlike programs that rely heavily on confrontation or shame, our approach emphasizes compassion, autonomy, curiosity, and connection. Group members are encouraged to participate at their own comfort level while benefiting from the support and shared experiences of others facing similar challenges. Many clients find that the group helps reduce isolation, increase accountability, and create momentum for meaningful change. Foundations of Recovery can be helpful as a stand-alone service or alongside individual counseling, mental health treatment, probation requirements, OWI recommendations, or other recovery supports.

   When someone you love is struggling with substance use or other high-risk behaviors, it can feel exhausting, confusing, and isolating. Many families find themselves stuck in cycles of worry, conflict, enabling, guilt, or constant crisis management while trying desperately to help. Our CRAFT Family Group is designed specifically for parents, partners, spouses, siblings, and other loved ones who want healthier and more effective ways to respond while maintaining their own well-being. This group is based on the evidence-based Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) model, which has been shown to improve communication, reduce family stress, and increase the likelihood that a loved one will eventually become more open to change and treatment.

   Rather than focusing on blame, confrontation, or “tough love,” CRAFT teaches practical, compassionate skills that help families respond more effectively to difficult situations. Participants learn strategies for setting healthy boundaries, improving communication, reducing conflict, reinforcing positive behavior, managing emotional burnout, and caring for their own mental health. The group also helps participants better understand addiction, behavior change, trauma, and motivation through a non-judgmental and harm reduction-oriented lens. Many people experience a significant sense of relief simply from realizing they are not alone and that there are evidence-based approaches that can help.

   This group is educational, interactive, and highly practical. Participants are never pressured to share more than they are comfortable sharing, and there is no expectation that families must cut ties, force treatment, or control another person’s recovery. Instead, the goal is to help loved ones move from helplessness and reactivity toward confidence, clarity, and healthier connection. Whether your loved one is actively using substances, uncertain about change, in treatment, or in recovery, the CRAFT Family Group provides tools that can help improve relationships, reduce chaos, and create a healthier path forward for everyone involved.

   Recovery is not just mental — it is physical, emotional, and nervous-system based as well. Many people living with addiction, trauma, anxiety, depression, or chronic stress feel disconnected from their bodies, emotions, and sense of safety. Our Embodied Recovery Group was created to help clients reconnect with themselves in a more grounded, compassionate, and sustainable way. This group blends evidence-based psychotherapy approaches with mindfulness, breathwork, gentle movement, nervous system regulation skills, and body-based recovery practices to support whole-person healing. No previous yoga, meditation, or mindfulness experience is required.

   The group integrates concepts from trauma-informed care, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness-based relapse prevention, somatic approaches, and harm reduction philosophy. Sessions may include guided mindfulness practices, breathing exercises, grounding skills, reflective discussions, nervous system education, gentle stretching or movement, and practical tools for managing stress, cravings, emotions, and overwhelm. Participants learn how substance use, trauma, stress, and emotional pain can affect the body and nervous system — and how building awareness and regulation skills can support long-term recovery and emotional well-being.

   Embodied Recovery is intentionally designed to feel approachable and non-performative. This is not a fitness class, and participants are never expected to push themselves physically or share beyond their comfort level. The focus is on developing greater self-awareness, self-compassion, emotional flexibility, and connection in a supportive environment. Many clients find that integrating body-based practices into recovery helps them feel calmer, more present, more emotionally resilient, and better able to respond to life without immediately turning to old coping patterns.

   Cannabis use exists in a complicated space for many people. Some individuals find it helpful at certain points in their lives, while others begin noticing negative impacts on motivation, mood, anxiety, relationships, sleep, memory, work performance, or overall quality of life. Many people seeking help for cannabis use do not relate to traditional addiction treatment models or feel unsure whether their use is “serious enough” to deserve support. Our Cannabis Recovery Group was created specifically to provide a thoughtful, non-judgmental space for people who want to better understand and change their relationship with cannabis — whether that means moderation, periods of abstinence, reducing dependence, or exploring recovery more fully.

   This group takes a harm reduction and evidence-based approach to cannabis recovery. Participants explore topics such as cravings and habits, emotional triggers, stress and coping, cannabis and mental health, motivation and dopamine, sleep, relationships, identity, and the role cannabis plays in daily life. The curriculum integrates approaches including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness practices, and psychoeducation about the brain, behavior, and change process. Rather than relying on shame or scare tactics, the group helps clients build insight, increase psychological flexibility, and develop practical tools for making intentional choices about cannabis use.

   Many participants appreciate being in a group specifically focused on cannabis, where their experiences are understood without minimizing the challenges or exaggerating the risks. Clients are encouraged to define meaningful goals for themselves and explore change in a realistic, sustainable way. Whether someone is feeling stuck in a daily cannabis routine, struggling with concentration or motivation, using cannabis to cope with anxiety or emotional pain, or simply becoming curious about life with less cannabis use, this group offers support, structure, education, and connection throughout the process.