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	Discussion Guide
	Creating a Daily Routine
	Overcoming a Challenge
	Managing Money
	Content Refresher

Coping Skills and Stress Management

Symptom Management and Relapse Awareness

Substance Abuse

Building Social Skills

Planning a Daily Routine

Welcome to Connections & Care

Welcome to the Connections & Care counseling program. In this module, you will find new ideas, learning activities, and handouts to use when talking with your clients about schizophrenia and planning a meaningful daily routine. Because there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to meeting the education and support needs of people with schizophrenia, flexibility is the hallmark of this program. These materials can be used over a period of time to explore the topic in depth.

Overview

By participating in this session, clients will:

Identify challenges in daily living
Discuss ways to cope with and overcome challenges
Identify one challenge to address and make a
Consider ways to involve the support team in coping with challenges
Plan a healthy daily routine that supports their efforts toward recovery

Tips for facilitating this module

Tap into clients’ experiences Every client has faced challenges. In addition, each has overcome challenges in his or her own way. Draw on these experiences to start and maintain group discussions. Encourage clients to share their success stories. This can be an important way for clients to help each other get beyond the challenges they face.

Share your own challenges and successes
Everyone faces obstacles at some time or another. Help normalize the discussion about challenges the clients may have. Think about some of the challenges you have faced and ways you overcame them. For example, to add to group discussions, you may want to offer your own exercise tips to help clients create a healthy routine.

Emphasize that challenges and ways to cope are different for everyone
Some people with schizophrenia have challenges with personal care, finances, managing symptoms, or coping with day-to-day stressors. Although the challenges and the coping skills may differ, it is important to emphasize that clients can identify what works for each of them.

Above all, emphasize hope

	For a very long time, schizophrenia was poorly understood, and the word recovery had no part in our clinical vocabulary. Now, that picture has changed dramatically. There has never been a time of greater hope for people with schizophrenia. Try to base your discussion on this
very real sense of hope.

Using the materials

The materials are designed to be flexible. Here are suggestions for using them:

Review the learning activities and handouts as you plan your session
Choose the activities, discussion questions, and/or handouts that are appropriate for your clients’ needs, interests, and abilities
Use the handouts in ways that match your clients’ abilities. For example, use them for discussion ideas, read aloud as a group before completing, hand to clients to complete, or assign as homework
Revisit the learning activities and handouts as often as needed to cover the topic

Icons

Look for these icons to help you choose activities to use with your clients during individual or group sessions.

	Discussion starters - Ask questions to introduce and spark your clients’ interests in a topic.
	Brainstorming - Ask your clients to suggest possible solutions to a problem or a situation.
	Debate - Ask your clients to engage in a debate, which helps them see all sides of an issue.
	Journal writing - Encourage your clients to write down their thoughts in a journal.
	Creative expression - Invite your clients to explore and express thoughts and feelings through art.
	Icebreaker - Ask clients for verbal responses to a topic question to help them feel comfortable with sharing.