SESSION 5: 1.05-2.15pm
Room LK304/305
The Transformative Experience of a Social Living Community
Meg Fields, R.N., Psy.D, Aspen Network
About this session:
Room LK304/305
The Transformative Experience of a Social Living Community
Meg Fields, R.N., Psy.D, Aspen Network
About this session:
Is your young person socially anxious, isolated and alone? Aspen Network creates warm and inviting living and social environments where young people are surrounded by peers who respect and understand their difficulties. A small co-ed residence program, our PODs help young adults move out of their parents’ homes, often for the very first time. Launching from a parent’s home and living with peers who understand their needs and challenges is critical if young people are to take that important next step toward a fuller, more independent life.
The PODS are designed to enhance their abilities to make and to feel deserving of friends, roommates and partners. Our unique programs bring together young people with social anxiety, OCD, mood differences, learning differences, medical and/or trauma histories, and high-functioning Asperger’s.
A housing community with people of blended diagnoses means that residents can use their strengths to assist others in their areas of growth. For example, some residents want to have a party, but can’t plan it. Others want to go on an outing, but cannot organize or execute it. Another wants to invite someone new out, but doesn’t have a clue. Where there is an interest, together they can all contribute and make it happen. For some, “making it happen” provides an opportunity for leadership and mentorship that moves them away from “being the one who needs help,” to being someone who is capable of helping others.
In our community, residents are encouraged to use their strengths to help the other residents expand beyond their own “comfort zones.” Throw into the mix our well-trained neurotypical youth, and witness the outcome: Young people with new levels of trust and understanding characterized by deeper levels of social learning, positive changes in behavior, and the formation of friendships.
Meg Fields is a clinical psychologist and did her dissertation on parental perception of their own effectiveness in parenting a youth on the spectrum. She is the co-director of Aspen Network, which includes a successful summer camp program, weekly social groups, a social living program, and individual counseling. She has 20 years experience as a nurse in the psychiatric emergency room at San Francisco General Hospital. Meg has discovered the magic of blending diagnoses in order to create a more workable social living program with increased positive shared experiences.
Website:
https://aspennetwork.net/team-living-pods/
Materials:
Aspen Network presentation slides
Aspen Network Brochure brochure_10-11-16pdf.pdf
The PODS are designed to enhance their abilities to make and to feel deserving of friends, roommates and partners. Our unique programs bring together young people with social anxiety, OCD, mood differences, learning differences, medical and/or trauma histories, and high-functioning Asperger’s.
A housing community with people of blended diagnoses means that residents can use their strengths to assist others in their areas of growth. For example, some residents want to have a party, but can’t plan it. Others want to go on an outing, but cannot organize or execute it. Another wants to invite someone new out, but doesn’t have a clue. Where there is an interest, together they can all contribute and make it happen. For some, “making it happen” provides an opportunity for leadership and mentorship that moves them away from “being the one who needs help,” to being someone who is capable of helping others.
In our community, residents are encouraged to use their strengths to help the other residents expand beyond their own “comfort zones.” Throw into the mix our well-trained neurotypical youth, and witness the outcome: Young people with new levels of trust and understanding characterized by deeper levels of social learning, positive changes in behavior, and the formation of friendships.
Meg Fields is a clinical psychologist and did her dissertation on parental perception of their own effectiveness in parenting a youth on the spectrum. She is the co-director of Aspen Network, which includes a successful summer camp program, weekly social groups, a social living program, and individual counseling. She has 20 years experience as a nurse in the psychiatric emergency room at San Francisco General Hospital. Meg has discovered the magic of blending diagnoses in order to create a more workable social living program with increased positive shared experiences.
Website:
https://aspennetwork.net/team-living-pods/
Materials:
Aspen Network presentation slides
Aspen Network Brochure brochure_10-11-16pdf.pdf