United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, through its mission to support our community’s mental health and well-being, strengthens and improves access to essential resources. As a vital part of this initiative, Resilient Lehigh Valley works to build hope and create pathways to positive mental health for those we serve.
Together, United Way and RLV have been able to play a role in introducing ICT, or integrative community therapy, to the Lehigh Valley. ICT is an accessible, effective and community-focused way to bring mental health support to those in need. This modality does not rely on referrals, doctors, insurance or wait lists. Instead, it guarantees no-cost, immediate access to what can be a life-saving service.
This group dialogue can be facilitated with as few as five people and up to hundreds. Sessions, called rounds, are led by a trained facilitator. To become a facilitator, individuals must participate in 65 hours of training, where they learn to guide powerful conversations and properly offer support to individuals seeking support. Anyone can become a facilitator–it does not require any clinical or professional background as ICT is not a form of therapy but a way for communities to connect and heal together.
Each session has five steps: welcome, identify, explore, share and closure.
- Welcome: At the beginning of a round, the facilitator sets the expectations, asks participants to share what they are grateful for or celebrating, and the group participates in a group dynamic. This step sets a positive, welcoming atmosphere to support the rest of the round.
- Identify: Participants share what’s bothering them or “the pebble in their shoe”, and the group selects one to dive into together.
- Explore: The participant who shared the selected topic further explains their situation with the facilitator asking clarifying questions.
- Share: Participants weigh in and discuss the topic using “I” statements. They share their own experiences giving guidance and resources, allowing the individual to consider many opinions and decide what course of action is best for them. These are the “pearls” of the round.
- Closure: The facilitator wraps up the round, encouraging participants to thank each other for their contributions and take what they learned out into their community.
ICT is inspired by a Brazilian approach called Terapia Comunitária Integrativa, which is used in 36 countries. It is a conversational framework designed for community members to unite over shared characteristics and discuss their challenges. More than 2 million people have benefitted from this form of group conversation, aiming to help individuals feel more connected to their community and fight the mental health crisis.
This approach is new to Lehigh Valley, the only place in the country that uses ICT at the community level. Missy Wise, Assistant Director of United Way Training Initiatives, was trained as a facilitator and is now helping to bring the framework to all of us. Missy is a key resource for local facilitators providing the necessary support to push ICT into the community.
Lehigh Valley Health Network and the Leonard Parker Pool Institute for Health, with support from Lehigh County, have partnered to lead and fund this initiative, ensuring that organizations throughout our region can experience this new framework at no cost. Visible Hands Collaborative, an international organization dedicated to community health and wellness, has provided the training for facilitators and support with implementing ICT in the Lehigh Valley.
Resilient Lehigh Valley and United Way of Greater Lehigh Valley are excited to support the next wave of ICT’s implementation in our community. There are 50 trained facilitators preparing to or doing rounds in our community. The model has already proven successful with men at Lehigh County Jail, Ripple Community Inc, and LVHN’s Transitional Living Center.
Everyone has struggles, but it’s also important to remember that everyone also has solutions. ICT relies on this idea and contributes to a stronger, more resilient community. If you’re interested in bringing an ICT round to your organization or community, contact Missy Wise at [email protected].
If you want to see what ICT is all about, you can join Visible Hands Collaborative online ICT rounds each Wednesday at 6:30 PM EST. Register here.
