Certified Sanctuary Community

Counseling & Recovery Services of Oklahoma is the only Oklahoma community mental health center certified in the internationally recognized Sanctuary Model of trauma-informed care.  Certification required a three-year implementation process involving clients, employees and board members and a two-day site review.

Our Sanctuary Community recognizes clients and staff experience adversity, traumatic events and stress in our lives. These experiences shape our behavior.  As a Sanctuary Community, we agree to the seven Sanctuary Commitments to create a safe environment where clients and staff learn to manage and change behavior and heal from these experiences.

Sanctuary Commitments

The Sanctuary Model’s seven commitments outline the way that staff and clients agree to interact with one another:

Emotional Intelligence: Managing feelings so we don’t hurt ourselves or others.

Social Responsibility: Agreeing to take care of ourselves and each other.

Social Learning Respecting and sharing ideas and learning from each other.

Democracy: Everyone has a voice in decision making with input from all levels.

Non-violence: Physical, emotional, moral and social safety for ourselves and others.

Open Communications: Saying what we mean and not being mean when we say it.

Growth and Change: Overcoming negative patterns produced by trauma creates hope for a better future.

To download a printable copy of the Seven Sanctuary Commitments poster, click here.

Sanctuary Tools

The Sanctuary tools are like vitamins to inoculate us against the effects of stress and trauma, to promote healing and to build good habits. Learn more by following this link.

Safety Plans

The first phase of trauma recovery is creating safety and positive emotional connections. Safety plans are practical steps to put our values into practice. Every client and staff member creates, carries and uses a safety plan to manage emotions and keep themselves and others safe. The plan includes about five activities to do alone or with others. For help creating your own safety plan, follow this link.

Self-Care Plans

Dealing with stress and adversity can take its toll. Self-Care Plans are tools and activities that we can use to maintain balance and health while dealing with the stressful demands of life and work. Follow this link to create your own Self-Care Plan.

S.E.L.F.

S.E.L.F. stands for Safety Emotion Loss and Future. S.E.L.F. is the framework to begin problem solving and acknowledging behaviors and events. It provides an outline for client, family and organizational change. To learn more about S.E.L.F., follow this link.