AIU Community School East Holistic Healing Program


OMA designed a course for young students approved by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit for delivery to the Community School East in Turtle Creek, PA.

This course will guide students through eight modules that will help them learn and experience compassion. The practices taught will foster the development of social and emotional skills such as grounding techniques, managing their emotions, developing positive self-image, employing nonviolent communication, mindfulness and meditation, non-judgmental awareness, and showing gratitude.

Stuents will have the opportunity to express themselves using drawing, writing, theater and improv, physical movement, and experience with nature. They will witness how anger can function as a mask for underlying feelings and how our lives change when we access and express our underlying needs.

They will learn why our brains and bodies react impulsively so that too often we feel like our only choices are to fight, flee, or freeze. As they engage in such practices, they will find that instead of reacting impulsively, they can step back and choose how they want to respond, even in difficult situations.

So instead of being controlled by  circumstance, one can gain freedom to respond in ways that respect oneself and others. When we develop our ability to care for ourselves, our compassion for ourselves grows as does our compassion for others.

Modules included in this course and behavioral obectives:

Module 1: Introduction and grounding
Development of effective communication skills; emotion regulation

Module 2: Self-care and Regulating Emotions
Emotional literacy; emotion regulation; self-care; preventing self-harm

Module 3: Our True Self: Basic Goodness
Emotional literacy; emotion regulation; self-care; preventing selfharm

Module 4: Self-Confidence
Goal-setting and Improving Self Esteem

Module 5: Nonviolent Communication
Release aggressive behavior and use non-aggressive methods toexpress emotions directly and respectfully

Module 6: Perspective-Taking
Be free of aggression and use non-aggressive methods to express anger and other emotions

Module 7: Compassion
Emotion regulation; preventing self-harm; self-care; use of nonaggressive methods to express anger and other emotions

Module 8: Gratitude and Celebration
Self-care; preventing self-harm

About Allegheny Intermediate Unit

The Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) is a branch of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and is the largest of the 29 intermediate units in Pennsylvania created in 1971, and headquartered in Homestead, PA.

The AIU provides specialized education services to  various suburban public school districts plus career and technical centers in Allegheny County. The agency also operates 11 family centers and three schools for exceptional children. Funded by federal, state, county and private grants, the AIU coordinates more than 130 programs designed to help infants, young children, students and adults. In 2017, the programs offered by the AIU served 114,508 students in public schools.