FACILITATOR RESPONSIBILITIES IN GROUP BUILDING

Transcription

1 FACILITATOR RESPONSIBILITIES FACILITATOR RESPONSIBILITIES IN GROUP BUILDING The facilitator establishes trust and provides leadership and structure by: Assuming leadership of each group meeting. Establishing and following through on ground rules. Clearly defining norms (expectations) for the group. Keeping the group on task, beginning and ending on time. Providing process for group closure (at each meeting and if the group ends). The facilitator promotes a sense of togetherness by: Helping group members make group decisions about issues being discussed. Helping group members recognize their similarities in terms of issues and emotions. Connecting group members with similar needs. Using the group as a resource. The facilitator develops a protective, caring environment by: Being nonjudgmental and accepting. Modeling good communication and listening skills. Protecting members from physical or emotional harm. Modeling caring through support, affection, praise, warmth and genuineness. The facilitator provides emotional stimulation by: Modeling self-disclosure and risk-taking in sharing emotions. Raising emotional issues as topics for discussion. Providing permission and encouragement for exploration of feelings. Steering participants toward attempting to understand the meaning of their individual feelings and reactions to their situation.

2 The facilitator recognizes and intervenes in difficult situations by: Understanding common problem behaviors, why they occur and intervention techniques to nip the problem in the bud. Learning to intervene tactfully before the behavior disrupts group process. Being able to recognize the need for a professional referral and discussing it privately with the group member, making certain this is done before the member is allowed to return to the group.

3 GROUP PROCESS TIPS FOR FACILITATORS You help the group process when you: Listen with your full attention. Are organized and prepared before the beginning of each group session. Participate by encouraging the discussion, not directing the discussion. Provide structure so as to diminish group anxiety. Use humor to reduce distress or bring people together. Disclose information about yourself to draw out the feelings of others. Provide information without lecturing. Accept each person's position without judging them. Identify, but not try to interpret, common group themes. Ask questions in specific ways so the group is guided in the proper direction. Translate people's feelings and behavior into words the group can understand. Protect members from verbally injuring one another. Encourage everyone to talk without pressuring. Invite silent members to participate. Communicate nonverbally by using eye contact, body language and nodding. Exhibit a caring attitude by displaying warmth and affection to group members. Cope with conflict when it arises instead of ignoring it. Connect individuals with one another based on mutual needs and experiences. Summarize progress and learning at the conclusion of each group. Refer individuals needing special help to the appropriate resource. You hinder the group process when you: Are confrontational or argumentative. Suggest solutions rather than listening without passing judgment. Minimize the importance of feelings being expressed. Withhold warmth and affection. Allow any disruptive behavior to continue and form a pattern. Deviate from the task at hand, i.e., idle chit chat versus support group work. Avoid discussion of tough issues.

4 HANDLING DIFFICULT SITUATIONS Every group will have its mix of personalities soft-spoken versus gregarious, passive versus aggressive, happy versus angry, depressed versus overly optimistic. One of the most challenging aspects of group facilitation is the ability to overcome the problems these personalities present within the group. Groups facilitated by two individuals are easier to handle. When difficult situations arise, the two facilitators can work together to arrive at a solution. Challenging Personalities Withdrawn Nonparticipant This is most likely to occur in a family support group setting where a patient and family members come together. Often, the family members may be attending because the patient has asked them to come along, but they sometimes don t want to talk. When the group separates out into patients only and caregivers only, this situation is not a problem. Sometimes nonparticipants are simply shy or quiet by natural disposition. Silence is not good or bad, but can be misunderstood by other group members. The facilitator can assist by attempting to clarify the nature of the silence. Attempt to involve the withdrawn nonparticipant in the conversation. Try to discover personal interests, use questions to draw the person out and then listen attentively. Devote time to this person before or after class and during breaks, reassuring them that many people feel uncomfortable speaking at group meetings if they are unaccustomed to that setting. Try to find a time at the beginning or end of the class where it seems natural for them to share something and then respond positively. Try to get the rest of the class involved in drawing the person out as well. Watch closely for nonverbal cues that the person is interested in the conversation, for instance a nodding of the head or a note of interest in the eyes. The Joker This person (often a male) is the life of the party and can make a joke out of anything just to get a laugh. These people genuinely enjoy laughing and love to be in the spotlight. They might also feel a certain tension within the group setting and find that joking is the only way to relieve it. In many ways, this person can provide comic relief, with the humor being somewhat of an icebreaker for other nervous individuals in the group.

5 The joker can be encouraged, if desired, by complimenting the person's wit. When time is limited and the comments are inappropriate, the facilitator should ignore the joker's comments and continue the discussion. If it persists when inappropriate, the facilitator might make a statement, such as, "There's a time for work and a time for play, and right now we need to work, Bill." The Angry Participant Emotions run strong in the support group environment, as they should. Many people have good reasons to feel angry. They have lost control of part of their life and their environment. Facilitators working in cancer care are familiar with reasons for anger, including delayed diagnosis, dealing with the healthcare system, etc. and probably have their own personal techniques for handling it. This group environment may be one of the only places where individuals feel safe venting their anger. As long as the anger is balanced against other positive group experiences and doesn't consistently dominate the group, facilitators need to be sensitive to angry feelings and allow individuals to express them. If the individual's anger becomes dangerous or hostile and is directed inappropriately, the facilitator needs to intervene. Facilitators might examine the reasons for the person's anger was it the current group discussion? Or is it more deep-seated, relating to personal relationships and dynamics? Facilitators might put themselves in the angry person's shoes and try to see things from his or her point of view. If individuals exhibit a constant pattern of anger with no counterbalancing positive responses, a referral may be the only solution.

6 HANDLING CHALLENGING GROUP DYNAMICS Sometimes the makeup of the group can present a challenge to facilitators. The group will rely upon you, the facilitator, to solve difficult situations. The facilitator can either create a learning experience out of difficult incidents or pull the group back to a climate where learning can take place. The following group problems are a few of the most common, but others may arise as well. There is no right or wrong solution to these problems. Facilitators know the group best and they sometimes need to be creative about identifying techniques that will pull the group back to center. The following suggestions may offer guidance. Chatting With Your Neighbor Side conversations can be very disruptive to group learning. The people doing the chatting often do not realize that they are causing a problem. They need to be told directly and in a timely manner. Sometimes group members are unaware of how disruptive this activity is or they have never been a member of a group where it was not tolerated. Facilitators can try to prevent these conversations by establishing a ground rule from the very beginning that prohibits chatting with your neighbor. If people forget the ground rule or sometimes can't control their impulse to talk, the facilitator should intervene immediately and interrupt the conversation. After reminding the individuals of the ground rule, return to the main topic. The Silent Group Any group has the potential to become tired and apathetic after a while. This lethargy can create frustration for a facilitator who is anxious for the group to be excited about being together regularly. Sometimes when the group isn't responding well, they may not be interested in what is being discussed, it may not pertain to them or they may be preoccupied with their own personal thoughts and problems. At this point, it may be time to shift gears, interject some humor or take a short break. If the facilitator tells a personal story that involves self-disclosure and the story relates to the subject at hand, it may pull the group back in and create conversation. This is the time to display enthusiasm and energy, and perhaps pose questions to the group that invite response. The facilitator might also throw the problem back out to the group by posing a question such as, "It doesn t feel like we re getting much accomplished tonight. I wonder if any of you can think of a reason why and share it with the rest of the group."