The best facilitators are in contact with their clients throughout the process and may even get in contact with some of the participants. We have collected below the most important skills that a facilitator needs, divided into two parts of the facilitation process. Happy to hear you’ve found it useful, Suren – wishing best with your next sessions! Taking a course on group therapy or group dynamics provides essential background on group development, conflict and how to address it in groups, as well as how to foster group cohesion, identify and repair ruptures, and deal with diversity in groups, says Marmarosh. (For example, pre-write instructions on a flipchart paper or on a powerpoint slide. May we use it for our Facilitation class this Spring at the University of Oregon? Allow me to share with my group of upcoming facilitators in family planning workshops. 0000002217 00000 n therapy, personal development, support groups), and for those who have had counsellor training and group work experience and are hoping to work as group facilitators. However, there are a few ways you can accelerate your learning in the realm of facilitation: At the end of the day, facilitation is more of an art than a science. FACILITATING GROUP PROCESS 1 Chapter I: Introduction Background and Statement of the Problem There is a limited body of research available detailing services offered to adolescents in residential treatment center settings—especially group therapy. Make sure that people are not left behind or left out of the flow of the discussions. Anthea continues to run groups in a range of organisations and has a private practice working with individuals, couples, groups and supervisees. They are taught in groups, live in groups, and often play in groups. Helping enhance the client’s effectiveness and their ability to cope. 0000114954 00000 n Appreciate the effort behind this. 0000185122 00000 n My thanks for sharing such a good post. Here are 5 tips for running an effective therapy group: A Strict Policy of Non-Violence. Then you might be well-founded in using the term ‘facilitating a training,’ bridging the worlds of training and facilitation. 0000012485 00000 n For me, this capacity of the group is an awesome thing. If possible, show an example of the type of output you ask them to create. 235 0 obj <>stream One of the most important things you can do as a facilitator is to create an atmosphere that encourages participation. As a competent facilitator, you should make sure to capture and highlight the key messages – whether that is via visual recording (i.e. It captured all of my questions for transitioning from trainer to facilitator! roups structured as “Professionally-Facilitated” are usually Also, basic verbal tools, such as paraphrasing, referring back and summarising help a lot to show the group that their thoughts are being heard. Happy to hear you’ve found it useful, Devin, you’re welcome to use it as a resource at your facilitation class! Group facilitation is hard if the group can’t hear one another! If you’re looking to improve your facilitation or learn more about particular processes, we have you covered with a host of additional resources! 2 questions: Consider this facilitation skills checklist the start of your facilitation training. Since training is about teaching new skills and concepts, and facilitation is about helping the group in thinking, trainers and facilitators need to have different, if overlapping, skill sets. The group dynamic … Also, even in an interactive, well-facilitated training session, you will spend a significant proportion of time presenting concepts, as you need to provide certain theories and information to deliver the core content of your training. My experience is that facilitating when there’s a team with a well-understood, shared culture and goals is one thing, facilitating an ad hoc group of (e.g., citizens) on an issue, such as zoning requirements, is different. Thanks for this!! So, for a one-day group process, one would need at least 2 days of preparations, although more days may be needed to deal with complex requirements, such as a controversial topic with multiple stakeholders or a large group workshop where parallel work and a whole team of facilitators are required. What is group therapy used for? Group facilitators work to promote the processes that help the group meet its goals while ensuring that the structures, norms, and culture in the group environment are favorable to the accomplishment of the established goals. Support individuals within a group in understanding their common objectives. Given the time and scope of the session, not every interpersonal difference can or should be resolved; however, it is important that you know the right techniques and group processes for diffusing tension. 0000006948 00000 n Facilitating behavioral change. The process of change… Pacing – aka working to quota, activity scheduling, chunking, time contingent activity, timetabling; Search for: Facilitating a group. Multiple therapists may be involved in the session as well. The process serves as a reset button to tune in on what’s working and facilitate an open dialogue. She simply “makes the conversation happen”, or facilitates, as the name suggests. How can I improve my facilitation skills? break the ice and allow people to get to know each other, Get started with a template designed by expert facilitators, The Ultimate Train-the-Trainer Design Guide, Top 10 Free Online Resources for Workshop Activities (2020). It is important that you are aware of the passing time during a meeting and that you let participants know when time is running short for an activity. Naturally, the facilitator needs to influence the group to help them stay on track, but must avoid dictating to it. That’s fantastic to hear, Paula – happy to see you’ve found this useful! Missing a vital piece of equipment can be frustrating or stressful and make group facilitation more difficult. A facilitator is a person who essentially sets all the right coordinates for a meeting or workshop to take place and produce results. While guiding the group toward solutions for the issues they want to solve, it’s important to pay attention to how individuals within the group may be feeling about the course of things. The therapists guide the group process and provide structure. Working from remote workplaces or from home is often touted as the future of work. 0000003468 00000 n You’re welcome, Idirssa! Group therapy is used to guide clients through the process of gaining insight about themselves, others, and the world around them. Helping improve the client’s ability to both establish and maintain relationships. Explain why certain activities are useful. Structure conversations and apply appropriate. A good process Facilitator can; Design and develop process (es) to use in a workshop/meeting environment Support, guide and ‘orchestrate’ the group using structured tools, techniques, methods and appropriate interventions to enable the group to achieve the stated purpose and outcomes They are a form of group therapy that is available free of charge all over the world, with no membership requirements other than the desire to lead a life free of substance abuse. The Facilitator encourages the group members to know each other better, to cooperate and develop positive relationships in order to work together. Required fields are marked *. If for any reason you are not content-neutral as a facilitator, you should be clear about this with the group from the beginning. But what if a training session is done very interactively? At certain times, you may be better off trying to speak to that person in private to discover what drives them, and at minimum, give feedback to help them understand how their behaviour affects the group. At SessionLab, we’re passionate about helping facilitators improve their practice, discover new facilitation techniques and lead better workshops. At the end of the day, as a facilitator, you are helping a group achieve the common and agreed-upon objectives they want. However, you still need to keep in mind that the group has its own goals, and one person hijacking all the attention is a dangerous track. 0000010294 00000 n Let’s see what facilitation skills a facilitator needs here: Participation from all group members is essential for a well-facilitated meeting. Now that you are in the room with the group, you also need to clearly explain what you are asking from them. Find out how the 4 key stages of group therapy work together for effective results. . Hi Robert, What is the minimum and maximum number of clients who should participate in a group? In fact, the terms trainer and facilitator are often used interchangeably despite some major differences between the two roles. You’re welcome, Chandan, awesome to see that you liked the post! Most of the time your client will have a natural interest in knowing the process and agenda for your meeting. Thank you! You’re welcome, Judith – great to see you’fe found it useful! Here are my top tips to support your first steps in creating your own successful therapy group. All the insights recorded will provide a useful baseline for action-setting and follow-up. The education and business fields are going crazy over it, books are written about it, and service designers, creative agencies, career coaches, trainers and facilitators are using it.…, ©2018 TrainedOn OÜ As a facilitator, you should have a good eye for spotting when the group’s attention level as a whole is getting critically low. While you designed the agenda for your session, you probably clearly envisioned how group members will act during the facilitation activities you planned. Introduce the purpose of the discussion and ensure that the participants have the same understanding. If you (and the group) have multiple desired outcomes, make sure that you have a clear process to reach each of them. The process may vary depending on the situation, but most often, a facilitator has the following responsibilities when engaging in workshop or meeting facilitation: Earlier, we learned that the essence of facilitation is to make an action or process easy or easier. Spend a half-hour in general discussion leave a group, one can not bring an neutral! More than welcome, Harry, great to see you ’ ve found it useful it... Group think recording key takeaways of a successful group therapy i ran the group thinking and on the as... 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