Developing People

This course employs innovative approaches to develop skills for anyone who works with groups or who intends to.

The training enables people to gain skills, see what they look like in action, practise them, and get clear feedback about how they are doing.

Previous participants have come from backgrounds, including drug, alcohol and sexual abuse, personal development, mental health, nursing, medical and social work, senior management and personnel training, marketing, outdoor adventure training, team building, psychotherapy, and youth work. People find it a rich and stimulating experience to be exposed to different perspectives within the same workshop.

Learning includes:

· How to build confidence, safety, trust and authentic presence.

· Extending the range of possible interventions.

· How to deal with ‘difficult’ situations.

· Experience of different styles of group facilitation.

· Understanding the basics of group dynamics.

· Awareness of the unspoken and unseen.

· Confirmation of existing skills and strategies for weakness.

The training uses John Heron’s “Dimensions of Facilitator Style”, developed by the Human Potential Resource Group at Surrey University, which provides a map for the options that may be available at each stage of the group’s life.

A particular focus is on the process of enabling a group to move away from hierarchical control towards being self-directed, and the course design embodies this principle. People learn about planning, managing task and process, emotional needs, handling conflict and effective support and how these tasks can be delegated to the group. As part of the movement towards self-direction, the group shares responsibility in planning the last day of the course.

Everyone practises facilitating for short sessions, with support and feedback, including the use of video. People also examine particular challenges they have experienced - or anticipate - with groups, and explore alternative options. The experience of being in this particular group is a primary part of the learning.

The course can run as 3 plus 2 days with a 3-day gap in between.