Section 7 When the Group Begins

Whether the group establishes their own themes with an experienced facilitator or draws on the themes in the Nurturing Hope materials as a starting point, the task of the facilitator is to assist each group member explore the topics, themes and issues which arise and are important for them. The sole purpose of the group is to enable each group member to gain clarity and experience being at ease in a diverse group, perhaps for the first time.

People do not learn new ways if they are in groups where old power games are acted out! The facilitator’s task is to cut any power plays between participants, sometimes naming the dynamic. When a facilitator works with a group, each person has their place.

There are no politically correct positions to be adhered to. Both facilitators and group members are asked to act with a respect for life and the dignity of others in all their dealings, supporting one another find their own voices.

Ground Rules Re-Affirmed - As the Group Develops

Other boundaries are established and affirmed as the discussion grows. Some of these are outlined below.

• People speak only for themselves
• The group is based on respectful relationships.
• Within the group, if people refer to others present, the facilitator asks them to look at the person and speak to them in a personal way, e.g. “What you have just said …” not “what Marie or Roger has just said …”. In this manner people acknowledge each other and stay in relationship with one another.
• Speaking about “others” outside the group in derogatory ways is not permitted.

The facilitators are continually alert to scapegoating. This basic ground rule, in itself, establishes that different, and sometimes competing, traditions and views are given an equal place in a group. In a group that contains people with strongly divergent views and traditions, this prevents the group being aligned with one position. The experience of speaking about people in these human ways may, for some, be a completely new experience, quite at odds with the norm within other groups to which they belong.

When people are referring to those outside the group, the facilitator asks them to use proper names. Speaking of public figures in derogatory terms denies these very people their human attributes. Although the facilitator, too, may have deep feelings about certain public figures, to assist such a derogatory atmosphere to grow only adds to the old circles of abuse and takes people out of relationship with each other in the group.