2/23/18
"Managing Stress"
Written Group Plan: 10
Introduction: 9
Activity: 10
Sharing: 9
Processing: 9
Generalizing: 9
Group Motivation: 8
Limi Setting: 10
Application: 9
Summary: 10
Total Leadership Score: 93
The group I facilitated was about stress and what strategies could help with managing stress. I started by having the group members introduce themselves and say what their current stress level was on a scale of 1-10 and why. Next, the group members participated in a warm-up activity that involved the group members standing in a circle and tossing around balls to each other in a sequence. This activity helped the group members reflect on what stress can feel/be like sometimes. For the main activity, the group members made dreamcatchers. I asked the group to think about stress areas they have or currently have in their life and to write/draw them in the center of their dreamcatcher. Group members had the opportunity to share their stress areas if they were comfortable. Then the group members "trapped" their stress areas by gluing down strip of paper over the center of their dreamcatchers. I then asked the group members to think about strategies to help manage or relieve stress and write/draw them around the outside of their dreamcatcher. Group members had the opportunity to share their strategies with the rest of the group if they were comfortable. I then asked the group members to discuss how to keep situations from becoming too stressful in the first place and what strategies they could use to remind themselves to use stress management techniques in their daily lives. I think this group facilitation was good for me to grow in some of the areas I felt I was weaker in in my first group facilitation. I think some of my strengths were explaining the purpose of the group and the activities and listening to what the group members had to say. I also feel that I improved in applying and generalizing what happened in the session. I think I could still improve when it comes to facilitating the group discussion and pointing out similarities and differences in the group members' responses. Overall, I think this was a great experience and I look forward to learning more and improving my ability to facilitate groups.
Thank you Lauren for such an honest and reflective post. I am so glad that you were able to compare both of the times that you got to facilitate a group and then that you were able to recognize the areas where you feel that you have improved, and also to pinpoint some of the areas where you can continue to grow. This is such a mark of your growth as a professional, as an OT, and as a leader. One of the things that very busy clinicians often forget to do is to take a few moments everyday to reflect upon both what went well and what could still be improved relative to client-centered OT practice. That is what you have demonstrated very effectively in this Blog, and I know that both Professor L. and I hope it is something you can carry with you into future practice. I appreciate your sincerity.
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