Wednesday, August 08, 2018

ABOUT getting in touch with our own FEELINGS & becoming Emotionally Literate. A Group Work Experience.

These two Blobs have feelings.
We all have feelings
but
so often we cannot articulate them.

Group work.
One great objective
and outcome from 
Group Work is
SELF DISCLOSURE

An experience of self discovery.
Practicing digging inside
and 'wording' feelings.

That's what the Blob Tree Tools are about.
TOOLS for aiding communication & development.

These two Blob have feelings.
By clocking how they are feeling
helps us to also clock how humans are feeling
and then the big one - our own feelings - 
getting in touch with our own & 
becoming Emotionally Literate.


The group work session below has 
the same objective.
Read it
Feel it


*


I was about to run a session called Donut 


where we start the session with eating donuts whilst 
dipping them in a fondue filled with warm chocolate ..........



The day/evening previously only two Hostel Residents turned up for the  Donut group work session.
I was working in a Hostel and the aim is to 
build a sense of belonging amongst special humans with special needs.
Sometimes I am on my own.
Sometimes overcrowded.
Now .............
it was 10 minutes past starting time and I only had two turn up.



Then came ::
Tony
Mickey
Mike
Karl
Mandy
Caroline



Here I was with a strange climate to conduct group work.
- new ones were sitting with arms folded.
- It is difficult to eat donuts, strawberries and chocolate with your arms folded!



We realxed as we dunked together and had a cup of tea ......
Then I did an exercise I had never done before.
I used a big box of matches.
I used a line of matches – I will walk through what I did and you can see the photo here.



1 the first match was placed down in full red headedness - an unused match.



2 the second I struck alight and blew out immediately.



3 the third I let burn half way before extinguishing.



4 the fifth was burned out completely.



5 the sixth was simply kept redheaded but broken almost in two



6 this one I split down the middle with my thumb nail.





Then I asked all to my question - ”which match is you?”
I started first.
I believe I must start with self revelation - 
otherwise it is unfair to ask them to do something 
which may open up their vulnerability.
I always want to share my own vulnerability first.
Model the level of sharing ……..
I started sharing how I had been battered in life, 
the half burned one was me, 
and yet that was a quality because 
I had been hurt and damaged by life – 
and have learned from the burning – the dark side of me.


Everyone joined in - everyone did it.
Each took their turn.
Even though a number were first timers to a group-work session.
And - there was a fantastic climate of 'listening'.
Fertile soil.


Tony said something special. 
He said he was two matches. 
One the used one before being extinguished, 
and the other because he feels sometimes/often – broken. 
Remarkable honesty. 
Good for him to ‘own’ that – and great for others 
who were not finding it that easy to reach out and touch their reality.
*
Reading this is very different than EXPERIENCING it.
This was a powerful experience
developmental
experiential
stepping out into self discovery.
I love it .............
WHAT NOW?
Why not contextualize that to your own situation.
With your own friends / family / social group ..... ?
✅💲T🅰Y🅱eautiful✅