Wat is Co-Counselling?

J. P. Hoogma and van Wijngaarden, M., Wat is Co-Counselling?, CornuCopia Publications, 2002.
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WAT IS CO-COUNSELLING?

door JanPieter Hoogma

Vertaling Marian van Wijngaarden

Gevoelens meer plek in je leven geven.

Als dat eens mogelijk was! Eén van de moeilijkheden die je tegenkomt bij het accepteren van jezelf is om om te gaan met je gevoelens, vooral als het om sterke emoties gaat zoals woede, wanhoop, schaamte, verdriet, schuldgevoel of angst.

De meeste mensen doen hun best om zulke emoties onder controle te houden. Als dat  niet lukt voel je je vaak nog vervelender. “Wat zullen andere mensen wel van me denken?” “Dit ben ik niet”, “Mensen zullen ontdekken wie ik werkelijk ben”. Om al deze redenen zal men in het algemeen proberen om de meeste gevoelens verborgen te houden. Er zijn echter situaties - zoals het verlies van een geliefde, omgaan met relaties die onder druk staan of werk dat te veel van je vraagt - waarin het je niet lukt om je gevoelens onder controle te houden. Emoties overspoelen je dan. De meeste mensen vrezen dit verlies van controle over hun gevoelens.

Als je echter in een omgeving bent waar je je veilig, verzorgd (lichamelijk en emotioneel) en gewaardeerd voelt, zul je je vroeg of laat vrij voelen om jezelf emotioneel te uiten. Als dit gebeurt zul je merken dat je je beter en helderder voelt en dichter bij je innerlijke waarheid. Hier is niets nieuws of verrassends aan. Als kleine kinderen schreeuwen of gillen tot zij hun pijn of woede volledig hebben geuit - omdat ze nog niet geleerd hebben om hun gevoelens in te houden - zijn ze daarna in staat om weer vrolijk verder te spelen.

Deze bevrijding of “catharsis” wordt in Co-Counseling “ontlading” genoemd, en het heeft positieve en voordelige effecten, zoals een gevoel van opluchting, meer helderheid en een ervaring van meer levenslust.

Van erg pijnlijke emoties kun je je onmogelijk in een keer bevrijden. Om te voorkomen dat je in je emoties verdrinkt en controle verliest, leer je als cliënt te kiezen op welke diepte en op welk tempo je met je gevoelens kunt omgaan. Ook leer je om “vriendelijk voor jezelf” te zijn als onderdeel van dit proces, zodat je ook met gevoelens als schaamte en schuldgevoel op een voor jou comfortabele manier kunt omgaan.

Je leven meer in eigen hand nemen

Co-Counseling doet veel meer dan je helpen bij het uit de weg ruimen van emotionele spanningen; het stimuleert je om te onderzoeken welke oorzaak eraan ten grondslag ligt. Het principe is eenvoudig: van nare gebeurtenissen uit het verleden hebben we geleerd om te reageren op een lang geleden vastgelegde manier (“patronen” in Co-Counseling), en deze nare ervaringen beïnvloeden nog steeds ons huidige gedrag. Zulke patronen beperken onze keuzen wanneer we in nieuwe situaties komen, en verhinderen om ons vrij te voelen en om op een meer creatieve manier te reageren.

Patronen kunnen verantwoordelijk zijn voor onze moeilijkheden in het omgaan met huidige problemen, in het bijzonder als we de oorzaak van de moeilijkheid niet begrijpen.

We kunnen meer beschikking over onze vermogens krijgen door de onderdrukte gevoelens die dat patroonmatig gedrag veroorzaken - te onderkennen en te uiten. Hierbij is het onvermijdelijk dat we, weer met deze gevoelens weer in contact komen.

In Co-Counseling is het echter niet de bedoeling dat het oprakelen van oude ervaringen een doel op zichzelf wordt. Het gaat er om dat je door je gevoelens uit die tijd onder ogen te zien en te uiten die oude ervaring meer en meer z’n invloed over jou verliest.

Veel dagelijkse problemen worden veroorzaakt door negatieve overtuigingen. Om te voorkomen dat je tegen toekomstige gebeurtenissen opziet biedt Co-Counseling een manier om de ideeën over jezelf te veranderen. Bijvoorbeeld, als jij gelooft dat jij geen liefde waard bent, dan kun je tot in het oneindige hierover je gevoelens ontladen, zonder iets te veranderen aan de onderliggende overtuiging. Deze basis-overtuiging veranderen in een meer positieve zoals “Ik ben om van te houden.” verandert je kijk op je zelf op de lange termijn en helpt je om positiever in het leven te staan.

Hoe werkt het?

In Co-Counseling werken mensen gewoonlijk in een tweetal dat de tijd gelijk verdeelt om zowel “counsellor” als “cliënt” te kunnen zijn.

Dit noemt men een sessie. Je kunt met elke Co-counselor een sessie hebben op ieder  moment van de dag, zolang dat voor alle twee goed uitkomt. Je kunt afspreken om een sessie te doen van een uur per persoon, of vijf minuten. Je kan het overal doen: bij je thuis, tijdens een wandeling of door de telefoon.

Dit onderscheidt Co-Counseling van andere vormen van counseling en therapie. Een ander verschil is dat je als cliënt zorg draagt voor jouw deel van de sessie, terwijl de counsellor er is om je daarbij te ondersteunen. Vervolgens wissel je van rol. Co-Counseling is dus op de eerste plaats een training om cliënt te zijn. Hoe beter je begrijpt en accepteert om zelf cliënt te zijn, hoe scherper je als counsellor aanvoelt hoe een goede ondersteuning aan je cliënt kunt geven.

Co-Counseling geeft je gelegenheid om andere Co-Counselers te ontmoeten tijdens landelijke en internationale bijeenkomsten. Als je de basistraining naar tevredenheid hebt afgerond kun je toegang krijgen tot dit netwerk. In de regio waar je woont kun je je persoonlijke ondersteuningsnetwerk opzetten door uit te zoeken met wie en hoe je sessies wilt doen. Bij elkaar thuis, door de telefoon, of met een groepje.

Hoe kan je het leren?

De basistraining is een 40-uur durende cursus. Gewoonlijk wordt deze gegeven verdeeld over 3 weekends of 9 dagen. De cursusgroep wordt geleid door 2 teachers of 1 teacher met de ondersteuning van een of meer ervaren Co-Counselers.

Deze cursusgroepen stellen je in staat om intensief en ervarenderwijs te leren met veel gelegenheid voor individuele aandacht voor elk groepslid.

De cursus begint met het creëren van een veilige en ondersteunende omgeving. Veiligheid in de groep en in de Co-Counseling- sessies is gegarandeerd in vertrouwelijkheid. Je gevoelens, je waarheid en de manier waarop je jezelf uit zijn persoonlijk en zullen vertrouwelijk behandeld worden.

Om je leerproces te ondersteunen ontvang je tijdens de cursus een handleiding met uitgangspunten en theorie over Co-Counseling.

Wat kun je leren?

In de basistraining leer je zowel de cliënt- als de counseler-rol. Geen cursus zal exact hetzelfde zijn, maar wel biedt zij je alle vaardigheden die nodig zijn om met elke andere Co-Counseler in de wereld sessies te doen.

Als je Co-Counseling leert zul je je vooral richten op je rol als cliënt, hoe haal je zoveel mogelijk uit je “cliënt-tijd”? Als cliënt leer je hoe je kunt werken met je gevoelens in plaats van erover te discussiëren of ze te onderdrukken. Je ontdekt hoe je je ingehouden gevoelens kunt laten gaan.

Ook leer je hoe je gedragspatronen kunt doorbreken en creatief kunt reageren op lastige situaties of uitdagingen. Je leert hoe je “wat je moet” en “wat hoort” opzij kunt zetten. Je begint te onderzoeken hoe je gedragspatronen en basisovertuigingen je gevoel van welbevinden blokkeren. Dit gebeurt eerder door te kijken naar wat je nu in het dagelijkse leven hoog zit, dan door in je verleden te duiken.

Als counseller leer je hoe je aanwezig kunt zijn voor je cliënt door vrije aandacht en veilige ondersteuning te geven, terwijl je respecteert dat de cliënt zelf de richting van de sessie bepaalt.

Vaak het enige dat een cliënt van verwacht, is dat je luistert op een toegewijde en niet-veroordelende manier.

Een ander aspect van de taak van de counseller is om suggesties of interventies te geven aan je cliënt. Je gebruikt technieken waar de cliënt al vertrouwd mee is, bedoeld als herinnering en aanmoediging tijdens de sessie. Je ervaring als cliënt helpt hier: hoe beter je begrijpt hoe counseling vaardigheden en technieken werken voor jou als cliënt, des te beter ben je in staat om als counseller suggesties aan je cliënt te geven.

In de buitenwereld is het vrij normaal dat mensen proberen het gedrag van anderen te controleren of te beïnvloeden. Om te voorkomen dat er controlerende patronen in de counseler-cliënt relatie sluipen, is de counseler’s rol er enkel op gericht om neutrale suggesties te geven. Hoe dit controlerende mechanisme werkt en hoe je die kunt vermijden leer je tijdens de basistraining.

Om Co-Counselers de gelegenheid te geven om snel en gemakkelijk sessies te doen, is een introductie in telefonisch Cocounseling onderdeel van de cursus.

Voor wie is Co-Counseling bedoeld?

Co-Counseling is een krachtig middel voor persoonlijke groei. Het is effectief voor de meeste mensen.

Co-Counseling is iets voor jou, als

  • je veranderingen in je leven wilt om meer te worden wie je in wezen bent;
  • je levensvaardigheden wilt vergroten met de steun van andere mensen
  • je je meer wilt openen en onderzoeken wat er van binnen bij jou gebeurt
  • je toegang wilt tot een netwerk voor persoonlijke ondersteuning

Je bent nog niet toe aan Co-Counseling als:

  • Je niet in staat bent om “vrije” aandacht te geven aan een andere persoon, bijvoorbeeld als je veel behoefte hebt aan aandacht voor jezelf
  • Je behoefte aan alcohol of stemming beïnvloedende medicijnen is te groot is om zonder deze middelen deel te nemen aan workshops of sessies
  • Je enkel bereid bent om andere mensen te observeren, maar niet bereid om je zelf te openen en mee te doen aan het leerproces.

Als je het idee hebt dat je er nog niet aan toe bent om de cursus te doen, is er het alternatief om eerst één-richting sessies te doen met een ervaren Co-Counseling teacher. Deze sessies zijn voornamelijk gebaseerd op de Co-Counseling theorie, zodat je een goede indruk krijgt van hoe sessies gaan in de praktijk.

Leer je om zelf counseler te worden?

Omdat in Co-Counseling de cliënt 100 % verantwoordelijk is voor zijn of haar eigen sessie, leer je als Co-Counseler níet om verantwoordelijkheid te hebben voor een andere persoon. Dit is een groot verschil met één-richtings counseling of therapie, waar van de cliënt niet verwacht wordt dat hij cliënt vaardigheden heeft en helemaal zelf verantwoordelijk is voor de sessie. Het is om deze reden dat Co-Counseling je geen formele kwalificatie geeft voor je bevoegdheid als counseler.

Co-Counseling geeft je wel bruikbare deskundigheid en stelt je in staat een betere één-richting counseler te zijn. Je luistervaardigheden zullen versterken en je zult een helderder en sympathieker begrip hebben voor andermans gedrag in het dagelijks leven.

Bovendien is Co-Counseling een waardevolle ondersteuning voor mensen die beroepsmatig met mensen werken, zoals hulpverleners, docenten of leidinggevenden. Het geeft je de mogelijkheid om overmatige stress omtrent je werk kwijt te raken. Ook kun je jezelf vragen stellen als “Waarom heb ik zo’n moeite met het gedrag van meneer X en hoe kan ik daar anders mee omgaan?” of “Waarom voel ik me niet adequaat als…?”.

Na de basistraining

Als je de basistraining hebt afgerond, heb je al een aantal Co-Counselers leren kennen en een aantal sessies met hen gehad. Je kunt afspraken maken voor vervolgsessies, in tweetallen of in kleine groepjes.

Als je lid wordt van Co-Counseling Nederland ontvang je de Nieuwsbrief 6 maal per jaar. Hierin staan artikelen over Co-Counseling en er worden vervolgcursussen en landelijke weekends aangekondigd. Ook ontvang je een ledenlijst, zodat je afspraken kunt maken met Co-Counselers die bij jou in de omgeving wonen.

Het is mogelijk om vervolg-cursussen te doen, waarbij je nog meer vaardigheden worden geleerd. Deze worden gegeven door ervaren Co-counselors of door teachers. Themas waarover vervolgcursussen worden aangeboden zijn onder meer “Rouwen”, “Counselen met je partner”, “Relaties”, “Transpersoonlijk Co-Counselen”, “Seksualiteit”, “Cocounselen en bio-energetica ” 

Ook kun je meedoen aan landelijke en internationale Co-Counseling workshops die regelmatig worden georganiseerd.

Hoeveel kost het?

Co-Counseling sessies kosten je niets, omdat je je tijd en je vaardigheden deelt met een andere Co-Counseler.

De kosten voor een basistraining bedragen ca. f 700,- voor 2 weekends + één dag. Als de kosten een probleem zijn is er een mogelijkheid om het bedrag in termijnen te betalen.

Nadat je de basistraining met succes hebt afgerond kun je lid worden van de Vereniging Co-Counseling Nederland. Dit kost f 50,- per jaar. Je ontvangt dan Nieuwsbrieven en kunt meedoen aan landelijke weekends. Deze weekends zijn erg voordelig; je betaalt enkel voor de huisvesting en de maaltijden. Als je een basistraining gevolgd hebt kun je het nog een keer doen voor een laag tarief.

CornuCopia

Het CornuCopia coöperatief is een groep ervaren Co-Counselers die in het Schotse Co-Counseling netwerk samenwerken bij het geven van basistrainingen, organiseren van workshops en het uitgeven van Co-Counseling publicaties. Hun doel is om een creatief en blij levensgevoel te promoten. Zij doen dit door trainingen aan te bieden waar je vaardigheden leert om de kwaliteit van je leven te verhogen en door mensen aan te moedigen om met elkaar netwerken voor persoonlijke ondersteuning   op te zetten.

Voor meer informatie in Nederland

Marlies Tjallingii  Tel. 038-460 8461
Marian van Wijngaarden  Tel.06-1141 5665

© 1997-2008 Cornucopia Publications

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What is Co-Counselling?

J. P. Hoogma, What is Co-Counselling?, CornuCopia Publications, 1997.
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WHAT IS CO-COUNSELLING?

by JanPieter Hoogma

Living happily with your feelings

If only that could be possible! One of the difficulties you may have in accepting yourself is in dealing with your feelings, especially when they are strong emotions, such as rage, despair, shame, grief, guilt or anger. People are anxious to keep such emotions under control, because failing to do so feels humiliating and unpleasant. ‘What will other people think of me?’ , ‘This is not me.’ ‘People will discover who I really am’. For all these reasons people will generally try to hide most of their feelings. However in situations such as having lost a loved one, or dealing with stressful relationships or work that is too demanding, this control of feelings can collapse and the emotions burst out. People fear this breakdown of control.

However, when you are in an environment where you feel safe, valued and cared for (physically and emotionally), sooner or later you will feel free to express yourself emotionally. When this happens, you will find that you feel better and a lot clearer while getting in better touch with your own inner truth. There is nothing new or startling about this. When young children who haven’t yet learnt to hold in their feelings are allowed to cry or yell until they have fully expressed their hurt or anger, they are then able to go off and play quite happily. This release or catharsis is known in Co-Counselling as "discharge", and it has positive and beneficial effects, such as a feeling of relief, having more clarity and experiencing more zest for life.

Very painful emotions cannot and do not need to be discharged all at once. To avoid getting drowned in them and losing control, you, as client, learn to choose at what depth and at what pace you want to deal with your emotions. You also learn "to be kind to yourself" as part of this process, so that unpleasant feelings such as guilt and shame can be comfortably dealt with.

Empowerment

Co-Counselling does much more than help to mop up distress, by allowing you to search for and confront its root causes. The principle is simple: past painful experiences have conditioned us to respond in set ways ("patterns", in Co-Counselling terms), and these old hurts still influence our present behaviour. Such patterns restrict our choices when we meet new situations, and prevent us from feeling free to act in the most appropriate or creative way. Patterns can be responsible for our difficulties in dealing with current problems, particularly those where we cannot easily understand the reason for the difficulty. We can all gain access to more of our potential by exploring and then releasing the suppressed feelings that make us behave in patterned ways.

Inevitably, releasing suppressed feelings involves coming into contact with them again. However, Co-Counselling is not about digging up old memories for the sake of it: rather, in order to relegate them to the dustbin of history, it is necessary first to regain access to them.

Another way of preventing future distress is changing negative basic beliefs about yourself. For instance, if you believe that you are unlovable, you can discharge your distress about feeling unloved again and again, without any change in the underlying feeling or belief. Changing this basic belief into a more positive one such as ‘I am loveable reduces distress in the long term, and creates more love.

How does it work?

In Co-Counselling people usually work in pairs taking equal time to be "counsellor" and "client" in turn. This exchange is called ‘having a session’. You can have a session with any Co-Counsellor at any time that suits both of you. A session can last an hour each way, or five minutes. You can have them anywhere: up a mountain, in a room, in your home, over the telephone. This distinguishes it from other types of counselling and therapy. Another difference is that you as the client are in charge of your part of the session, while the counsellor is there for support. Then you swap roles. Thus Co-Counselling is firstly a training in being a client. The more you understand how it is to be a client yourself, the better you will intuit how you, in the counsellor role, can provide good support for your client.

Co-Counselling allows you to meet other Co-Counsellors in the Scottish and international network of people who have satisfactorily completed the "Fundamentals" training course. In the network everybody is free to choose their level of involvement in the sessions, groups or workshops on offer.

In your local area you can create your own personal support network by finding out whom you like to have sessions with - face to face or over the telephone - and whom you would like to join in support groups.

How do I learn?

The basic training is a 40-hour course in the Fundamentals of Co-Counselling. Usually these courses run over three weekends or 9 weekdays.

The learning group consists of a maximum of eight people plus either two teachers or one teacher with the support of an experienced Co-Counsellor. These small groups enable intensive, experiential learning with plenty of attention for each individual.

The course starts by setting up a safe and supportive environment. Safety in the group and in the Co-Counselling sessions is guaranteed by confidentiality. Your feelings, your truth and the way in which you express yourself are important and will be treated confidentially.

To support your learning you will receive hand-outs and a Co-Counselling manual during the Fundamentals.

What will I learn?

In the Fundamentals you learn both client and counsellor roles. No two courses will be exactly the same, but they are similar enough to allow you to work with any other trained Co-Counsellor anywhere in the world.

Learning Co-Counselling is first about learning how to be a "client", how to get most out of your client time. As a client, you learn how to work with your feelings rather than discussing or suppressing them. You discover how to release feelings that you have held in from past experiences, so that you can come to terms with them.

You also learn how to break through set behaviour patterns and to respond creatively to challenging situations. You will learn how to discard old and worn out "shoulds" and "oughts". Behaviour patterns and basic beliefs that block your well being are explored, often on the basis of current or immediate issues rather than digging for "deep" material.

As counsellor you learn how to be present for your client by giving full attention and safe support, while respecting the client’s sense of self direction. You may only be required to listen in a focused and non-judgmental way.

Another part of the counsellor job can be to offer suggestions ("interventions") to your client. These ‘interventions’ function mainly as reminders or encouragement focused on ways of working with which the client is already familiar. Your experience as client helps here: the better you understand how counselling skills and techniques work for you as client, the better you are able to give suggestions to your client as counsellor.

In the outside world it is quite common for one person to try to control the behaviour of another. To prevent controlling patterns from slipping into the client-counsellor relationship, the counsellor's role in Co-Counselling is generally restricted to making neutral interventions. In addition, the nature of control patterns, how they work, and how to avoid them, is taught during the Fundamentals.

To provide Co-Counsellors with the opportunity to have quick access to sessions, an introduction to Telephone Co-Counselling is part of the Fundamentals.

Who is it for?

Co-Counselling is a powerful tool for personal growth. It is effective for most people.
It's for you, if:

  • you want to make changes in your life to realise your potential, increase your life skills with the support of other people
  • you are willing to "open up" and to explore what is going on inside you
  • you want to have access to a support network.

You may not be ready for Co-Counselling if:

  • you are unable to give your undivided attention to another person, for example because you need a lot of attention yourself
  • you need alcohol or mind-affecting medicines to the extent that you are not able to attend workshops and sessions sober and free of drugs
  • you are only prepared to observe other people but not willing to open up and participate fully in the learning process.

If you do not yet feel ready for Co-Counselling, you have the alternative of having one-way sessions with an experienced Co-Counselling teacher. Most of this counselling will be based on Co-Counselling theory, so that you get used to what is involved in Co-Counselling.

Will it train me to be a counsellor?

Because in Co-Counselling the client is in charge of his or her own sessions, Co-Counselling does not train you to take responsibility as counsellor for another person. This contrasts with one-way counselling or therapy in which the client is generally not assumed to have client skills or to be in charge of the session. That is why Co-Counselling does not offer any formal qualifications or credentials for your ability as a counsellor.

However, Co-Counselling can give you useful expertise and enable you to be a better one-way counsellor. Your listening skills will be enhanced and you will have a clearer and more sympathetic understanding of other people’s behaviour in everyday life.

In addition, Co-Counselling offers valuable support for people whose work involves dealing with people, for example as counsellor, manager, leader or teacher. It provides an opportunity to off load distress and to explore issues such as "Why did I do that?", "What does this event tell me about myself?", "Why do I feel inadequate when...?" or "Why do I dislike doing X and how can I deal with it better?".

After the Core Training

When you have completed the ‘Fundamentals’ training course, you will already know several Co-Counsellors, and have had sessions with them. You can arrange further sessions, either one-to-one or in small groups, with this group of people, or you can seek out others. An excellent way of doing this is to join a local Co-Counselling network.You will then receive a Newsletter, which contains information about workshops and articles about Co-Counselling. It contains also an address list of Co-Counsellors and often a section listing Co-Counsellors who are prepared to have telephone sessions if they have time available.

You can attend Open Co-Counselling Days, which are full- or half-day workshop where Co-Counsellors come together to have sessions either in pairs or in small groups. These occasions offer opportunities to meet other Co-Counsellors and to potentially find a more permanent Co-Counselling partner.

You may want to attend Further Skills Workshops, taught by experienced Co-Counsellors or Co-Counselling teachers. Some of them focus on developing more Co-Counselling skills as such, like ‘Working on an Issue that feels too big’. Some are related to specific themes such as 'Inner child work', 'Sexuality and Tantra', 'Assertiveness', 'Loss & Bereavement'.

Residential Workshops have flexible programs offered by participants. There also are support groups, celebrations and discharge, good food, walking in the countryside, dancing and singing, and so on. Residential workshops usually have organised child minding with paid crèche workers.
You will also have the opportunity to attend other UK and International Co-Counselling workshops.

After having built up more confidence in your client and counselling skills you may want to start a support group or join an existing one.

How much does it cost?

Co-Counselling sessions are free, because you exchange your time and skills with another Co-Counsellor.

The fees for Scottish workshops are related generally to income levels, although there are exceptions. The levels are: normal income, low income and no income (student or unwaged). If the lowest fee level is still too much for you, you may negotiate another solution, such as paying by installment.

Fundamentals fees generally vary from £100 - £200, depending on income. After the Fundamentals you usually will receive one copy of the local newsletter free.

Subscription to the Scottish network newsletter is between £5 and £12 a year, depending on your income. (4 issues a year).

Peer Workshops such as Community Days & CCI residential workshops usually have fees that cover the organisational costs only. For Open Co-Counselling Days the fees depend also on the region where they are organised. In Edinburgh and Tayside this is £1 or £2 for the whole day, again depending on your income.

Further Skills Workshops have fees that cover the facilitation and teaching on top of the organisational costs. Typical costs vary between £40 and £80 for 8 evenings.

© 1997-2008 Cornucopia Publications

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Topics included in core training courses

The attachment is a table of topics that are included by various trainers in the CCI Core Training (Fundamentals) courses that they teach.  Any teachers who want to be added to the table or make alterations if they are already on it, please contact cocoatdpets [dot] uk (subject: Core%20training%20topics) (John Talbut.)

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CoCo Open Space

Purpose

The main aim of a CoCo Open Space workshop is to bring together co-counsellors with shared interests and common needs so that they can co-create a meaningful and relevant Co-Counselling cooperation. A positive side effect is that even from the start of CoCo Open Space people talk about things that really matter to them. CoCo Open Space is a good way of mixing people new to co-counselling with more experienced co-counsellors.

Stages in the CoCo Open Space process

Stage 1. People identify their topic with related offers and requests

They do this in one-to-one sessions.

Stage 2. People are supported to find others with shared or complementary interests

There are various ways how this can be done. Common to all these is that people create and display Topic Poster(s) with related offers and/or requests. On these posters other participants can indicate their interests, requests and offers of support.

Depending on the local situation and the size of group one or more approaches can be used to bring people together.
Topic requests.jpg

  • The Market: one group of people set up stalls with their Topic Posters while the other groups walk around and explore what is of interest to them. After some time the next group man their stalls, so that the first group can explore the other Topics as well.
  • A Topic Circle: people say their names and the topics they would like to propose. Interested people can indicate their interest in the circle.
  • A Topic Wall displaying all Topic Posters with the names of the proposers.

Finally there is the cooperative planning of small Topic Group meetings for those people who have shared or complementary interests.

Stage 3. People in a Topic group co-create a Cooperation Arrangement

A Cooperation Arrangement can be very simple, such as a one-off meeting for coffee to share experiences, sharing a table during lunch or dinner or having a co-counselling session. Also people might become buddies, form a support group for the duration of the residential or run a workshop. There are also more complex Cooperation Arrangements, like a Cooperative Inquiry group.

Two applications

One use of the CoCo Open Space approach is as the start-up of a residential workshop. Once people have created their cooperation arrangements, CoCo Open Space is formally finished. Afterwards the Topic Posters are displayed at a central place near to where people have their breaks, coffee and teas. In this way, cross-fertilisation of the various topics will happen which in turn generates new workshops and activities. 

The actual planning of the workshops, the support groups and other events during the residential takes place after CoCo Open Space.

Secondly, the CoCo Open Space approach can also be used locally for a day or weekend workshop. This is especially useful as CoCo Open Space provides the opportunity for people to find co-counselling partners and to mix co-counsellors who have been on recent Fundamentals with people who have been co-counselling for quite a while.

In order to refine a cooperation arrangement, some CoCo Open Spaces provide the opportunity to offer and request a Taster workshop of an hour or more. In these workshops, experienced co-counsellors share their experiences with working on a topic, or run a taster of the skills workshop they have on offer.


Topics

Co-Counselling: an experiential enquiry (2)

J. Heron and Reason, P., Co-Counselling: an experiential enquiry (2), Human Potential Research Project, University of Surrey, 1982.

CONTENTS

Background

Brief Chronological Account of the Inquiry

Findings

  • What Makes Me Notice I'm Restimulated, In Pattern?
  • A Hierarchy in the Management of Restimulated Distress
  • Tactics
  • Strategies
  • Belief Systems

What We Got out of the Project

An Assessment of the Validity of the Project

Procedural Criticisms

References

Topics

Co-Counselling: an experiential enquiry (1)

J. Heron and Reason, P., Co-Counselling: an experiential enquiry (1), Human Potential Research Project, University of Surrey, 1981.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Co-Counselling Research Project

Chronological account of the project

The maps

What we learned about co-counselling

Learnings about experiential research

An assessment of the validity of the project

Next steps for collaborative experiential inquiry

Nest steps for research into co-counselling

References

Topics

A short guide to co-operative inquiry

P. Reason and Heron, J., A short guide to co-operative inquiry, 2002.

What is co-operative inquiry?

Co-operative inquiry is a way of working with other people who have similar concerns and interests to yourself, in order to

  • understand your world, make sense of your life and develop new and creative ways of looking at things
  • learn how to act to change things you may want to change and find out how to do things better

We usually think of inquiry and research as something done by people in universities and research institutes. We think there is a researcher who has all the ideas, and who then studies other people by observing them, asking them questions, or by designing experiments. The trouble with this kind of way of doing research is that there is often very little connection between the researcher's thinking and the concerns and experiences of the people who are actually involved. People are treated as passive subjects rather than as active agents.

We believe that good research is research with people rather than on people. We believe that ordinary people are quite capable of developing their own ideas and can work together in a co-operative inquiry group to see if these ideas make sense of their world and work in practice.
A second problem with traditional research is that the kind of thinking done by researchers is often theoretical rather than practical. It doesn't help people find how to act to change things in their lives. We believe that the outcome of good research is not just books and academic papers, but is also the creative action of people to address matters that are important to them. Co-operative inquiry thus embraces what is called action research. It is also concerned with revisioning our understanding of our world, as well as transforming practice within it.

In co-operative inquiry a group of people come together to explore issues of concern and interest. All members of the group contribute both to the ideas that go into their work together, and also are part of the activity that is being researched. Everyone has a say in deciding what questions are to be addressed and what ideas may be of help; everyone contributes to thinking about how to explore the questions; everyone gets involved in the activity that is being researched; and finally everybody has a say in whatever conclusions the co-operative inquiry group may reach. So in co-operative inquiry the split between 'researcher' and 'subjects' is done away with, and all those involved act together as 'co-researchers' and as 'co-subjects'.

Some examples of co-operative inquiry groups

A group of general medical practitioners formed a co-operative inquiry group to develop the theory and practice of holistic medicine. They built a simple model of holistic practice, and experimented with it in practice, exploring a range of intervention skills, power sharing with patients, concern for the spiritual dimensions of doctoring as well as attention to their own needs as medical practitioners. The experience of this study contributed to the formation of the British Holistic Medical Association. This study was taken forward when a group of general and complementary medical practitioners worked together to explore how they might effectively work in an interdisciplinary fashion.

A group of obese and post-obese women explored their experience together, looking in particular at how they were stereotyped in society, and how it was difficult for them to obtain appropriate attention from doctors and other medial people. This is one of several inquiries in which groups of people with a particular physical or medical condition have worked together to take charge of how their condition is defined and treated. Two black social work teachers established inquiry groups of black social work students, practitioners and managers to explore their experience. They looked at relationships between black people at work, particularly the experience of black managers and subordinates working together; and how a creative black culture could be generated.

Several inquiry groups have met to explore ritual, mystical and subtle experience in an attempt to create forms of spiritual practice which are appropriate to present times.

Several groups have formed to explore questions of gender, in particular experience of women and men at work. One inquiry looked at how black women might learn to thrive, as well as survive in British organizations. Another explored the experience of young women managers in primarily male organizations. And another is looking at whether men in organizations need to explore questions of their gender in the workplace.

How a co-operative inquiry group works

Co-operative Inquiry is a systematic approach to developing understanding and action. And while every group is different, each one can be seen as engaged in cycles of action and reflection which go something like this.

1. The first thing is to bring a group of people together who have a common interest. In phase one a group of co-researchers come together to explore an agreed area of human activity. In this first phase they talk about their interests and concerns, agree on the focus of their inquiry, and develop together a set of questions or propositions they wish to explore. They agree to undertake some action, some practice, which will contribute to this exploration, and agree to some set of procedures by which they will observe and record their own and each other's experience.

For example, a group of health visitors in south west England were invited by one of their colleagues to form an inquiry group to explore the sources of stress in their work. After much resistance to the idea that they could be 'researchers', the group decided to explore the stress that comes from the 'hidden agendas' in their work - the suspicions they had about problems such as depression, child abuse, and drug taking in the families they visit which are unexpressed and unexplored.

2. In phase two the group apply their agreed actions in their everyday life and work: they initiate the actions and observe and record the outcomes of their own and each other's behaviour. They may at first simply watch what it is that happens to them so they develop a better understanding of their experience; later they may start trying out new forms of action.

The health visitors first explored among themselves their feelings about these 'hidden agendas' and how they managed them at present. They then decided to experiment with confronting them. They practised the skills they thought they would need through role play, and then agreed to try raising their concerns directly with their client families.

3. In phase three the co-researchers become full immersed in their experience. They may become more open to what is going on and they may begin to see their experience in new ways. They may deepen into the experience so that superficial understandings are elaborated and developed. Or they may be led away from the original ideas and proposals into new fields, unpredicted action and creative insights. It is also possible that they may get so involved in what they are doing that they lose the awareness that they are part of an inquiry group: there may be a practical crisis, they may become enthralled, they may simply forget. This phase is in some ways the touchstone of the inquiry method, and is what makes it so very different from conventional research, because here people are deeply involved in their own experience so any practical skills or new understandings will grow out of this experience.

The health visitors' experience of trying out new ways of working with clients was both terrifying and liberating in ways none of them had expected. On the one hand they felt they were really doing their job; on the other hand they were concerned about the depth of the problems they would uncover and whether they had adequate skills to cope with them. The woman who had initiated the project in particular was anxious and had disturbing dreams. They found they had to keep in good contact with each other to provide support and reassurance as they tried out new behaviours.

4. Phase four, after an agreed period engaged in phases two and three, the co-researchers re-assemble to consider their original questions in the light of their experience. As a result they change their questions in some way; or reject them and pose new questions. They then agree on a second cycle of action and reflection. They may choose to focus on the same or on different aspects of the overall inquiry. The group may choose to amend or develop its inquiry procedures - forms of action, ways of gathering data - in the light of experience of the first cycle.

The health visitors came back together and shared their experience, helping each other understand what had taken place and developing their strategies and skills at confronting hidden agendas. After several cycles they reflected on what they had learned and wrote a report which they circulated to their managers and colleagues.

A co-operative inquiry often engages in some six to ten cycles of action and reflection. These can take place over a short workshop or may extend over a year or more, depending on the kind of questions that are being explored.

The kinds of knowledge a co-operative inquiry group can create

Co-operative inquiry involves at least four different kinds of ways of knowing. We call this an 'extended epistemology' - epistemology meaning a theory of how you know, and extended because it reaches beyond the primarily theoretical knowledge of academia.

Experiential knowing is through direct face-to-face encounter with person, place or thing; it is knowing through empathy and resonance, and is almost impossible to put into words.

Presentational knowing emerges from experiential knowing, and provides the first form of expression by drawing on expressive forms of imagery through story, drawing, sculpture, movement, dance and so on.

Propositional knowing 'about' something, is knowing through ideas and theories, expressed in informative statements.

Practical knowing is knowing 'how to' do something and is expressed in a skill, knack or competence.

In co-operative inquiry we say that knowing will be more valid if these four ways of knowing are congruent with each other: if our knowing is grounded in our experience, expressed through our stories and images, understood through theories which make sense to us, and expressed in worthwhile action in our lives. You can see that this was so for the health visitors in their work together.

Other ways to improve the quality of knowing and action

You will see by now that co-operative inquiry is a radically different way of doing research. It is based on people examining their own experience and action carefully in collaboration with people who share similar concerns and interests. But, you might say, isn't it true that people can fool themselves about their experience? Isn't this why we have professional researchers who can be detached and objective?

The answer to this is that certainly people can and do fool themselves, but we find that they can also develop their attention so they can look at their beliefs and theories critically and in this way improve the quality of their claims to knowing. We call this 'critical subjectivity'; it means that we don't have to throw away our living knowledge in the search for objectivity, but are able to build on it and develop it.

We have developed a number of procedures that can be part of a co-operative inquiry and which can help improve the quality of knowing. These are some of them.

1) Research cycling. It should be already clear that co-operative inquiry involves going through the four phases of inquiry several times, cycling between action and reflection, looking at experience from different angles, developing different ideas, trying different ways of behaving. The health visitors went through four or five cycles as the experimented with different ways of relating to their clients.

Research cycling can be convergent, in which case the co-researchers look several times at the same issue, maybe looking each time in more detail; or cycling can be divergent, as co-researchers decide to look at different issues on successive cycles. Many variations of convergence and divergence are possible in the course of an inquiry. It is up to the group to decide which one is appropriate for each piece of research.

2) Balance of action and reflection. Too much time in reflection is just armchair theorizing; too much time in action is mere activism. But it may be important, particularly in the early stages, to spend considerable time reflecting in order to gather together experience; and it may be important later to concentrate on trying out different actions to see how they work.

Each inquiry group needs to find its own balance between action and reflection, depending on the topic being explored.

3) Developing critical attention. Co-researchers need to develop the ability to look at their experience with affectionate curiosity with the intention of understanding it better. They need not to be so attached to what they have been doing that they cannot be look at it critically. The process of research cycling is a discipline which helps people develop this ability.

As the group matures it may be helpful to use constructive challenge in order to hone people's critical attention. For example, in the Devil's Advocate procedure each person takes a turn in saying what they believe they have discovered, and other group members challenge their statements, trying to find other explanations for their claims, or evidence which shows their claims are not based in experience.

4) Authentic collaboration. It is really important that members of a co-operative inquiry group develop ways of working which are collaborative. You can't really call it co-operative inquiry if one or two people dominate the group, or if some voices are left out altogether. This doesn't mean that everyone has to have exactly the same role: it may be that one person in the group has more knowledge of the subject, another knows more about the inquiry method. But it does mean that specialist knowledge is used in the service of the group.

In order to develop equal contribution within a group it may be useful to rotate formal leadership round the group; to have 'rounds' in which everyone can have a say about the topic being discussed while the rest listen; and regular review periods where all group members can say how they feel about the way the group is working.

It is also important to note that there may be people outside the inquiry group who are affected by what it does; while they cannot be full co- researchers, they too should be approached in the spirit of co-operation and dialogue.

5) Dealing with distress. Co-operative inquiry can be an upsetting business. If the co- researchers are really willing to examine their lives and their experience in depth and in detail, it is likely that they will uncover things they have been avoiding looking at and aspects of their life with which they are uncomfortable.

Indeed, many inquiry groups are set up to explore these kinds of issues. So the group must be willing to address emotional distress openly when it arrives: to allow the upset persons the healing of self-expression, which may involve the release of grief, anger or fear.

Further, it may well be right for a group to spend time identifying the emotional disturbances within the group which have not yet been expressed, and providing space for this to happen. If the group does not pay attention to distress management, it is likely that the findings will be distorted by the buried emotions.

6) Chaos and order. Clearly co-operative inquiry can be seen as an orderly process of moving through cycles of action and reflection, taking account of experience in one cycle and applying it to the next. And so it is.

But co-operative inquiry is also about intuitive discovery, happenstance and synchronicity. It is sometimes about throwing all caution to the winds in a wild experiment.

The best inquiry groups find a balance between chaos and order. If the group is really going to be open, adventurous and innovative, to put all at risk to reach out for the truth beyond fear and collusion, then once the inquiry is well under way, divergence of thought and expression is likely to descend into confusion, uncertainty, ambiguity, disorder, and perhaps chaos, with most if not all co-researchers feeling lost to a greater or lesser degree.

There can be no guarantee that chaos will occur; certainly one cannot plan it. The key validity issue is to be prepared for it, to be able to tolerate it, to go with the confusion; not to let anxiety press for premature order, but to wait until there's a real sense of creative resolution.

Practical issues in setting up an inquiry group

Inititation. Most inquiry group are initiated by one or two people who have enthusiasm for an idea they wish to explore. They are quite often engaged on a research degree and are attracted to co-operative inquiry as a means of doing research; but they might just as well be members of an interest group - a patient's group, a women or minority person's group, a professional interest group - who see that co-operative inquiry might be a way of moving forward their interests.

Establishing a group. The initiators first task is to gather together a group of people who will be interested in joining the project. Sometimes the group is self-evidently formed, but more often it is recruited by some form of circular letter: for example the black social worked mentioned above invited social work managers, practitioners and students to a meeting to discuss mutual interests and propose the establishment of inquiry groups. Groups of up to twelve persons can work well. Below six is a little too small and lacks variety of experience; above twelve needs time and maybe professional facilitation to manage.

Contracting. This is possibly the most important aspect of the establishment of a group: it is really important that as far as it possible people have an opportunity to define the inquiry agenda and establish the process of the group. But this does not mean that they have to start from a blank sheet: usually the initiators put forward some proposal in a letter inviting people to a meeting to discuss the possible formation of a group. The meeting can explore the following agenda:

a)Welcome and introductions, helping people feel at home

b)Introduction by initiators: what we are interested in researching

c)People discuss what they have heard informally in pairs, followed by questions and discussion

d)Introduction to the process of co-operative inquiry

e)Pairs discussion followed by questions and discussion

f)Decision time: who wishes to join the group?

g)Practical discussion: dates, times, financial and other commitments.

It may be that I full discussion of items a) to e) is as far as a group can go in one meeting, and a second meeting is needed for decision making and practical arrangements.

Devising an overall research plan. Most groups agree to a programme of meetings arranged so there is sufficient time for cycles of action and reflection. A group wishing to explore activities that are contained within the group, such as meditation skills, may simply meet for a weekend workshop which will include several short cycles of practice and reflection.

But a group which involves action in the external world will need to arrange long cycles of action and reflection with sufficient time for practical activity. The holistic doctors group met to reflect for a long weekend after every six weeks of action on the job. The health visitors for an afternoon every three weeks or so. An inquiry into interpersonal skill met for a weekend workshop at the home of two of the participants and then for a long afternoon and evening every month to six weeks, finishing with another residential weekend workshop.

Roles. It is helpful to agree early on how roles will be distributed. If the initiator is also to be group facilitator that should be made clear. It may be helpful to identify who has skills in group facilitation, inquiry facilitation, management of differences, working with distress, and so on and share out roles appropriately. Decide if you wish to be fully democratic and rotate leadership, or if you would prefer one or two people to facilitate on behalf of the group. And so on.

Ground rules. You may wish to agree ground rules, particularly to preserve confidences within the group.

Writing. It is helpful to decide who the audience for your research is early on. Is it just for yourselves, or do you wish to influence some outside persons? If you are want to produce a written report or article, it is worth discussing who will write it and on what basis. Do all members of the group have to see and agree it before it can be sent out? Or is it acceptable for one or two people to write their own report based on the group experience?

We have found it helpful to adopt the rule that anyone can write whatever they like about the group, so long as they state clearly who is the author and whether other group members have seen and approved the text.

Further Reading

Heron, J. (1989). The Facilitators Handbook. London: Kogan Page. A useful discussion of choices in the facilitation of groups.

Heron, J. (1992). Feeling and Personhood: psychology in another key. London: Sage. Background theory and philosophy to co-operative inquiry, with an account of feeling as the foundation of participative knowing.

Heron, J. (1996). Co-operative Inquiry: research into the human condition. London: Sage. The latest comprehesive account of the co-operative inquiry method. Covers everything from philosophical underpinnings to the details of practice. Best read as a handbook dipping into the chapters that seem most helpful.

Randall, R and Southgate, J. (1980). Co-operative and Community Group Dynamics.....or your meetings needn't be so appalling. London: Barefoot Books. An excellent discussion of who to help develop creative group discussions in cartoon form-may be difficult to get hold of.

Reason, P. (ed). (1988). Human Inquiry in Action. London: Sage. A useful introduction to the method and contains some good examples of collaborative research.

Reason, P. (1994). Co-operative Inquiry, Participatory Action Research & Action Inquiry: three approaches to participative inquiry. Handbook of Qualitative Research, edited by Norman K Denzin & Yvonna Sessions Lincoln, Thousand Oaks: Sage. Sets co-operative inquiry in the context of other participative research methods.

Reason, P. (ed.) (1994). Participation in Human Inquiry. London: Sage. Discussion of the nature of participation followed by six examples of collaborative forms of research. Some good examples of co-operative inquiry described in some detail.

Reason, P. and Heron, J. (1995). Co-operative Inquiry. In Rethinking Methods in Psychology, edited by R. Harre, J. Smith, and L. Van Langenhove. London: Sage. An introduction which might be good to circulate among potential inquiry group members.

Reason, P. and Rowan J. (eds). (1981). Human Inquiry: a sourcebook of new paradigm research. Chichester: John Wiley. The original handbook: rather out of date but with lots of useful ideas and practices.

Topics

Cooperative Inquiry

The core idea of cooperative inquiry, also known as collaborative inquiry, is to 'research with’ rather than to ‘research on’ people. This means that all active participants are fully involved in research decisions as co-researchers.

Since it inception by John Heron in 1971 different methods developed, each dealing in slightly different ways with issues like self-fulfilling prophecy, group think or group bias, and how representative the resulting information is for people outside the research group. 

The John Heron and Peter Reason's approach

Cooperative inquiry creates a research cycle among four different types of knowledge: propositional knowing (as in contemporary science), practical knowing (the knowledge that comes with actually doing what you propose), experiential knowing (the feedback we get in real time about our interaction with the larger world) and presentational knowing (the artistic rehearsal process through which we craft new practices). The research process iterates these four stages at each cycle with deepening experience and knowledge of the initial proposition, or of new propositions, at every cycle.

Stage 1: The first reflection phase that determines topics and methods of inquiry. This phase involves primarily propositional knowing.
Stage 2: The first action phase, usually within the group, that tests the agreed actions, records outcomes from the testing, and observes if the actions conform to the original ideas from Stage 1. This stage involves primarily practical knowing by doing.
Stage 3: A second action phase, usually by individuals in their everyday life outside the group, where the experiences and the consequences of one’s new inquiries in action can generate profound new feelings and awarenesses. In this stage, the experiences may lead to new fields, actions and insights that depart from the original ideas. This stage involves primarily experiential knowing.
Stage 4: The second reflection phase when, in the group, co-researchers reflect on their experiences and the data collected in Stages 2 and 3. Now they may re-frame the original ideas and amend inquiry procedures. In this stage, co-researchers also decide whether to proceed to further cycles in the inquiry processes. This stage involves primarily presentational knowing, developing new images and ways of acting. This leads back to propositional knowing, if the inquiry group decides to start a next cycle.

Peter Reason's extension

 

 

 

James Nichol's methodology

 

Cooperative inquiries in CCI Co-Counselling

John Heron and Peter Reason, Co-Counselling: an experiential enquiry (1), Human Potential Research Project, University of Surrey, 1981

John Heron and Peter Reason, Co-Counselling: an experiential enquiry (2), Human Potential Research Project, University of Surrey, 1982

Peter. J. Hawkins, “Catharsis in Psychotherapy”, PhD thesis, University of Durham, UK, Durham, 1986.

James Nichol A co-operative inquiry into Co-Counselling as a personal Development Method, dissertation, University of London, London, 1993.

Martin Wilks Towards an Integration of Counselling, Clienting and Meditation, dissertation, University of East London, London, 1998..

Topics

The Complete Facilitators' Handbook

J. Heron, The Complete Facilitators' Handbook. Kogan Page Ltd, 1989.

CONTENTS

Preface

A Little History

Guidance for the Reader

Acknowledgements

1   Dimensions and Modes of Facilitation

Background

The Facilitator and the Experiential Group

The Modern Revolution in Learning

The Parameters of Experiential Learning

The Six Dimensions of Facilitation

The Facilitative Question

The Three Modes of Facilitation:  the Politics of Learning

The Use of the Modes: Stages and Presumptions

Participation in Educational Decision-making: the Classic Dilemma

The Many Forms of Autonomy

Task and Process in Experiential Learning

The Concept of Facilitator Style

One-to-one, One-to-some and One-to-all Interventions

Education and Training

The 18 Basic Options

Criteria of Validity

2   Authority, Autonomy and Holism

Three Kinds of Facilitator Authority

Authority and Authoritarianism

Traditional Confusion of Three Kinds of Authority

Need for Authority

Learning as Autonomous and Holistic Paradox of Facilitator Authority

Authority as a Means of Initiation

Tutelary Authority as Initiation

Tutelary Procedures

Political Authority as Initiation: the Three Decision-modes

The Four Decision-mode Levels

Empowerment through Mastery of Decision-mode Levels

Unilateral Direction on Principle at Level3

The Importance of Advertising Non-negotiable Values

A Full-blown Level3 Course

Charismatic Authority as Initiation

3   Whole Person Learning

Distinctions within the Field

Holistic Learning and Experiential Learning

The Generally Acceptable Model of a Whole Person

Avant-garde Models of the Whole Person

Feeling as the Ground of Personhood

The Up-hierarchy Model of the Whole Person

The Self and the Whole Person

Open Self and Whole Person Learning

Closed Self Learning

4   The Group Dynamic

Stages of the Group Dynamic

Positive Forms of the Group Dynamic

Negative Forms of the Group Dynamic

Cultural Oppression

Educational Alienation

Psychological Defensiveness

The Role of the Facilitator

Extensions of Group Dynamic Theory

Transpersonal Influences on the Group Dynamic

5   The Planning Dimension

Planning Overview

Levels of Decision-making

Refining the Decision-modes

Autonomy: Delegated or Seized

A Decision-mode and a Decision-procedure

Apollonian and Dionysian Planning

The Planning Dimension: Hierarchical Mode The Planning Dimension: Co-operative Mode

The Planning Dimension: Autonomous Mode

6   The Meaning Dimension

Four Forms of Understanding

Areas of Understanding

The Meaning Dimension: Hierarchical Mode

The Meaning Dimension: Co-operative Mode

The Meaning Dimension: Autonomous Mode

7   Co-operative Inquiry

Definition of Co-operative Inquiry

Participation and Inquiry

Outcomes of Co-operative Inquiry

Topics of Co-operative Inquiry

An Outline of Inquiry Stages

Extended Epistemology and the Inquiry Cycle

Special Inquiry Skills

Validity Procedures

Three-stranded Initiation of a Co-operative Inquiry

8   Peer Review Audit

Autonomous Meaning of Work

Commitment to Excellence

Education for the Professions

Peer Assessment

Practice and Outcomes

Stage 1. Select an Area of Practice to Assess

Stage 2. Agree Criteria of Competent Practice for the Selected Area

Stage 3. Devise a Self-assessment Method for Practice On-the-job

Stage 4. Assessment of Practice On-the-job

Stage 5. Peer Review: Self-assessment Presentations

Stage 6. Review of Audit Procedures

Stage 7. Planning the Second Cycle

Stage 8. The Second Cycle of On-the-job Self-assessment

Peer Review Audit and the Experiential Learning Cycle

Further  Issues

9   Peer Support Groups

The Concept of a Peer Support Group

Running a Peer Support Group

Helpful Ground-rules for a Peer Support Group

Peer Supervision: Critical Incident Focus

Peer Supervision: Good News Analysis

Peer Supervision: Actual Practice

Peer Supervision: Veridical Report

Peer Supervision: Projected Rehearsal

Peer Supervision: Confession Dinner

Peer Supervision: the Personal/Professional Interface

Peer Unfoldment: Life-style Enhancement

Peer Unfoldment: Celebration, Affirmation and Visualization

Peer Unfoldment: Projected Rehearsal

Peer Unfoldment: Healing the Memories

Peer Unfoldment: Invoking the Empowering Future

10 The Confronting Dimension

Sources of Rigidity

Elements and Purposes of Confrontation The Process of Confrontation

Confronting and Meaning

Cycles of Expansion and Contraction

One-to-group and One-to-one

The Confronting Dimension: Hierarchical Mode

The Confronting Dimension: Co-operative Mode

The Confronting Dimension: Autonomous Mode

11 The Feeling Dimension

Positive Emotional Processes

Negative Emotional Processes

The Role of Pathology

Emotion and the Group Dynamic

Feeling and the Group Dynamic

The Feeling Dimension: Hierarchical Mode

The Feeling Dimension: Co-operative Mode

The Feeling Dimension: Autonomous Mode

12 Charismatic Education and Training

Charisma, Personal Power and Presence

The Psychophysical Modes of Relating to Others

The Experiential Body and  the Physical  Body

The Experiential Body in Stasis

The Experiential Body in Presence

From Presence to Personal Power

The Up-hierarchy of Empowerment

Integrated Postural Presence

Pervasive Interpersonal Empathy

Dynamic Interpersonal Geometry

Clock Time and Charismatic Time

Emotional Tone of Voice

Phonetic Command

Command of Language

Command of Content of Speech

Command of Purpose

The Down-hierarchy of Facilitator Principles

Guiding Moral Principles of Facilitation

Training Exercises for the Cultivation of Charisma, Dynamic Presence, Personal Power

13 The Structuring Dimension

Planning and Structuring an Exercise

The Experiential Learning Cycle

Supervision of an Exercise and the Experiential Learning Cycle

The Structuring Dimension: Hierarchical Mode

The Structuring Dimension: Co-operative Mode

The Structuring Dimension: Autonomous Mode

14 Varieties of the Experiential Learning Cycle

Primary and Secondary Cycles

The Open Self Primary Cycle

The Open Self Secondary Cycle

Primary and Secondary Cycles in Superlearning

Teacher-managed and Student-managed Learning

The Whole Person Primary Cycle

The Whole Person Secondary Cycle

The Multi-stranded Alternative

15 The Valuing Dimension

The Person

States of Personhood

The Cross and Circle

The Valuing Dimension: Hierarchical Mode

The Valuing Dimension: Co-operative Mode

The Valuing Dimension: Autonomous Mode

16 Learning to be a Whole Person

The Self-creating Person

The Whole Person as a Web of Relations

A Working Definition of a Whole Person

The Agenda for Learning to be a Whole Person

Locations, Domains and Cycles A Self-generating Culture

Whole Person Values

17 Approaches to Social Change

Personal Development and Structural Change

Three Kinds of Structural Theory

Liberation Within and Transfiguration of the Human Condition

Opposition Actions and Fulfilment Actions

Structural Change Options Facilitation for Structural Change

Techniques of Soft Revolution

18   The Creation of a Facilitator Style

The Style is the Person

Personal Values Personal Principles

The Purpose and Composition of the Group

Personal Development

Training

Professional Development

Criteria of Excellence

Research

Social Change

Making a Self-assessment Profile of your Facilitator Style

Appendix: The Manager as Facilitator

Group Room and Workplace Learning

The Organizational Revolution

The Manager, the Team and the Task

Dimensions and Modes of Management

The Six Dimensions of Management

The Three Modes of Management

Task and Process

Eighteen Basic Management Options

Personal Development in the Workplace

Transforming Power

The Team Dynamic

The Structure of the Team

The Tasks of the Team

Motives of Team Members

Distorted Forms of the Team Dynamic

Diagrams of the Distorted Forms

The Organizational Context: Critical Issues

The Social Context: Critical Issues

The Influence of Ideology

The Authority of the Manager

The Vision of the Manager: Holocracy

References

Index

Topics