PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLOR - Mental Health Academy

THE PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLOR
03 2008
ICE-BREAKER 5 – ADJECTIVES
STEP 1: Ask participants to think of an adjective beginning with the first letter of their name
STEP 2: The first participant is to introduce themselves using the adjective and their name.
EG: “Hi I’m kind Katrina”
STEP 3: The next participant is to state that person’s name and adjective and then their own.
EG: “Hi kind Katrina… I’m hilarious Helen”
STEP 4: Continue around the group until all participants have introduced themselves. The final
participant will be saying “hi” to all group members. EG: “Hi kind Katrina… Hi hilarious Helen … Hi
melancholy Melissa and pompous Pete, I’m woeful Wendy
ICE-BREAKER 6 – WHITE LIES
STEP 1: Ensure that each person has a piece of paper and a pen
STEP 2: Ask participants to write three things down about themselves, one being a white lie.
EG: “I have three kids; I love reading; and I used to be a carpenter”
STEP 3: The other group members are to guess which one is the lie
STEP 4: Continue around the groups until all participants have had a turn.
GROUP RULES CONTRACT
Creating group rules is a productive way to
establish an initial “order” in the group. This can be an
effective tool, particularly when dealing with groups
where individual members come from a variety of
cultural backgrounds.
The tool below allows collective input in
determining group rules (thus, the rules are set at the
first session, by the group members). It encourages
group members to engage in communication and
problem-solving in the early stages of the process,
thus creating favourable conditions for the
development of group rapport and unity.
By allowing the group members to agree on ground
rules, facilitators also encourage a sense of
responsibility and accountability.
TIP – prior to using this tool, ensure that members
are informed of confidentiality issues that relate to
counselling and group work. This includes stating
that confidentiality is not an absolute and outlining
its restrictions.
The first step in this tool is to gather the group
around in a circle, and provide a copy of the
sheet/contract below to each of the members.
The contract will include a number of issues which
group members will decide on: each of these issues
will become a rule, and an adjacent “rule-breaking
procedure” will be included.
For a rule to be created, all group members must
agree. Once a rule has been decided on, all group
members will write it down on their individual
sheets/contracts.
Once the group has decided on all group rules,
each member will sign their contract and commit to
the group rules. Contracts will be handed to the
group facilitator, who will keep them as proof of each
member’s commitment.
Below is a sample:
GROUP CONTRACT – THE ‘X’ GROUP
Rule 1: Sessions will be conduct each week for _____ weeks on _______________.
The starting time will be __________.
If I break this rule I will be required to _________________________________.
Rule 2: Eating and drinking during a session will / will not be permitted.
If I break this rule I will be required to _________________________________.
Rule 3: Bringing friends and family to a session will / will not be permitted.
If I break this rule I will be required to _________________________________.
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