Positive Mental Health Group

Positive Mental Health Meeting

Written by Bob Knowles

ANYONE WHO WISHES CAN USE THIS MATERIAL TO START A GROUP. WE ARE HAPPY FOR YOU TO GET IN TOUCH WITH US AT WIRRAL MIND AND WE WILL GIVE YOU ANY ADVICE OR ASSISTANCE AND THE BENEFIT OF OUR EXPERIENCE SO FAR

On Wirral, we have developed a Positive Mental Health meeting. It is open to all-comers. It is attended by experts by experience, ‘service users’, carers, paid staff who work in mental health, and people – just ordinary people who are interested in improving their mental health and approach to life, by giving and receiving ideas and group support from other similar people.

The following will give you an idea of what the meetings are about and how they run. It may look at first sight to be a bit wordy and complicated but when it’s running it seems to flow very well. The structure is important because if there are lots of groups all over the place, similar to 12 Step Programmes , you will feel at home and secure as a participant where ever you go. And the structure helps avoid the meeting drifting all over the place. It remains focussed on things that help.

These are the things that we found work best for the meeting.

The meeting lasts an hour and a half.

It starts on time and punctuality is encouraged, but people who are unavoidably late are welcome to join.

Chairs should be arranged in a circle and should be as far as possible at the same height.

Water and/or squash is available at the beginning of the meeting but making tea and coffee is not encouraged because it can delay the start of the meeting and often gives one of two people extra duties when they should be concentrating on themselves.

One person should be identified as Group Facilitator the week before, whose job it is to open the meeting and ask another group member to read the Problem and the Solution. The Group Facilitator is also there to be the main person dealing with any particular problems that arise. The meeting is designed to provide an opportunity for those who are currently able to work on their Recovery. It is not likely to be appropriate for people who are currently experiencing high levels of distress, who are likely to get appropriate support from others, before regaining their ability to benefit from the Positive Mental Health Meeting.

There are three ways in which the meeting might proceed.

The main way is for the sharing and development of recovery ideas around a particular topic. One person should be identified as the lead for sharing the week before. This person can decide to talk and share thoughts and feelings about an issue of topic of their own choice for others to follow. This person is likely to talk about this topic for 5 to 10 minutes before opening up to other group members for their sharing. As the beginning of the meeting it is hoped that all group members will have something to say and that they are encouraged to do this without interruption from other group members, so that they can develop their own ideas and be listened to. After this initial sharing the group moves on to developing ideas more conversationally about ways in which they have learned to cope and deal with any of the issues raised to achieve steps towards their recovery.

From time to time, perhaps one meeting in four, it will be decided we before to have a Step Meeting. The weekly Facilitator will suggest that the group looks the next week at one of the Steps to Recovery that underpin the meeting. Again one person is identified to lead around the step and the others are invited in the rest of the meeting to share their experiences and ideas around that step.

Again, by mutual agreement, the group can choose to concentrate in the next meeting on a particular problem that one of the group members is having. The group member will begin by explaining the problem and their reaction to it, and the meeting will provide an opportunity for all group members to pool ideas together about how the individual group member and they themselves, if they have similar concerns, might move forward positively.

When there is about 5 to 10 minutes remaining, the Facilitator will begin to conclude the meeting by asking the identified member to read The Solution. After this the Facilitator will read the closing statement and draw the meeting to a close. After the meeting has formally closed members of the group can talk with one another individually, make cup of tea or coffee, if the arrangements with the owners of the building allow this.

The meeting’s facilitator accepts the responsibility, with the help and support of any or all of the members, to deal with any member who is clearly too distressed on the day to join in the meeting, who becomes distressed in the meeting, or who says things that indicate that their safety or the safety of others is at risk. In this instance members of the meeting accept that in extreme circumstances the facilitator or others may make contact with appropriate mental health professionals to ensure safety.

Meeting structure – Aide memoire

1. The Chair starts by reading the Opening Statement
2. The Chair may also read The Problem, or ask if there is anyone else that might like to read it and also to read the Solution at the end.
3. The member who has agreed to lead the meeting around a topic then shares their thoughts. During this time members are asked to listen without interruption.
4. When the topic leader has finished, the meeting is open to any or all members of the group to share their thoughts, feelings and personal reflections around anything that the topic has stimulated for them. This is a part for personal reflection and while people are talking, it is asked that others simply give the speaker their best attention and listen without comment.

During this part, which might last 20-30 minutes members are encouraged to share thoughts and feelings as they wish. People can talk more than once, provided they are not inadvertently blocking the sharing of others. It is hoped that all members of the group will speak even if it is only briefly. This reflects the importance we give to everyone’s contribution, and encourages those who have found it difficult to speak safely about themselves to take this opportunity.

5. After people have shared in this way, the Chair will say that the meeting is now opening up to become a discussion about the ideas and actions that might be used to grow and recover in relation to the general topic area. These ideas might be those that members have used themselves, heard about, read about, or experienced through others.
6. Five minutes before the end of the meeting, the Chair will either read the Solution, or ask the other member to read it.
7. The Chair will then finish the meeting by reading the Closing Statement.

Opening Statement by a Group Member

Hello my name is _______. Welcome to the Positive Mental Health Group. If there are any newcomers, a particular welcome to you.

We believe that all people have difficulties and distresses, These have affected us and continue to affect us today. This meeting aims to give people the opportunity to meet, discuss and find positive, useful solutions to these distresses. In this way we can move towards achieving our full potential and a better quality of life for ourselves.

In coming to this group, you will realise that you are not alone. We all have had distresses in our lives. Many of us have not found safe places or people to talk about our difficulties, without being judged or controlled and have become isolated. We have often felt uncomfortable or even ashamed of our feelings and kept them secret.

In the meeting we break these patterns. We are safe to talk about what has happened to us and what is happening now, get in touch with our feelings and realise that all our experiences are valuable parts of our growth, which we can now take further. The group will accept that your experiences and your feelings are real and that you are not reacting to something you imagined.

Everyone in the meeting is equally important and we leave labels like "professional; manager; service user; patient" outside. We hope that by meeting with other like-minded people we will start discover more of our full potential, start freeing ourselves from the past and changing our lives positively. In the meeting we look at ourselves as we are, honestly and openly. We look at how we respond to difficulties and how we might change our approach and make more positive choices.

This meeting will be in two halves. In the first half we will discuss an issue that is important to recovery. During this part we do not allow crosstalk or advice giving, so each person can talk freely and without comment, one-liners, or interruptions. This will create a safe place to share thoughts and feelings. Crosstalk can easily undermine safety by recreating previous experiences of not being heard, being criticised or belittled.

In the second half of the meeting we may choose to concentrate on a particular person’s concerns or topic that has importance to them. The idea is to share as many ideas as we can to address the concerns positively. To achieve safety, we ask that what you hear at the meeting you leave at the meeting. Please respect the privacy of what is shared.

For the first half of the meeting, which may last around an hour we ask you to keep your sharing to about five minutes, so that everyone has the opportunity to speak.

Now, let's go round the room and introduce ourselves by first name only and, if we choose to, a brief description of how we feel today.

The Problem is then read aloud by a person at the meeting.

Even though emotional distress is common and a concern to everyone, the way that it is interpreted and treated does not usually tap into our human potential for recovery. There is often an expectation that the best hope is for us to accept our distress or receive treatment that just allows us ‘to get by’. We are sometimes expected to maintain this for the whole of our lives.

Mental health needs have also been seen as evidence of weakness or defects in people. They have often been described as the results of our faulty chemistry. As a consequence most of us hide our difficulties from others, even from those we are closest to.

In the community mental distress can produce fear based on ignorance. This can lead to discrimination and harassment. It has also meant that opportunities to consider our difficulties and find solutions as human beings are limited. The result can be that we withdraw into ourselves. We become afraid or ashamed of our own thoughts and feelings. Our self-esteem and confidence suffer and we can become dependent on others.

In our meeting we will try to address these issues, step-by-step, looking at ways in which we can take greater responsibility for ourselves and support one another to promote better mental health and recovery. We believe that there is a much wider range of positive ideas to bring to bear on mental health and that coming out of isolation is the best starting point.

At the end of the meeting a member of the group will read The Solution

As this meeting becomes a safe place for you, you will find freedom to express yourself, and free yourself from blockages and negative thinking and be more able to make positive decisions about your future. You may also pick up ideas from other people, and become someone who is able to make new decisions and try out new patterns of thinking and behaviour.

We believe that our recovery begins when we risk moving out of isolation. We hear ideas and strategies that help us and go forward, starting with us developing a better relationship with ourselves, based on gentleness, humour, love and respect.

We also have the suggested 12 steps to Recovery in Mental Health that can help focus our growth.

So, we meet to share our experiences, strength and hope with each other. We learn to restructure our thinking and become free to make healthy decisions as actors, not reactors. We progress from hurting, to healing, to hope. We take more responsibility for our own lives. And, as we look around we will see others who have an understanding and acceptance of our thoughts and feelings and who are there to encourage and support us in this.

Closing Statement by the facilitator or a Group Member

In closing, I would like to say that the opinions expressed here were strictly those of the person who gave them. Take what’s useful for you and leave the rest. The things you heard were spoken in safety and should be treated as completely confidential.

The welcome we have for each other in this group is special and real. We believe that whatever your problems, there are others in the group who have had similar experiences. We believe that however well or badly we feel our lives are going, there is always the opportunity for growth and improvement. There is certainly no situation too difficult to be bettered and no unhappiness too great to be lessened, by taking positive choices and positive actions. Ideas of how to cope, deal with problems, grow and recover from other people who have experienced distresses are the most valuable tools we can use.

Finding solutions together with other like-minded people can help us all improve our mental health and the quality of our lives.

Thank you for coming and we hope that you come back.

12 Steps to Wellbeing

Cultivate and pass on Hopefulness in your life

Learn out about ways you can keep yourself well

Admit there are things in your life that are a problem for you and take action to address these problems

Find out what you want from life and learn ways to tell others how you intend to get there

Get some support from positive people

Take a good look at yourself and take responsibility for your own change

Cultivate healthy thinking

Cultivate healthy behaviour

Cultivate healthy relationships

Give yourself time

Pass positive ideas and attitudes on to others

Get on with your life

We use these 12 Step ideas, which have been adapted 'Changes', whose website is well worth a look.