Facilitator Wellbeing – a reminder that behind every group is a person as well as a professional

Dear Facilitators,

Remember, You Are Amazingly Human!

Let’s acknowledge that groups  can be as emotionally demanding as they are rewarding. And in the middle of that, it can be easy to forget something important – that you are not just a professional in the room, you are a person too. This reflection is an invitation to gently bring the focus back to yourself, as well as to your work.

I was recently in supervision with two highly experienced facilitators, each with over 13 years of dedicated HSE CAMHS experience. You might recognise something of yourself in them – the steady commitment over the years, the care for parents in crisis, the effort to keep engagement strong, and the pride and enjoyment in delivering groups well. I had supported their accreditation in the past, and even then, I found myself learning from their depth of practice and experience.

But this time felt different, for them and me.

For the first time in many years, their group hadn’t gone as expected. Sixteen parents were invited, eleven confirmed, nine attended the first session and four completed the programme. In one session, just two parents came. And the question they carried into supervision was a familiar one: “What else could we have done?”

Undoubtably, this is a question we have all asked ourselves.

As we talked it through, it became clear, the question wasn’t ” what else could we have done?”, it was “Look what we HAVE done”; The phone calls, the text messages, the emails, the careful preparation, the responsiveness in the room each week. And even in that session of two, there was compassion. Those parents were met with care, with space, with respect. Irrespective of numbers that day, the parents were met with the same value.

We also gently explored what else might have been present, if not obviously on the surface. The many roles you hold, the responsibilities that sit alongside this work. The kind of stress that doesn’t always announce itself, but builds quietly, and sometimes gets carried into the group space without you even realising. It’s easy for that stress to become misplaced, to land on the work, or on yourself. And sometimes, despite everything you do, life simply happens. Extraordinary circumstances can arrive all at once – affecting you, affecting parents and no amount of preparation can change that.

Remember how important you are in this work and beyond it. Take the time you need to replenish.