The Ward Talking Group - A Guide

Abstract

A ward talking group is a place for conversation. It is a way of engaging patients in spontaneous conversations. To do so, the group combines some of the requirements of a therapeutic psychological group with those of the normal ward social environment. A simple analogy from popular culture would be a group of colleagues meeting over lunch where spontaneous interactions occur within a commonly understood framework.

What is a ward talking group for?

The aims of the group are to: Increase opportunities for staff and patients to interact in different ways on wards. Increase the sense of community both within and between the men and staff who live and work on each ward.

In practical terms how does the ward talking group work?

The primary work of the group is conversation. This is defined as a talk, especially an informal one, between two or more people, in which news and ideas are exchanged: (Oxford Dictionaries). The primary effort of facilitation therefore is to maintain the conversation. In particular, those conversations about ideas and facts. This can include general statements about how you (as a facilitator) feel about these ideas or facts. It is less about conversations about other people or conversations about you. This is because the group’s therapeutic potential lies in the opportunities conversations provide for therapeutic human interactions. There are innumerable therapeutic human interactions possible in conversation. This spontaneous means of delivering therapy is represented in broader psychotherapy practice (Yalom, 2003).

The download includes more detail on:
1. What is a ward talking group?
2. What is the ward talking group for?
3. In practical terms how does the ward talking group work?
3.1 Therapeutic human interactions possible in ward talking group conversations
3.2 Procedures for running the group
3.3 Suggested techniques to maintain conversation in men’s talking group
4. In theoretical terms how does the ward talking group work?
4.1 The key components of effective therapeutic milieu
4.1.1 Social Learning
4.1.2 Reality testing
4.1.3 Permissiveness
4.1.4 Psycho education
4.1.5 Using the community as a therapeutic tool
4.1.6 Democracy/patient participation
4.2. Self determination theory
4.3 Theoretical overlap & contradictions
4.4 What the ward talking group is not.
5. References

Keywords: groups, ward, conversation, therapy, secure