Group and Individual Facilitation Skills for Psychologists

Facilitator
Micaela McGinley

Who should attend
This workshop is suitable primarily for those who have limited experience or lack confidence in facilitation. However, it is also appropriate for experienced Practitioners who would like to update their toolkit of practical techniques and/or refresh their core skills in areas such as creating empathy and trust, deciding when and how to best intervene in groups and anticipating and managing difficult behaviours. The workshop is targeted at Practitioners and Practitioners-in-Training. The skills and knowledge covered will also prove valuable to non-psychologist colleagues who require facilitation skills in their everyday work.

Workshop overview
Whether you have been trained in facilitation skills or not, the likelihood is that you will use facilitation regularly as part of your practice - in meetings, focus groups, team-building, training and other group-work and 1:1 situations. This highly practical workshop, led by an experienced facilitator, will give you the chance to learn and practise core skills and to access a range of practical tools and techniques for facilitation work. It is suitable both for those who have limited experience or lack confidence in facilitation and for experienced Practitioners who would like to refresh their skills.

Aims of the workshop
This workshop aims to raise awareness of the valuable role that facilitation skills can play in applying psychology in a variety of work contexts. It will provide Practitioners and Practitioners-in-Training with knowledge and understanding of the skills required in successful facilitation work with individuals and groups as well as opportunities for practising and developing these skills.

Projected outcomes and benefits of attending
By the end of the course, participants will:

• understand the various contexts in which occupational psychologists and others can use facilitation skills;
• appreciate the role of the facilitator and how it differs from that of presenter, trainer or coach;
• understand the core principles and values underpinning successful facilitation;
• have tried out and reviewed a range of practical tools and techniques that can be used in facilitation work; and
• have reflected upon their own strengths and weaknesses in core skill areas pertinent to successful facilitation. These skills include creating empathy and trust, observing group processes, deciding when to intervene as a facilitator and handling difficult situations.

The workshop will have a strong focus on active learning using training techniques that encourage a ‘bias to action’ amongst participants and which are designed to achieve maximum skill transfer back in the workplace.

Psychological theory underpinning the workshop
The workshop draws primarily on applied literature in the area of facilitation skills, styles andvalues. It incorporates models of skilled facilitation and refers to theories of group dynamics and the factors affecting group effectiveness. Additionally, the workshop incorporates research on creative approaches to facilitating individual and group decision-making and problemsolving. The facilitation approaches advocated within the workshop are consistent with theories of participatory management, action learning and progressive, organisational change.

Pre/post work required
N/A

Dates and venues
5 June 2008, 09.30 - 17.00.
The British Psychological Society, 30 Tabernacle Street, London, EC2A 4UE.

Facilitator Details
Dr. Micaela McGinley is an independent consultant. Her primary interests revolve around ethical approaches to creating and managing change in individuals, organisations and society. She is driven by a desire to apply occupational psychology to help address key issues within civic society. She works across all sectors with current assignments in the areas of criminal justice and health service provision.

Micaela’s earlier roles have included Head of Policing with the Community in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI (2006-2007), Principal Psychologist with the PSNI (2000-2006), MSc Associate Course Director at Queen’s University Belfast (1997-2000), Consultant SHL Ireland (1996-97) and Occupational Psychologist within the UK Employment Service (1992-96). Micaela is a member of the BPS Board of Examiners in Occupational Psychology. She is a graduate of the Belfast Common Purpose civic leadership programme and represented N. Ireland in the 2005 Eisenhower Multi-nation Leadership Fellowship in the USA. Micaela has been a lay member on the Clinical Ethics Committee of Northern Ireland Hospice Care since May 2007.

Registration is now open

Reg Form: McGinley 05.06.08

or book on-line

The Division of Occupational
Psychology is part of:
The British Psychological Society