Group and Individual Facilitation Skills for Psychologists

Facilitator
Micaela McGinley

Who should attend
This workshop is suitable for those with limited experience or who lack confidence in facilitation skills. It is also suitable for experienced practitioners who have an interest in refreshing their skills, learning new techniques and exchanging ideas with colleagues and peers.

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.

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. The skills and knowledge covered in the workshop will also prove valuable to non-psychologist colleagues who require facilitation skills in their everyday work.

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 instructor.
• understand the core principles and values underpinning successful facilitation e.g. trust and safety; inclusion and encouragement; confidentiality and respect.
• have tried out and reviewed a range of practical tools and techniques that can be used in facilitation work.
• have reflected upon their own strengths and weaknesses in core skill areas pertinent to successful facilitation. These skills include observing group processes and deciding when to intervene as a facilitator.

Psychological theory underpinning the workshop
The workshop draws primarily on applied literature in the area of facilitation skills, styles and values. It also draws on theories of group dynamics and the factors affecting group effectiveness. It makes use of established theories and approaches to dealing with conflict in teams and relies on creative approaches to facilitating group decision-making and problem solving.

Pre/post work required
N/A

Date and venue
5 September 2007, 9.30 - 17.00
The British Psychological Society, 30 Tabernacle Street, London, EC2A 4UE

Facilitator details
Micaela is currently Head of Policing with the Community Branch within the Police Service of Northern Ireland. She leads a team whose remit is to assist the PSNI move from a security-driven style of policing to one that embraces Policing with the Community as its core function and dominant style. In her previous role, as a Principal Psychologist within the PSNI, Micaela collaborated with partners to implement key organisational changes arising from the Patten reform programme.
Micaela has extensive experience of delivering facilitation skills training in the private and public sectors. Her earlier roles have included occupational psychologist with the UK Employment Service (1992-96), consultant SHL Ireland Ltd (1996-97) and MSc Associate Course Director at Queen’s University Belfast (1997-2000). Micaela is committed to developing the skill base of the profession. She lectures part-time in the Psychology Department at Queen’s University Belfast and provides Chartership supervision to practitioners-in-training.