Forming An ACT Group

[Guest guest]

Hi - I'm happy to share our experience with forming a local ACT group. Our group is in limbo right now because we simply did not have a critical mass of people who had the time to be active members. I'm going to try to get it going again early next year.I think the tricky part of making a group work is deciding who should be in the group. I think there are several issues to consider:1. "Let the ACT model be inside the very attempt to organize and manage the group -- e.g., be accepting of members and values-based; be active and flexible; be conscious and focused on workability; avoid trying to be right or on top; learn how together to serve the interests of the group." Advice from when we were first organizing the group in Feb 20092. After being a member of this list for over two years I've noticed that there seem to be three categories of ACT travelers - 1. ACT beginners. 2. ACT thinkers. 3. ACT doers. The purpose of an ACT group should be to help people become ACT doers as quickly as possible. People who are/get seriously stuck in the thinking stage will not be helped by the group and will drag the group down. The group's motto might be: You can come as you are but you can't stay as you are.3. People who need professional help should be getting it to belong to the group. The group is not a substitute for professional help. Anyone who gets stuck and can't be helped quickly by the group must get professional help to belong to the group. Ideally there is a professional person willing to support the group on these issues. They would be especially helpful if it becomes time to ask someone to leave the group. 4. Open the group to people with different kinds of issues rather than just people with one such as OCD, anxiety, depression. I think this provides diversity to the group and maybe keeps the group from becoming a bunch of people who sit around and "enjoy the problem." At the highest level ACT helps no matter what your stuff looks like.5. Consider adopting a policy of keeping medications out of the discussion - not a strict "don't ask, don't tell" policy but definitely have some strict guidelines. Don't let the group get stuck on the meds issue.6. Set behavior norms for the group as soon as, but not before, there is a critical mass of members. We set ours a bit early and probably frightened some folks away. Include in these norms the obligation of each member to speak up when they feel the group is stuck. We called this a "process time out." This technique is especially helpful in "leaderless groups" where no one is responsible for keeping the group on track.7. Have some structure to the group process. Have an agenda for the meeting even if it simply establishes the start and end time and the format. Ideally, someone will lead the learning components of the meeting. But don't make the learning component too rigid or time-consuming. Save time at the end of each meeting to go around the room and get feedback on how the group is working for each member.8. Use the ACT for the public list as a source of potential members. Use craigslist, etc if this list doesn't yield enough prospects.9. Use the Hexaflex and ACT toolkit extensively in the group meetings to keep the group on the ACT path.10. Set up a listserv, etc specifically for the group so members can keep in touch between meetings.I hope this helps.Bill