Goals / Objectives

Engage members in a conversation about communication skills and how those may change following a TBI.

The primary goals of this week will be for participants to:

  • Normalize difficulty in communication, and encourage members to share experiences
  • Introduce different communication styles and ask members to identify pros and cons of each
  • Introduce skills for effective communication and practice skills in an activity
  • Participants will utilize communication skills to communicate their homework within the group

TIME: Allow 1.5 hours for the session.

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: A minimum of four participants is recommended.

Activities / Content

Activities (PDF)

Content (PDF)

  • Conversation on Oral Communication (10 min)
  • Oral Communication Styles (5-10 min)
  • Introduce Communication Skills (10-20 min)

Group Activity (PDF)

  • Communication Practice (10 min)
  • Discussion Prompt (10 min)

Reflection / Homework (10 min) (PDF)

 

PRINT HANDOUTS

These handouts can be found in the handout section for this week, the facilitator’s guide will indicate when these should be referenced.

WRITE ON BOARD

Write the following group rules on the white board for reference for participants throughout the treatment group:

  • Confidentiality: The information we discuss in this group is private, and members are expected to keep it that way.
  • Respect: Give your attention and consideration to participants, and they will do the same for you. Examples include:
    • No talking over each other,
    • Pay attention to the person talking (listen, don’t just wait for your turn to talk)
    • Encourage each other, etc.
  • Participation: You are expected to take part in the discussion and contribute to this group. The pace of this group, however, may limit some participation. Let’s briefly discuss one way that the group leader(s) can signal you when we need to wrap up discussion and move on.

Write the following learning objectives on the white board for reference throughout the treatment group:

  • Structure and topic
  • Homework review
  • Communication difficulties
  • Introduction to communication styles
  • Break
  • Communication Skills Activity
  • Reflection/Homework

Write the following four styles of communication on the white board for the participants to reference while you are presenting them. These will be utilized later in this treatment group for the activity and group discussion:

  • Assertive
  • Aggressive
  • Passive
  • Passive Aggressive

Note: If additional rules were agreed upon, be sure to include each additional rule during this review.