As we move into 2012 it’s the perfect opportunity to stop and reflect on the journey of Great Interactions during the last year. The highlights have doubtlessly included the launch of the Great Interactions book, the Great Interactions film
and the development of training materials and a new course. We have heard accounts from all over the country of how our Senior Practitioners are sharing their learning and the ensuing positive outcomes for people.
On numerous occasions in MacIntyre, following Great Interactions training, I’ve heard the words ‘you wouldn’t believe it but...’, and I was thrilled to hear it again at the end of last year, but this was a little different. For the first time MacIntyre took it’s Great Interactions training external. We delivered the course to staff who had never heard of Great Interactions, but were enthusiastic to learn and desperate to achieve the best outcomes for the people they support. When this group returned to us for day 3 of the course, after having a 6 week period to try out what they had learned, they were bubbling over with enthusiasm and stories. We heard how people had been empowered to do things they had not previously done, had surprised staff with hidden knowledge and skills, and been less anxious when staff had worked in a facilitative way.
This should have come as no surprise to us, as we know that working in a facilitative way results in Great Interactions, but it’s reassuring to know that we can share our learning and that Great Interactions can spread beyond MacIntyre. We have learnt, from talking to other providers and taking our work external, that other organisations face the same difficulty as us. They too want the best outcomes for people, they know about person centred thinking and planning, but need the missing link – good facilitation. This is our unique selling point: it’s what sets us apart.
So, as we begin 2012, I’m hoping that we continue to develop our facilitative way of working, reflect on our skills and strive to further improve them. There is still much to do and a lot to learn but sharing our journeys both internally and externally will enhance our knowledge.
I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the Great Interactions blog over the last year. You have shared a wide variety of reflections, ideas and stories, which are clearly of interest as we have had over 3,500 hits to the blog. I hope you continue to follow, and maybe even contribute to, MacIntyre’s Great Interactions blog in 2012.
Here’s to another year of Great Interactions!
Gwenne McFadzean
Facilitation Advisor