Individual Facilitation - Let's Talk Shopping!

Yesterday, I facilitated a group over the life-skill of "shopping". While I am an avid shopper myself, I chose this topic to help others (and myself) that shopping entails way more than just a trip to the mall or grocery store. The aim and purpose of my session was to give my group members and idea of how different shopping can be depending on the person, their particular task, their context, and their performance ability. Most people, such as everyone in my group, don't think of shopping as a complex task. But in fact it is; it includes preparing a list, selecting, purchasing, transporting, and paying for your item(s). For those who do lead group sessions one day as an OT, I wanted to give them an idea of something fun and realistic they could do for those who consider 'shopping' as one of their meaningful activities.

For a warm-up activity, I had them all choose an item or items that they were currently on the look for. We had a wide variety of answers such as: a house, a dog, a plane ticket. I had them create an activity analysis... or a list of important steps they need to take to purchase these items. For the main activity, I created a board game where the members rolled the dice and then read and answered the corresponding question on the board. All the questions were shopping related and open-ended, whether it be about money or purchasing habits. The person to the player's right also got to answer the question, give them feedback, or say why they disagreed with that particular player. I think this was the best part of the activity. Each member was open to what the other one had to say and really honed into their personal feelings about a shopping related question.

I was nervous at first, but I have to say that my facilitation was a success. This is because at the end, the group members were asked if they would like to change or manipulate their original activity analysis in any way. A majority of the members did because they took to heart what others had to say. For example, one group member said she usually shops alone but would take someone with her the next time so she can have some positive feedback from a friend in the dressing room. They also got useful money saving tips from each other, such as budgeting or coupon apps.

I'm going to be honest and say that I wasn't looking forward to this group facilitation. It was right after a difficult EBP test, we had already been in class for 8 hours, and I was definitely lacking in the sleep department. But after it was over, I had some relief because it had gone well and Professor Sasse had provided me with some useful feedback. I also was nervous about the "pop question" at the end, but realized that I do have an OT brain and I am able to think on my feet when needed. This was good practice for future OT implication, even out of the groups course.