Small Group Guidelines
(click
here for a printable version)
Below, the
essential Guidelines are bolded. The additional information is the
elaboration of each Guideline.
1. Keep your sharing
focused on your own thoughts and feelings.
Not your spouse’s,
boyfriend’s, or your family members’ hurts and hang-ups, but your own. Focusing on
yourself will benefit your recovery as well as the ones around you. Stick to
“I”or “me”
statements, not “you” or “we” statements.
Limit your sharing
to 3–5 minutes, so that everyone has an opportunity to share; and to
ensure that one person
does not dominate the group sharing time.
2. There is NO cross
talk.
Cross talk is when
two people engage in conversation excluding all others.
Each person is
free to express his or her feelings without interruptions.
Cross talk is also
making distracting comments or questions while someone is sharing, speaking
to another member of
the group while someone is sharing or responding to what someone has shared during his or her
time of sharing. Additional types of cross talk would be handing a tissue or
tissue
box while someone
is crying during their time of sharing.
This interrupts feelings. Remember, there is healing in
tears!
3. We are here to
support one another, not “fix” one another.
This keeps us
focused on our own issues.
We do not give
advice or solve someone’s problem in our time of sharing or offer book
referrals or counselor
referrals! We are not
licensed counselors, psychologists, or therapists, nor are the group
members. Celebrate
Recovery groups
are not designed for this. It is up to the participants to include outside
counseling to their program
when they’re ready.
4. Anonymity and
confidentiality are basic requirements.
What is shared in
the group stays in the group.
The only exception
is when someone threatens to injure themselves or others.
We are not to
share information with our spouses/family/coworkers. This also means not discussing what is
shared in the group among group members. This is called gossip. Please be advised,
if anyone threatens to hurt themselves or others, the Small Group Leader has the responsibility
to report it to Celebrate Recovery Ministry Leader.
