Our belief at Face It is simple, men who have experienced depression (or a host of other mental health and life challenges) are uniquely qualified to support and help other men to promote wellness and growth, aka “recovery.” Face It is not a counseling or therapy program, it is not a 12-step group, it is not a crisis center, but it is a community of support built on mutual understanding, trust, respect participation, and accountability to oneself and the group. Our Mission reads…
“Leveraging the power of peer support, Face It works with men to recover from depression and prevent suicide”
To help provide some guidance and support for your participation in a Face It group, collectively we have developed these guidelines for group participation and expectations you can have of the group and your facilitators.
Participation Guidelines
Confidentiality is of the utmost importance. What is said in the group, stays in the group. This cannot be stressed enough, so please honor this.
Come prepared to talk about the things that you are dealing with that are impacting your day-to-day mental health needs. Certainly, there is room to discuss the weather, the “game”, but these groups are unique places that are intended to provide a forum to discuss our life challenges.
Be honest about your feelings and thoughts. To quote someone famous…”the truth will set you free.”
Use “I” statements to express your feelings and experiences. Direct advice giving, as in statements such as “Here is what you need to do…” are not helpful. Rather, use your own experiences and own them with statements such as “What I did,” “What I found helpful,” “What I experienced,” etc.
Share the air, as in keep your comments relevant and related to what an individual is discussing. Don’t “hijack” another’s person’s thoughts to segue into your own story.
Listen attentively. Please keep cell phones off and put away. Please leave the room if you must take a call.
Show up on time and attend regularly. Arriving 15-20 minutes late is disruptive to those who are already engaged. While Face It doesn’t have an attendance policy, if you are missing more than 1-2 groups every few months, please consider what you need to do to attend regularly or understand that you might be asked to give your space up in group.
Communicate with your group and the facilitator if you’re going to miss a group.
No alcohol or drug use during or prior to group. If you come to group and you have been using drugs or alcohol, you will be asked to leave and come back for the next group.
Leave your judgments at the door. We all come with challenges, beliefs, and ideas about recovery. Your opinions and values are yours, not necessarily those of others in the group. Please keep your personal political opinions and religious opinions out of the conversation.
Be nice. This isn’t a complicated one. Depression, anxiety, life, etc is hard. Make your Face It group a place where all feel welcomed and respected.
Experience compassion for yourself and for others in the group. Depression, anxiety, and the trials of life are hard stuff. Treat yourself and others with gentleness and kindness.
Expectations of Facilitators
They will begin and end the group on time. Sometimes group runs long, but you should feel free to leave at the scheduled ending time.
They will keep the conversation respectful.
They will keep the group focused, which might mean that at times they will have to ask you or someone else in the group to hold a thought or wait their turn to speak
They will share their own experiences with depression and anxiety. Remember your facilitators are not therapists and they are members of the group just as you are.
They will do their best to generally encourage a larger group conversation, and not just a back and forth between facilitator and a single group member. There will be groups where an individual is going through something significant that requires more of a focused give and take, but the goal is to create an environment where we can all learn and participate – one of the values of group is our shared experiences, learning from each other, and knowing that we are not alone.