Planning an Introduction Session

For many people, undertaking the 12 Step process is a new journey, and as with every good trip, planning is essential.

It is important for participants to know what they can expect and what will be expected of them. Therefore, we have found it extremely important to have an Introduction Session which is open to anyone who is interested in hearing about the STEPS journey without having to commit. The advantage of having the Introduction Session cannot be stressed enough. We have had a significantly higher rate of people completing the course after doing the introductory sessions, because participants are better prepared for the process.

The Introduction film (25 mins) covers the following:

• A brief overview of the STEPS process
• The reasons why we need a group like this
• The tools we use when going through the process
• Four stories from people who have experienced the life changing power of the STEPS process.

The typical program for an online Introduction Session (90 mins) is:

A typical online Introduction Session (60 mins) would look like this:

With the above timetable, you would send the Introduction Film to those who have registered their interest in STEPS in advance of the call, so that the Introduction Session would be around 30-40 mins, with the conversations after that. (This works particularly well if you are planning a course which would involve only 60 min sessions).

We would suggest following up with those who would like to do STEPS, with an email, reminding them to read Chapter 1, do the reflections/exercises and watch the film for Step 1 before the next call. (See the template email in Materials as an example).

The advantage of having the Introduction Session cannot be stressed enough. We have had a significantly higher rate of completion after people attend an Introduction Session, because participants are better prepared for the process.

If participants choose to do the course, they can then purchase the book themselves online. (Please allow 2-3 days for delivery in UK and USA/Canada, and up to 2 weeks for Europe/ROW).

Conversations with participants

The 12 Steps were originally developed to fight alcoholism but are generally effective in breaking all forms of unhelpful behavioural patterns. Of the participants who have undergone STEPS with us, only about 3-5% have worked with substance addictions. Typically, we can say that the 12 Steps are for people who dare to look into their lives and ask themselves the following questions:

1. What are the principles of my life, and do I live according to them?
2. Are there patterns in my way of thinking, feeling or responding that are unhelpful?

During the introductory session, identification of the area to work on is achieved via an interview between the participant and one of the co-facilitators. The interviews usually take 1-3 minutes per participant. The interview will help the participant clarify what unhelpful behaviour he/she wants to work on.

When having individual conversations with participants to determine what unhelpful thought pattern or behaviour the person will work on whilst doing the STEPS journey, it is helpful to ask, “What specific behaviour or thought pattern do you want help to change?’

The Identification Exercise from Step 1 usually helps to highlight certain common behaviours or thought patterns which people wish to work on, but equally someone may wish to work on something not directly connected to the Identification Exercise.

Common areas people work on

Here is a list of common areas people work on (Appendix 1) in the STEPS process, but also do use common sense when hearing participants’ responses, as you may want to suggest making it more specific.

In general, we do not recommend:

• Accepting participants who have an untreated medical condition
• Accepting participants with severe mental disorders
• Accepting participants who are unwilling/unable to define a concrete area to work on

Helping people identify what to work on

After doing the Steps Identification Exercise, participants will have a conversation with a facilitator to determine what issue they will work on during Steps. Some know their topic straight away, and if they do we would support them in that – as long as they are working on a problem in the way they feel, think or act. However, many need extra support identifying what it should be. In order to help them most effectively, we have put together a short guide for you to give you the tools to have this conversation with them.

We suggest asking one or more of the following questions:

• Which 3 statements did you relate to the most?
• Which of the roles mentioned in the video did you identify with most (Hero, invisible child, helper, or scapegoat?)
• What seems to be the biggest issue for you right now?

It is important the participant works on the problem rather than the desired behaviour. For example, they should work on dishonesty rather than the desire to be truthful, or fear of rejection, rather than wanting more confidence.

Sometimes they are stuck between two topics. In this case you could suggest they reflect on it for a few days and try one topic for the first week to see how it fits. It is important they only work on one topic. You can assure them that working on one area typically have ripple effects into other areas.

You may find that they need some help identifying what the issue is. Some phrases that have helped in the past are:

• “In my experience, people who have struggled with the same thing have sometimes worked on [X]. How does this sound to you?”
• “It sounds as though you might be saying [X]. Do you identify with this at all?”
• “I suggest being more specific might help you get the most out of the course. How about [X]?”

Below is a list of the statements and the underlying issues that tend to be associated with these:

If you are unsure which statements apply to you and want to talk through this with someone, please chat with your co-facilitator or STEPS Coach.

Facilitator Guide for Conversations

• Download printable version of Facilitator GuideDownload

Grouping participants (if multiple groups)

After the Introduction Session the leaders of the course will put together the groups based on the participants’ chosen behaviours. If possible, the participants are divided into groups with as much commonality among the working areas as possible. We usually divide men and women into separate groups, but we also have good experience with mixed groups depending on the number of participants (and ensuring working areas are suitable for a mixed group).  We would recommend keeping group sizes online to no greater than 10 people (including facilitators), to ensure everyone gets a chance to share.

It is important to find out what the participant’s situation is in order to assess whether they would benefit from the course, or whether, for example, there is a need for therapy or some other form of help. In connection with this, it may be necessary to ask about the family situation to find out about the person and figure out if there are other members of the family who need help.

If you choose to ask about this, it is necessary beforehand to have given thought to what help you can offer or the ability to refer them to other organisations.

We have had a number of participants on our courses who have not been part of any church. This is not an issue, as long as they have a generally positive attitude towards faith. They do not need to define themselves as believers.