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Recovery Group Process & Leadership / GRP1013

Handling Unwanted Advice — Scenario Card Exchange

Rehearse a facilitator response that redirects advice into permission-based support.

30 minutes · 3–12 people · Adults with trained group facilitation

Facilitator PDF · Fillable participant PDF · Open activity / add to session

UNDERSTAND THE IDEA

A group needs participation choices and clear expectations.

A group can offer learning and connection while also carrying power differences and privacy limits. Shared agreements help when they describe behaviors and options rather than demand personal disclosure or agreement with every idea.

Facilitation lens: Demonstrate passing, accessible participation, respectful disagreement, and a route for feedback. Leadership is not a right to interpret another person's experience.

Explore the conceptual background · Broad background, not validation of this original exercise.

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Fictional example

A member receives several unsolicited suggestions.

Open with choice — 3 minutes

Explain the purpose, privacy limits, and the option to observe, use fiction, adapt, or pass. Check access needs and group readiness; do not promise absolute confidentiality.

Meet the fictional case — 4 minutes

A member receives several unsolicited suggestions. Ask what is known, what is assumed, and what the person in the case wants.

Practice: Card sort — 16 minutes

Rehearse a facilitator response that redirects advice into permission-based support. Using only the fictional case, make cards for the goal, a contextual barrier, an available support, an alternative, and a possible next step. Sort them into what is known, what needs checking, and what requires outside help; discuss cards that can fit more than one place.

Reflect and compare — 4 minutes

What response protects agency and connection? Ask what fits, what does not, and what external conditions or supports affect the options. No personal disclosure is required.

Close and integrate — 3 minutes

Invite an optional observation, support request, or small next step. Passing is welcome. Agree how to revisit questions and seek appropriate help outside the exercise.

Practice output

A card arrangement showing facts, questions, and support needs.

Scope and adaptation

Use ordinary or fictional examples, not graphic substance-use stories or cue exposure. No competitive abstinence scoring, forced disclosure, or required pathway. These plans do not manage intoxication, overdose, withdrawal, or medication changes; follow individualized care and appropriate medical assessment.

Offer reading aloud, typing, drawing, pointing, or observation. Avoid mandatory movement, eye contact, touch, and body focus.

Original AI-assisted educational draft; independent clinical review pending.

Conceptual background

References inform broad principles and do not validate or endorse this original plan.