The SCAGO Adult Peer Support Group is a continuous entry group (i.e., an open group). A continuous entry group may run for a specific number of months or be ongoing. Membership fluctuates as participants may join or leave the group at any time. Each session may feature a predetermined topic for discussion or sessions may be left open to address the individual needs of participants. Discussions flow easily and giving and receiving support is equally shared at each meeting; thus gaining insights and making suggestions more spontaneous. The peer support group works as a unit.
The group is facilitated by volunteer co-facilitators. All group members have to be living with sickle cell disease (SCD). Their attendance and participation in group meetings is voluntary and not mandatory.
Facilitators
Different facilitators may be used throughout the program. Facilitators:
- Work in pairs (co-facilitate) to model an equal and cooperative working relationship;
- Provide a warm, accepting, and informal atmosphere;
- Open a discussion about guidelines for the group, which should include confidentiality and an attempt to be non-judgmental;
- Maintain guidelines by drawing attention to behavior that compromises the emotional or physical safety of members;
- Draw attention to the collective experiences members share and to encourage members to work with emerging common themes;
- Should refer to personal experiences of living with sickle cell disease and take an active part in the exercises and discussions;
Topics of Interest
Topics of interest will be chosen at each meeting and discussed during the meeting. Any topic that a member is interested in discussing in detail at a meeting will be researched and presented by said member at a future meeting where enough time can be set aside for the presentation of the topic. The member’s topic will be put on the meeting agenda for the scheduled date and time.
At the inaugural June 18th, 2013 meeting, each member chose topics that were of interest to them and that they felt would be of interest to the group to discuss briefly or in-depth at future meetings. The following topics that are of interest to the membership are possibilities and not limited in scope:
- Art Therapy
- Medications
- Pregnancy
- Disability Supports (ODSP and CPP Disability Benefits)
- Meditation
- Retinopathy
- Exercise & Fitness
- Mental Health & Substance Abuse
- Sexual Health
- Family Dynamics
- Nutrition
- Stress Management
- Journaling
- Pain Management