Funny enough, I used to play the tenor sax in public school. How I ended up with that heavy, monster of an instrument, I’m still not sure. Maybe the trumpet or trombone would’ve suited me better. But somehow, the sax became my thing. Now, why am I sharing this?
Often, in trainings I'm asked how to assist staff coming from longer duration work or working within other ‘models’ to transition into their shift to provide single session therapy? It’s recognized that the transition to what single session service takes can need some attention.
Since the start of our clinic in 2006 we have always instituted pre-meetings before the clinic starts to reacquaint with the mindset (those key concepts the process of SST coheres around) favourable to working in such time constraint. The modern term seems to be ‘huddles' so you might hear it referred to as a 'shift huddle’.
Returning to the saxophone, our orchestra would assemble well before a performance to warm-up, get in tune, and ensure we were ready. These pre-meetings remind me of those warm-ups. Just as an orchestra must tune their instruments before performing a piece of music, it can be useful for us to warm-up before stepping into the unique demands of single session therapy. Our team gathers to align their thoughts, check their readiness, and ensure they are ready.
Our pre-meeting serves other purposes too such as a chance to review any important updates, check-in with each other, fostering a sense of connection and community within the group. However, it’s the moment to steady oneself, to get into a place to be able to deliver the best service possible that, to me, is key. These huddles are about recalibrating our focus, re-centering our therapeutic approach, and reconnecting with the mindset that enables us to offer immediate, meaningful conversation in a short span of time.
Over the years, I’ve found that asking the right questions before we start our shift can be incredibly useful. These are some of the prompts I often encourage teams to consider prior to their shift.
- What can we co-create in our conversations together today that is useful and enduring?
- What meanings will be generated that fit with the participants hopes, preferences and preferred identity?
- What small differences might I hear about today to co-explore with the participant?
- What might I learn about this person that is endearing?
- What might it suggest they want different for their life, just by showing up today?
- How do I resist letting the past obscure what might be possible today?
- How am I going to position myself to stories of pathology to be most useful?
- Suppose these are some of my best SST conversations, what might I have done that I appreciate? What might the participants say they appreciate?
- Can I hear a metaphor to draw upon from the participant to assist with the story-in-the-making?
- What know-how could I be mentored in today? How am I going to best invite them to mentor me in their know-how?
- What might be possible if I introduce physical movement today?
- What activity might be engaging?
- What movement metaphors could show up today?
- What might I need right now to be able to show up to this conversation in the most useful way?
Giving consideration to one of these questions in a pre-meeting can assist to orient or tune into the mid-set useful to SST. You can write one on the whiteboard for the team to consider or simply invite staff to pick their own question relevant to them on that specific day. It can make for nourishing conversation to hear what staff are considering.
So, whether you're tuning a saxophone or preparing for a quick-access clinic shift, take the time to warm-up. It’s the warm-up that assists us to discern which notes to play or not in the brief moments we have with each person consulting to us.