Creative Training: Sociodrama and Team-building

Looking at how to run staff training groups and at what to do with stuck teams, this "how to do it" guide is aimed at people in the health and social services who want their training to be imaginative, energetic and effective. The latest theories in staff training are examined, with a focus on how to use sociodrama as a training tool. Using jargon-free language, the author explains how, unlike psychodrama, sociodrama utilizes hypothetical events, derived from the concerns and experiences of the group, as a basis for developing a deeper understanding of social situations.

Table of Contents:
PART ONE: RUNNING STAFF TRAINING GROUPS 1. Background. 2. The Trainers. 3. Planning. 4. Beginnings. 5. Middles. 6. Role Play. 7. Endings. PART TWO: TEAM BUILDING AND THE ART OF TEAM DOCTORING 8. Introduction. 9. Stages of Team Development. 10. Team Doctoring. PART THREE: USING SOCIODRAMA 11. Introduction. 12. The Stages of a Sociodrama. 13. Sociodramas Based on Real Events. 14. Case Examples. PART FOUR: BIBLIOGRAPHY.

About the Author :
Ron Wiener is Associate Consultant in the Department of Adult Continuing Education at the University of Leeds. He works for organisations in the public, educational, voluntary and private sectors, training trainers, improving team functioning and skills development in areas such as the management of change and staff supervision. His work is characterised by the use of creative action methods involving the whole group.

Review :
Well written and very largely free from insider-jargon beloved of many writers in this and related fields. This is an easy to read and practical handbook for people who work with groups. The manual will be useful to trainers working with a range of trainees in varying circumstances. ...succinct and to the point, well written and very largely free from the insider-jargon beloved of many writers... a useful and thought-provoking book. This compact book offers a clear sketch of the territory and techniques of sociodrama, and will be useful for the relatively new group facilitator who has already acquired some training in the use of sociodramatic techniques. It will also be of use to educationalists wishing to know more about the building blocks in this dynamic and fruitful method of enabling adult learning through the experience of involvement. I would like to recomment tihs book as a coherent and easy to read introduction to the field of sociodrama as applied to team building and team facilitation.