Family Council Peer support: a deeper dive
by Family Councils Ontario
Following the first post of this series that considered the importance of peer support, this blog post digs deeper into aspects of support within a Family Council. Today’s post touches on group dynamics, and how to support members and the Council when the membership is ever changing.
Each person who joins a Council may have their own specific reason for attending; for example, to participate more concretely in the new home of their relative, to speak with others who have similar experiences, to find a solution to a problem, or perhaps simply seeing to connect with other caregivers. While we know some families are involved in a Council for a few years, more recently, with shorter stays in long-term care, some people may only be members briefly. This has an impact on Council development and group dynamics.
Over 50 years ago, Bruce Tuckman described the four stages of group development:
- Forming: as a group first comes together to meet and orient themselves.
- Storming: as a group begins to clarify ways of operating and often have differences of opinions.
- Norming: at this stage the group has found ways of operating and have discovered how to move forward through disagreements and effectively work together.
- Performing: the group has solved inter-personnel problems and are effectively getting their defined task done.
These descriptions are useful for helping us take a long-term view of group dynamics but for a Family Council where members are often changing regularly and the task at hand is not clearly defined, we may find that these process do not happen one after the other as neatly as Tuckman has laid them out. Councils may experience all four phases at the same time, as new members come with new expectations and ideas and questions, the life of a Council will shift and change. So, while these four stages may not neatly map onto the reality of a Family Council, we can still use them to assess group development and functioning. And once we have reflected on the current state of group development and functioning, we can identify ways for working better together.
Due to the nature of long-term care, Council membership regularly ebbs and flows. When Councils regularly reach out to new residents and families, they find that new people join the group. So, it makes sense and is a success when new members regularly join the Council. It important to keep in mind, however, that it often takes a few meetings for these new members to orient themselves to Council life. These new members are always welcome however the question remains how to accommodate changing membership knowing that forming, storming, norming and performing may be phases of group dynamics that happen all at once at any one time in the life of a Family Council.
Offering peer support to new members is an important aspect of the resource a Council can be to new families. One successful method of dealing with a changing membership is to plan for it to happen so that it is not seen as a problem but simply as the way a Family Council must function. New members will bring their questions, their hopes and fears, and it can be challenging to accommodate them into the life of a Council. Sometimes it will feel like forming and storming phases never stop. Here are some ways to think about being supportive to new members as membership changes.
New member mentorship
One good method is to have a Council member who is knowledgeable and has been on the Council for some time to become a mentor or “welcomer” for the new person. This can be a role that can be shared between members of the Council so that not one person is taking it on. Welcoming and helping a new member, who is not only new to the Council but new to the world of long-term care, will mean a lot to someone who is just beginning in the long-term care journey with their loved one. It can be as simple as asking them to have coffee and answer some of their immediate questions or helping them find answers to questions they have. Depending on time and circumstance it might be a phone call before or after a meeting to chat with them and simply find out how they are doing. We have found over the years that just listening to caregivers can be a big help and one does not need to have all the answers or solve their issues but to just listen. Welcoming and mentoring the new family member can also help them get aquanited with the Council and become a good Council member.
Education
Another aspect of support in Council life is to regularly hold presentations and provide information on the life of the home, even if some of the Council members have heard the information before. One successful way to do this, and not have the information be repetitive to regular members, is to host an orientation night for new families as a regular event. This involves inviting new families to come together and learn basic information about the Council and about the Home. Staff can be on hand to give brief overviews of aspects of home life and the new families can meet each other and Council members. The event can happen periodically throughout the year or perhaps as frequently as every three months. Council members can take responsibility for different aspects of hosting the event such as welcoming people, serving tea or coffee, being on hand to answer questions, or simply to introduce themselves. Providing an opportunity for caregivers to meet and greet other caregivers is a powerful way to support each other and can enhance their participation in the Council.
Expressing thanks and sympathy
It is always sad when a member leaves a Council, whether due to the death of their resident or another reason. There may not always be an opportunity to say thank you or express sympathy at a meeting, but sending a thank you and/or a sympathy card is a special supportive practice. One member of the Council can take this on as their job and ensure that thanks is said and sympathy is expressed on behalf of the Council. This supports former members, provides an opportunity for current members to provide peer support, and strengthens the bonds of Council members.
The life within a Long-term care home is a community of people who, together, can help each other through the caregiving journey that at times is an intense experience. Marking the coming and goings and the appreciation for each Council member is an important aspect of support. The acts of marking comings and goings reinforce the supportive nature of the Council and the special bonds that develop between Council members. These are bonds that transcend the differences between us and recognize the unique but shared experiences of caregiving. Family Councils are special groups that require special consideration in order to be optimally supportive and effective within long-term care communities.
It is a fact that Council membership will always be in a state of flux as forming, storming, norming and performing will happen all at the same time as members come and go. That being said, planning for it and seeing it as an opportunity to lend support to each other can ease the caregiving journey and inspire families and staff alike to care for each other. This peer support and mutual caring can and does have a huge impact on the lives of residents, families, and staff and can truly create vibrant long-term care communities even when Council membership is constantly changing. After all, change provides us as individuals with an opportunity to grow and evolve. Councils are no different.