What is the theory behind this About Me Therapy Worksheet?
Group therapy is a type of psychotherapy that addresses specific disorders or general issues that are common among a group of people. These groups can have 5 to 15 clients at once with one lead counsellor or psychologist. Group therapy provides an individual with a strong support system, relatable peers and a new and fresh perspective on their issues. The first session however, can seem a bit daunting.
How will the worksheet help?
The worksheet will provide ideas about self-introduction icebreaker activities and questions that can be used to make first time clients comfortable in a group therapy session. They will help the participants get to know each other in fun ways and build rapport and trust.
How to use the worksheet?
The ideas in this worksheet can be used by counsellors, therapists or even teachers to make individuals in a group comfortable with each other before beginning group therapy or any other activities. They can be used in the beginning of the first group session.
About Me Therapy Worksheet
These are some self-introduction activities that can be used in group settings to help members get to know facts about each other in fun ways.
- Ask each member to say their name out loud but with one positive or unique trait that they have beginning with the first letter of their names.
- Write down the questions or statements on strips of paper. Fold them and put them into a bowl. Each member gets to pick a slip and answer the question or complete the statement to tell something unique about themselves. Or everyone answers the same question or statement. For example
- My favourite snack is…
- What is one thing about me that people can never guess?
- What is my happy place?
- My happiest memory is
- Ask each member to write a few lines about themselves that they think others may not be able to guess about them based on their appearance on a piece of paper. Fold that paper and put it into a bowl. The therapist or counsellor picks randomly and reads out what the paper says. Everyone tries to guess who has written it.
- Use the following prompts to elicit responses about what a person is like. Their responses to these prompts can tell a lot about their priorities in life.
- What three things would you take with you to a deserted island and why?
- You are alone in your house but have been told to evacuate immediately owing to some emergency. What three things do you grab on instinct before rushing out?
- Play the ‘Two Truths One Lie’ game. This is a great way for people to share facts about themselves. Every member writes three statements about themselves out of which two are true while one is a lie. The others have to guess which is the lie among those three.
- Ask members to share one positive and one negative moment that they have had in the past week.
- Ask questions based on make-believe scenarios such as ‘If you could go anywhere in the world right now where would it be?’ or ‘If you could talk to any famous person right now, who would it be and what would you say?’
References
You can download this worksheet here.