Thoughts About Step-In Sociometry

Wed Jul 1 11:20:03 CDT 2009

Dear Dale,

Your succinct,extremely useful ,informative,straight to the point yet detailed  description of "step in "   created in 

me the excitement I used to feel when I would open our Society Journal back in the seventies to read  articles of 

 colleagues and aplaud their creativity.  Their suggestion would stimulate my creative juices,and I 'd build on it 

some new structures,ad hoc.

I Needless to say I  will put some of yours to an immediate use,straight or with a twist ...Thanks.

 A thought:  The enthusiastic response to your entry suggested to me:why not rethink the format of ASGPP 

Journal to solicit these kind of contributions? This  comes the closest to "The Networker",which most of us look 

forward to read.

Thanks,Dale.

anath

Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:56:37 -0700
From: abepsychodrama at yahoo.com
Subject: Thoughts About Step-In Sociometry
To: list at grouptalkweb.org

Dear All, 

My experience with step-in sociometry is that can be quite revealing and often deepens the intimacy in a group.  However, I do step-in sociometry somewhat differently than I have witnessed from other directors.

I start by saying that step-in sociometry reveals the hidden connections in a group, and that one of the goals in a group is to make the covert connections overt.  I explain that most gay people have “gaydar” and most people who aren’t gay don’t have “gaydar.”  This is also true about many other issues.  Any heroin addict can enter a strange city and find a hit within a few hours.  That is because the addict seeks cues and notices cues about drugs.  The same is true if we are a person in recovery, or a survivor of abuse.  Our antennae are up and we are looking to see how others react to those topics that are sensitive for us.  

My instructions are that only those persons who are willing to share about themselves can ask a question in step-in sociometry.  I don’t do voyeuristic step-in sociometry.  When a person steps into the circle I ask them to say, “Who like me?”  I instruct the other group members that if they are willing to disclose and connect that they should step-in and join hands with the person in the inner circle.  I also instruct the group members that f they haven’t experienced the issue or don’t want to self-disclose at this time they should stay in the outer circle.  I remind the folks in the group that we are certain that those in the inner circle have experienced this issue, but we don’t know for certain that those in the outer circle have not also experienced this issue.

I then explain to the group members that the persons in the inner circle know what they know experientially, and those in the outer circle  only understand cognitively.  I remind the folks in the inner circle that those with them in the inner circle really get this issue and understand how this issue or circumstance affects their lives.    

I usually demonstrate the first step-in and I only do one step-in.  
I do not step-in for the other questions.  I ask that each group member ask one step-in so that everyone gets a turn.    If it is a new group and lots of newcomers then I focus on low risk things but things that would be important for the group to know about one another. Some examples of my low risk step-in questions are (and those are true for me): “Who like me is an only child?”;  “Who like me lost a parent when I was young?”;  “Who like me struggles to balance work and play?”  

If the group is seasoned, safe and has developed trust with one another then I demonstrate a (one) higher risk questions:  “Who like me had a parent who was an alcoholic?”;  ‘Who like me has ever been depressed?”; and “Who like me pay so little attention to my physical body that it causes me physical problems?”  

When people choose to step-in with a criteria that is limiting I ask them if they are open to making the circle bigger.  For example, a person may step in and say, “Who like me was repeatedly physically, emotionally and sexually abused by a parent.” or a person may say, “Who like me lost a parent by suicide when they were five years old.”  I teach them that by broadening statements they can still speak their truth while gaining connections to others.  I might suggest they ask, “Who like me was abused by a parent?”  or “Who like my has lost a loved one through suicide?’  If the person doesn’t want to make the issue broader so that others can join with him/her it tells me a lot about that person.  

Frankly, my only problem with step-in sociometry is too much disclosure.  I try to limit step-in sociometry to one round.  Usually my groups spend a lot of time discussing their sharing, the impact their sharing has on them, and the issues that arise when they share intimately with others.  

Certainly I have experienced persons say things like “Who like me wears contact lenses?”  When I hear those kinds of things I know that the safety and trust that I had thought had been developed in the group has not.  As a director, that means that I must return to issues of safety and confidentiality and trust building.  As we could say “It’s all good information for the group leader.”  
 Dale Richard Buchanan

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