Client Curveball No. 321 -- how would you do it?

Elena A. Marchuk marco at mail.nsk.ru
Thu Sep 14 18:27:01 PDT 2000


Cris,

I just sent my letter and recieved yours so it should be some more
questions to your thoughts in it.

good luck
Elena


-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Chris
Corrigan
Sent: Friday, September 15, 2000 8:05 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Client Curveball No. 321 -- how would you do it?


Thanks for your advice Birgitt, and to all those who responded on this one.
I
know right now that the sponsor is thinking carefully about whether we
should
use OST for this meeting, and I'll be meeting with them next week to discuss
the
approach.

I don't know how you can ever tell anyone that they might be blown apart and
never put back together.  I just don't know.  That raises for me issues
about
when my role as a facilitator ends in terms of my interaction in people's
lives.  It's the question of where to draw a line I think...at what point
does
the contact I have made with people end?  As an Open Space facilitator, I am
opening space for the rest of people's lives?  I know some people are
forever
changed by their experiences in OST meetings -- I was for example, and
fortunately for the better -- but at what point do I let go?

No question that this is an ethics question.  Most meetings that I run with
First Nations participants, no matter what process I use, usually has
someone at
some point break down and cry.  What I have noticed is that this happens
less in
OST but it still happens.  It happened last weekend, for example.  OST opens
people, and who knows where people are in their own greiving cycles?  I work
with people who have been victimized all the time.  Sometimes it's recent,
sometimes not.  Sometimes it's related to the theme and sometimes not.  Just
how
much responsibility *I* am supposed to take for their healing is an open
question in my mind.

Obviously with the meeting under consideration, these issues become
magnified
because I KNOW we are working with victims of violence.  And I appreciate
what
you have to say about this.  I guess I am pushing the ethical question a
little
further into the light with these comments.

Further thoughts?

Chris.

Birgitt Williams wrote:

> Hi Chris,
> my inclination would be not to do this in Open Space Technology.  For me,
> the ethical issues are huge, in capital letters, and simply advising
people
> clearly about the theme and advising of the law of two feet just doesn't
do
> it. In one sense, advising of theme and law of two feet is like getting
> their permission for "whatever happens" if they show up, feeling that they
> are informed. I do not believe that by doing this, true informed consent
is
> given.
>
> In my experience in working with victims of violence for a long time in my
> life, there are layers below layers below layers of pain. The human spirit
> and psyche are very protective and go through the layers at their own
pace.
> I know many people in their 40's and 50's who are just now strong enough
to
> deal with something that happened in their youth.
>
> OST is powerful. And we know it. And we have a huge ethical
responsibility.
> We also know that it is difficult to communicate ahead of time how
powerful
> the meeting is. One does not know the power until one is in it. Negative
> fall out of creating a situation for people to face deeper layers before
> they are naturally ready may not occur during the meeting. Nor even in the
> closing circle. It might all look like a stunning success. In my work with
> youth in our street youth program in the 80's there were a number of group
> meetings trying to get at the deeper layers of what was up with the
> youth --we saw the youth 3 months later and 6 months later due to drug
> overdoses, slashed wrists and other suicide attempts. It wasn't pretty.
The
> common denominator was the meetings that one of the agencies was holding.
> Well intended. They thought they were successful. We raised a public
outcry
> and got them shut down.It wasn't open space technology. Your question
> stirred all of this up. How will you tell them in the invitation that they
> might be blown wide open and that they might not get put back together?
>
> I again state the perception that I have of safe space--we cannot
guarantee
> that the space we create with OST is safe space. What is safe for one is
not
> safe for another.
>
> I wish you well, whatever your choices. If you go ahead with this OST, I
> would encourage you to work carefully with your sponsor group prior to and
> after the event. The meeting might be a success in the short term. To
assist
> success in the long term takes skillful means in honouring the precious
> humans involved with all of the pain that they brought into the meeting
and
> all of the grief that the meeting might stir up.
>
> Birgitt

--
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology

108-1035 Pacific Street
Vancouver BC
V6E 4G7

Phone: 604.683.3080
Fax: 604.683.3036
corcom at interchange.ubc.ca
http://www.geocities.com/chris_corrigan

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu
Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

===========================================================
OSLIST at EGROUPS.COM
To subscribe,
1.  Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist
2.  Sign up -- provide an email address,
    and choose a login ID and password
3.  Click on "Subscribe" and follow the instructions

To unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at egroups.com:
1.  Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist
2.  Sign in and Proceed

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu
Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

===========================================================
OSLIST at EGROUPS.COM
To subscribe,
1.  Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist
2.  Sign up -- provide an email address,
    and choose a login ID and password
3.  Click on "Subscribe" and follow the instructions

To unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at egroups.com:
1.  Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist
2.  Sign in and Proceed



More information about the OSList mailing list