ABSTRACT
Role play involves either participants or facilitators taking on the roles of patients, families and professionals to enact a situation. It can be used to learn communication skills in a safe environment without fear of upsetting patients. Role play is suitable for use in the small group setting with participants who are comfortable with practising communication skills. Role play can be enhanced with double facilitation, one facilitator leading the group and the other watching out for the reactions of the participants. Once the role play has been completed, the players must de-role. There are a number of ways to carry out this important part of a role play. Sculpting is a form of dynamic non-verbal role play in which participants are arranged in positions, which symbolise feelings, conflicts and power relationships. Sculpting is a powerful way of exploring feelings and emotions that participants may not express in a verbal communications exercise.
