ABSTRACT
Once it has been agreed to establish a staff support group, its members and the facilitator are usually curious, and often anxious about how it will be. This chapter will discuss some common problems that arise and suggest ways of responding to them. In our experience, and those of other facilitators, there are dif®culties common to most staff support groups, if not all. The aim of the response to any problem is to make the group a safe enough place in which its members can talk to one another. It is not, as in a therapy group, for the members to explore the origins of the problem and how they relate to it, though this may occur as a by-product in a safe enough group. Common anticipatory concerns have been discussed in the previous chapter, but as the group unfolds a range of questions and concerns will surface for the facilitator to respond to.
