Dealing with difficult situations while facilitating PPI groups

Course Information

This session is an adaptation of a series of successful national workshops on facilitation of PPIE groups run between October 2023 and March 2024. The workshops made use of a forum theatre approach where a challenging situation typically encountered in PPI facilitation is acted out so that workshop participants can then propose ways to resolve it. The session will be based on video clips of these challenging situations and use them to raise awareness of the challenges and emotional labour involved in PPI facilitation, enable sustained reflection in a containing space and encourage problem solving and peer learning.

The session is not meant as facilitation training. We will make use of film clips produced in the context of forum theatre events to surface some of the challenges that are specific to PPI activities, engage a critical examination of and reflection on these challenges and to promote collective work towards solutions to facilitation challenges.

The session is primarily intended for staff working directly on PPI activities (both researchers and professional services staff). However, by promoting reflection and a deeper understanding of PPI practice it will also benefit staff with little to no experience of PPI work.

For more information

Learning Outcomes

  • Increased awareness of some of the challenging interactions that might arise when facilitating PPI groups
  • Ability to reflect on how and why difficult situations might arise
  • Ability to address and resolve some common challenging interactions in PPI groups
  • Understanding how to prepare effectively in anticipation of facilitation challenges

    • Course Agenda

    The session will be based on filmed scenarios which were created in the course of facilitation training workshops using Forum Theatre. However, the session itself will not make use of Forum Theatre methods to resolve the situations presented in the filmed scenarios. Therefore, familiarity with the methodology aims and scope of Forum Theatre is not needed for this session

    Course Dates

    Course Start Date:  Tuesday, April 21, 2026 9:30 AM

    Course End Date :  Tuesday, April 21, 2026 12:00 PM

    Enrolment Dates

    Enrolment Start Date:  Wednesday, February 11, 2026 8:00 AM

    Enrolment End Date :  Monday, April 13, 2026 5:00 PM

    Course Location

    Online

    Course Tutor/s

    Polly Kerr, Dr Stan Papoulias

    Course Delivery Type

    Online - Live Virtual course icon

    Course Fees

    This is a free course.