Collective Case Consultation
Collective case consultation allows a question/problem (a "case") to be dealt with based on the knowledge of the group. Each individual gets the chance to ask for help in quick rounds of consultation and immediately receive advice from two others. Peer-to-peer coaching helps participants to identify solutions, insightful patterns and innovative approaches suitable for their daily lives. This is a simple and effective way to extend coaching support for individuals beyond formal communication channels.
Room setup and group size
For collective case consultation, at least three people should be brought together into a group room (groups of 4 also work, in any case there must be more than two people). If several cases need to be dealt with, the group should stay together for the role change. That is, each person in the group is the case provider at one point and the counsellor at another.
Implementation
One person describes the question/problem as the case provider, the others listen to the "case" and discuss it among themselves and give advice. At the end of the session, the case provider draws his/her conclusions and gives a short feedback to the counsellors. Then the roles are exchanged and the case provider becomes the counsellor, a previous counsellor becomes the case provider and so on. By assigning the roles of case provider and counsellor, it is possible to discuss several cases in turn and experience a change of perspective due to the role switch - at times you ask for counselling, at other times you advise others.
A case lasts about 25 minutes, the process follows a pattern of 4 steps:
The provider of the case presents the topic to the case counsellors. The counsellors mute their microphones, listen attentively and take notes, if necessary. 5 minutes
The case counsellors ask questions of understanding, answered by the case provider. 5 minutes
The case provider mutes the microphone. The case counsellors share their thoughts on the case. The case provider listens attentively and takes notes, if necessary. 10 minutes
The caseworker joins in again, summarising and giving feedback on what he/she has heard. 5 min
It is important to appoint a timekeeper in advance who uses a mobile phone timer to ensure that the respective work steps (ideally, they are visualised in a shared document) are followed.
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