Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Dealing with the "mad person"

[Rob Sandelin (floriferous]

Jed Wrote:

 It is often said around here that every community has its
> madperson (actually they usually say madman, unfairly I think). This
> madperson is often regarded as the reason for everything that
> goes wrong in
> the community, and even for its demise. Many of the people who are
> discussing joining us are in fear of getting involved with one of these.


Too often the "mad person" is simply a person with a personality style that
differs from the rest of the group, or who lacks the social process skills
to be an effective member, or both. I have done a number of community
meditations and interventions where a basic three step plan worked really
well to deal with the "mad person":

1. Indentify the exact behaviors and the reactions they cause
2. Counsel the group about these behaviors
3. Counsel and contract the individuals about the behaviors

For a more detailed how to, see the latest issue of Communities magazine or
contact me directly.

Rob Sandelin
Northwest Intentional Communities Association
Check the group process resources on the Intentional Communties Resources
pages at http://www.infoteam.com/nonprofit/nica/resource.html