Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Hiring outside facilitators/professionals

[Fred-List manager (fholson]

Anna Amato <aamato216 [at] gmail.com>
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Fred, the Cohousing-L list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>
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We have used outside facilitators twice and have regretted it.
In one case, the person had experience in facilitating consensus for
non-profit organizations but not for cohousing, and that proved to be a
crucial difference.  You can't ask someone to simply leave - they own a
house.

In the second case, the facilitator tried to do more emotional work so it
became more like group therapy, which was a real turn-off to some.
(Although others liked it.) Some people, frankly, were too emotionally
fragile or volatile to be doing that sort of thing in a setting with 40
people.

So I would advise your own facilitators to get additional training and do
something along the lines of what Liz wrote.
We have had a couple of conflicts that we have put on hold for years.

Anna Amato
Takoma Village
Wash., DC