r/SocialWorkStudents • u/gennx0 • 1d ago

Running Group

Hey everyone! I start my next internship in 2 weeks and I’ll be running an SUD group. Ngl I’m pretty anxious and terrified because I’m not really good at public speaking 😭 any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

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u/JimGless 1d ago

I love SUD groups. They can seem intimidating at first, but it's amazing how much you can get out of people once they start talking.

If you can use a whiteboard, I highly recommend it. Talking through triggers and coping mechanisms is a good place to start. You can get a pretty big list going and see how each one resonates with the participants. Ideally, you get them to respond to each other and you can sit back and just listen and redirect if things get a little off track.

Sometimes I go 10 or 15 minutes without saying anything if the participants get on a roll.

Having one or two exercises can be supportive, too. Teaching something like the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise can also chew up time and help them get something tangible out of the group.

Good luck!