Interesting issue.
I once did a workshop out of town where it was held in a local
person's house. We agreed on a hire rate for the house based on what i
would have had to pay at a local hall. So i paid this person for the
hire of the house for the day and they attended the workshop, for
which i didn't charge them.
During the workshop this person unexpectedly set up their
constellation and afterwards I asked for payment for facilitating it.
They seemed quite shocked. But i said if you don't pay me I guess you
don't put much value on me or my work. I said this because i felt a
lack of give and take with them, and to honour Constellation work i
felt i should live it too. i left it there and about 3 months later I
was paid without any further correspondence. i was glad i did this.
i felt better for it. We still keep in touch.
I think there is a link here to the stance we take with our workshop
participants. I have always found interesting the issue of whether
constellation work is therapy or not. Bert seems to think it is, at
least he calls it therapy in his books, but some others don't. I know
that if I am doing regular therapy I bring the payment or non-payment
into the work. For example if someone doesn't pay me when we have
agreed a figure then I would bring this issue into the therapy work,
even is they don't show up again. I feel this is my role as a
therapist. And when i worked in an agency where the therapy was free i
would use it in the therapy work there if i thought appropriate to the
client's issues. For example, 'you say everyone is against you but the
government if paying me so i can sit here and hear your troubles, how
does that effect you that the Govt is helping you?'
So in thinking about this issue i notice i feel a subtle difference
between taking a therapeutic stance with a workshop participant and
what i might call a more workshop , need to have representatives,
stance. In the therapeutic stance i think how might this effect the
participant by giving them something of value for free. I guess this
is in my field because of my therapist role. This is a bit tricky
though because as a facilitator you might feel that participants who
come by donation are offering you something by just attending and
helping representation. And this leads me to another issue about how
many participants we, as individual facilitators, need at a workshop.
i think I needed more when I started holding workshops. I think it was
easier for me to have quite a few reps than have few when i was less
confident and less skilled. Now I find i don't need so many, who ever
turns up is OK. And there might be reason for low numbers, maybe it
allows someone to work who would not have in a larger group, or maybe
it keeps a secret hidden, if i use a cushion as the rep instead of a
person etc. And now this post comes all the way back in like a circle
to me because.......sure i don't need so many reps to do the work, but
i do need participants, because I need the money!
One thing i say in my workshops is that if you look at my website, at
the testimonials for family work. they are all from people who
represented only. Not from those who set up their cases. As we know
the experience of representing can have a huge impact.
Cheers.......David Mathes
