In these Remotivation therapy sessions, the facilitator asks questions related to the topic at hand. The topic is determined by the therapist. One question leads to another which are known as bounce questions. The facilitator also uses visual and auditory cues during the session. If clients suffer from cognitive deficits or AD, there needs to be more visual cues. The facilitator creates an environment where clients feel safe. In this environment, whatever the client says is accepted by the therapist without judgment. In this way, a relationship of trust is established between the client and the Remotivational therapist. The therapist accepts and values what the client provides, who may be actively participating in the session or remaining silent throughout the session. The gift of your presence is what the Remotivational therapist recognizes.
Remotivation therapy is divided into five steps because each one serves a function for the client and the group facilitator. The first step is known as the Climate of Acceptance, which is a very important step in the therapeutic context of the session. Clients are placed in a circle of 8-10 people. In the circle, the Remotivation therapist approaches each individual to greet the client. As the Remotivation therapist does this, she greets clients by her name. The leader then compliments the individual on her personal appearance, jewelry, or clothing. It’s okay to touch the customer in an appropriate way, such as shaking hands or putting a hand on her shoulder. By doing so, the facilitator is letting the client know that I paid attention. She also informs the individual that you are important and the Remotivational therapist accepts the person for who they are; including disease.
The second step is called Bridge to the Real World. In this step, the Remotivation therapist leads the session with a question and answer on the topic. The topic is usually broad and then leads to a specific point. There are typically three to four questions in Step II with four possible answers that are written in advance. Thus the answer leads to the next question. If a customer chooses not to respond, it is acceptable. Also, the customer may not know the answer to the question. If this is the case, thank the person and move on to the next person asking the same question. The last question in step II leads to the poem which is objective in nature. The poem is provided by the National Organization for Removal Therapy Inc. When one is certified as a Certified Removal Therapist, then the individual can write programs and poems. The poem is read to the clients or the clients can read it aloud to the group. Don’t forget to use audio and visual aids to complement the program. The lower the mental cognition, the more audio and visual cues are better. Once this is accomplished, the Remotivation therapist directs the session to Step III.
Step III is called “Share the world we live in.” In this part of the step, the leader expands on the topic by asking 8-10 questions on the topic. The questions do not have an emotional basis, but are objective in nature. Each person in the group is asked the same question. The questions are asked in a newspaper format such as:
-That
-When
-Where
-Because
-As
During Step III if the group goes off on a tangent or a conversation on the topic that is good. When the group goes off on a tangent they are sharing their experiences. For example, if the theme is camping. One of the questions that might be in Step III is “Where does a family go camping?” Each one of the group responds, a park, the beach or the patio. Another customer might respond that my family camped out in the backyard once a month. Then others could add to the conversation. Eventually, the Remotivation therapist brings the group back into discussion. However, the Remotivation therapist does not need to finish step III because the tangent took care of that. The Remotivation therapist goes to step IV.
Step IV is called World of Work Appreciation. In this step, the questions are related to the world of work and again the questions are objective in nature. The question starts with the format of the newspaper as:
-That
-When
-Where
-Because
-As
Moving from Step III to Step IV, the Remotivation therapist asks a transition question. For example, to use the transition question from the previous example about camping. The transition question could be how many people have gone camping? The rest of the questions focus on camping work. For example, where do you get camping supplies? What national parks or state parks allow camping? What kind of equipment is used for camping? Again, the facilitator prepares 8-10 questions to ask the group. The same question is asked to everyone. Remember that as a facilitator, any response you receive is fine. If there is no response, that’s ok.
The last step of the session is called “Appreciation Climate”. This step is the reverse of Step I. In this step, the Remotivation therapist thanks each person individually for coming to the group. Remember, even if the person doesn’t say a word, choosing to remain silent during the session is perfectly acceptable. This individual is giving you the ultimate gift, the gift of his presence in your session that you are acknowledging. Inform the group when the next session will take place and invite clients to attend. There is no need to tell them the subject. Also, the facilitator can summarize the topic of the session that took place that day.
