T-Group Practice & Seminar
Welcome to the Relational Dojo's T-Group practice page. We operate as a place to practice your relational skills using the T-Group methodology. You are welcome to join any and all sessions that are convenient for you. If you are new, please take the time to look through this webpage to be prepared for the session.
Two Ways to Participate
T-Group Practice
Warm-ups, T-Group practice, debriefs, and then an optional cooldown.
(Optional 30-min continued debrief until 2:00 PM PT)
Sept 8 (Opening), Sept 22, Oct 6, Oct 20, Nov 3, Nov 17, Dec 1
- 12:05 PM Welcome & ground rules
- 12:08 PM Warm-up exercise in breakouts (2–3 people)
- 12:15 PM Facilitated T-Group breakouts (5–12 people)
- 1:10 PM Debrief practice in breakouts
- 1:25 PM Return for closing
- 1:30 PM Goodbyes & optional extended debrief
- 2:00 PM Zoom room closes
T-Group Seminar
Sensemaking, real-world application, giving and getting help.
Sept 9, Oct 7, Nov 4, Dec 2
- 10:00 AM Welcome
- 10:02 AM Check-ins: Why did you come?
- 10:10 AM Group configurations & emergent activities
- 10:50 AM Initiate check-outs
- 11:00 AM Goodbyes
Container & Facilitation
We will do a warm-up exercise in breakouts (2–3 people), and then T-Group for roughly an hour in breakouts (5–12 people). Assigned facilitators hold three tasks:
Safety
Track individual and group nervous systems. Notice signs of overwhelm, fight/flight, or collapse, and intervene to support regulation, consent, and psychological safety. You can ask for boundary support at any time.
Structural Process
Hold the container of the practice. Keep time, clarify instructions, name transitions, and maintain the structure so participants can focus on their experience.
Practice Integrity
Hold integrity to practice intentions. Model the practice itself. Orient to purpose, name when the group drifts, teach in the moment, and reconnect to present-moment awareness and impact (they may interrupt you).
New to the Dojo?
Before your first session, we ask all new participants to review the following materials so you can arrive ready to practice:
T-Group Practice Guidelines
| We aspire to practice the following... | We intentionally stay away from ... |
|---|---|
| Learning about ourselves alongside others | Watching the group instead of being part of the group |
| Observing and revealing our inner experiences | Staying in abstraction, theory, or retrospection instead of present experience |
| Speaking from the "I" | Speaking for others or the group |
| Sharing our experiences of one another in the present moment | Avoiding direct interpersonal feedback, referring to people indirectly or outside the room |
| Stretching out of our comfort zone into our learning zone | Remaining in safety, familiarity, or performance |
| Holding and reflecting on our learning with care for one another | Sharing personal details about another individual without their explicit consent |
Resources
“Theory without practice is sterile; practice without theory is blind”
Nonviolent Communication (NVC)
A four step processs of how to speak up for what's important to you
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Wallen Skills
Four behavioral skills for effectively navigating the Interpersonal Gap
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Wheel of Awareness
Tool for communicating clearly about the here & now
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Conflict Styles (Jay Hall, Thomas-Kilmann)
A model for thinking about different ways of how we might show up in conflict
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Interpersonal Gap
A model explaining why it can be so difficult to understand and be understood
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Wheel of Consent
A way to structure the ways in which we either ask for or give attention
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Feelings Chart
A list of feelings words and a way to think about how they can show up interpersonally
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Johari Window
A possible goal in Relational Practices is to expand the Arena
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Zone of Proximal Development
A way to think about the experiential learning process
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Four Stages of Competence
A way to think about skill development in experiential learning process
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Basic Assumption Theory
Psychodynamic way to make sense of how groups are developing
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Element-B: Inclusion, Control, Openness
My favorite way to think about how groups are developing
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Yalom’s Four Functions
Group process behaviors on how to effectively influence a group
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Ladder of Inference
A model that tracks how we move from data intake to action
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Elephant and Rider Theory
A theory about how much the unconscious mind has influence over our behavior
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Family of Origin Work
Surfaces early conditioning, implicit scripts, and relational roles that unconsciously recur inside current group dynamics.
View Website OverviewPersonality Inventories (Big 5, Social Styles, Enneagram, DISC, StrengthsFinder, MBTI)
Take some personality inventories to start clueing into your patterns
View Website ArticleSystem 1 & System 2 Thinking
Another way to think about Rider & Elephant model, understanding when and how to make effort
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)Fight, Fawn, Freeze, Flight, Flop (Stress Responses)
Understand some ways that we unconsciously respond to stressful situations
View / Download 1-Pager (PDF)