Welcome to ARENA: Reclaiming the Art of Living
“Everything has been figured out, except how to live.”
This profound comment from the French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre neatly sums up the challenge many of us face. Since there are no formal classes or courses on the living of life, we have to work it out together.
What is Arena?
Arena is a peer support recovery group focused on working out how to live life alongside mental health issues, maintaining or recovering one's will to fight, and reclaiming control of one's life. The philosophical challenge of life referenced in the quote above, neatly sums up what our members often struggle with. Since there are no formal courses on "the living of life," the group provides a space where members can work this out together
Key features and principles of the Arena Peer Support arrangement:
A Library of Experiences
Every Arena Group is viewed as a library of experiences from which individuals can take a page to help themselves
Encouraging Truth and Confidence
A core benefit is that attending the group helps members to tell the truth to themselves. Through the incremental process of sharing and receiving feedback, people develop the confidence to both tell and reframe their own life stories
Explicit Peer Support Structure:
Arena follows a more explicit Peer Support Group arrangement. This structured approach distinguishes it from broader, more loosely structured peer support settings.
Active Listening:
While one person speaks, the rest of the group remains silent. Active listening is encouraged and highly valued. Co-facilitators often observe the depth and detail of feedback contributed by different members, indicating a great deal of listening occurs.
Thoughtful Feedback:
After a person completes their share, the co-facilitator invites members to ask clarifying questions, make observations, or share their "felt sense" of what they heard. It is highly valuing for members to feel truly listened to through this thoughtful response from others, and to know that their own observations or feedback are also valued.
Voluntary Participation:
The group is voluntary. It is made clear at the outset that members can choose to listen only or share only when they feel confident or comfortable doing so.
So Who Is Arena For?
Arena is intended for individuals who are struggling with the complicated living of life, particularly those doing so alongside mental health issues
Open Membership:
The group welcomes open membership.
Those Seeking Recovery:
The group aims to help people recover their sense of hope and direction, asserting that history does not have to define one's future.
Future Co-facilitators:
For those interested in deeper involvement, there are opportunities to develop skills as co-facilitators.
The group is hosted by individuals who have lived experience. John, who is a Practice Development Facilitator for Response, has a background as a mental health nurse and has spent years setting up successful peer support recovery groups. His lived experience includes developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and psychosis as a result of early life experiences, including hearing voices from early childhood.
All co-facilitators share the responsibility for the safety of the group and are familiar with applying the specific Arena format. They are unpaid, and no fee is taken from members.
Visit us
Email
arena.group.atp@gmail.com
Phone
07970 822223
Newman Court
Cave St,
Oxford
OX4 1AE
