Implementation& Facilitation

Implementation of the Social Network Health Approach

Research has shown that the Social Network Health approach has great potential to develop the personal, social, and academic growth of the leaders and the students they mentor.  There are key components to consider when implementing the SNH Peer Leaders approach. A compiled list of these components is available to guide you. These components can and should be adapted to reflect the needs and expectations of your school. They are categorized into organizational components and training components. It is critical to follow the evidence-based process to develop positive support networks.

Social Network Health’s interactive group design progresses from individual engagement (e.g., each participant shares career goals and values) to building group-level skills and norms (e.g., mapping group strengths). Specifically, participants learn together about one another and model skills to grow and sustain research-validated protective factors through the following core concepts:

1. Maximize protective bonds across school populations.

  • Increasing opportunities for group cohesion including integrated youth–adult networks and promoting the influence of youth with healthy coping skills.

2. Ensure that clearly identified trained adults are being connected to many students.

3. Develop Key Group and Individual Protective Factors:

A. Meaningful Connections:

  • Healthy relationships and accountability (Supportive Relationships)
  • Informal and formal help-seeking (Trusted Adults/Mentors)

B. Aspects of our lives that provide Fulfillment and Gratitude:

  • Guiding Values and Goals that provide meaning in life (Purpose)
  • Diversity of activities that give strength and balance emotions (Healthy Activities)
  • Developing awareness and concern for others (Generosity)

To achieve these core concepts the Social Network Health approach implements the critical considerations in programming:

Preparation - What does a healthy social network look like?

What does this opportunity mean for everyone?

  • Increased group cohesion
  • Increased morale
  • Positive bonds
  • Acceptability of help seeking.

What is specifically needed from each individual and the group in order to reach goals?

  • Be Inclusive.
  • Be Strength Based - everyone has a strength, and we use them as the foundation of network health.
  • Understand the Purpose and Focus of Peer Support - stronger than the sum of our parts.

What does it mean for individual contributors?

  • Sense of belonging
  • Access to guidance
  • Less frustration
  • Better day to day experience

How is Active Learning transferred to Life?

  • Drawing out ‘real-world’ strengths from participants as a primary method to teach.
  • High energy activities maintain interest, motivation, and a shared positive emotion.
  • ‘Real-world’ exercises inside and outside of training reinforce the application of skills in groups and in individual activities of daily life.

Evidence-based Methodology - We use Content Driven by Evidence of Impact:

  • Research supports activity-based training that combines individual and group skills.
  • Research supports activities that are designed to immerse participants in an intentional and structured way. Social Network Health employs a series of active learning and discussion activities that foster collaboration and create a training environment that motivates personal commitment for a collective culture through discussion and modeling.
  • Research supports activities in which participants interact with trainers, and each other, to apply the content to their own lives. In SNH programs, we practice skills that grow healthy bonds and draw upon resources in social environments to meet goals, manage career and personal challenges, and prevent behavioral health problems.

Environment - We Create an Active Learning Training Environment

Deliberately creating and sustaining a supportive learning environment is critical to shifting norms and to allowing participants to organically connect actions to outcomes.  Social Network Health uses an Experiential Active Learning style approach that emphasizes:

  • Allowing participants to have input and a voice.
  • Having a supportive environment free of judgment.
  • Preparing participants for change by letting them explore.
  • Participants gain confidence and support in the decisions they make.
  • All participants experience the positive and appropriate engagement of others.
  • Ensures Ecological Validity.

This training environment positively influences participant engagement, connectedness to protective guidance relationships, and learning outcomes.

Facilitation - We employ Process-Based Skills

Networks of Support facilitators deliver the training as an active participant, and must develop skills across several dimensions:

A. Model the behavior expected from the group.

  • Participate by being actively involved.
  • Be personally enthusiastic.

B. Master the content.

  • Keep narrative in line with goals - recognize valuable shares from participants and regularly link back to module themes.
  • Maintain focus on group learning rather than on Facilitators’ behavior by drawing out ‘real-world’ strengths from participants as a primary method.

C. Use operational best practices.

  • Adapt to the dynamics of a group.
  • Using high energy activities that maintain interest, motivation, and a shared positive emotion.
  • Engage participants.
  • Manage the time.
  • Implement ‘Real-world’ exercises inside and outside of training to reinforce the application of skills in groups and in the individual activities of daily life.

Training Strategies

Engaging in a collaborative leaning environments to develop protective social networks and strengths.

Personal Meaningfulness:

Each participant is invited to share personally relevant goals and values. Participants are able to express their personal identities in the group while experiencing group cohesion as there is a balance between group and individual identity. Personal values and motivations are drawn out from participants to increase engagement and real-life application. Individual voices are heard and respected.

Active and Distributed Learning:

SNH utilizes interactive and high-energy activities to maintain interest and create shared positive emotional experiences between participants. SNH concepts are applied in real life situations and learning is distributed over time and situations.

Peer to Peer Teaching:

Participants act as relevant and relatable role models to each other prevention concepts are taught through sharing ‘real world’ experiences and personal strength-based examples. In this way, each workshop is personalized to the language, experiences, and norms within the present group. Recognizing the strengths in the other group members contributes to overall cohesion.

Facilitator Skills

Engagement and Empowerment

(Active Learning, Personal Meaningfulness) This leads to meaningfulness, which has the power to change norms, create cohesion, and lead to positive outcomes
  • Early and Often
  • Facilitation starts as a participant walks in the room.
  • Get early shares.
  • Limited explanation at the beginning; "show before tell".
  • Use names
  • Refer back to shared stories
  • Clear, succinct instructions and questions
  • Ensure group is engaged prior to giving instructions.
  • Listen authentically
  • Giving respect to sharing.

Building Cohesion and Connection in Group

(Peer to Peer Learning)
  • Read the group
  • Spot individuals as good go-tos and who might need to be invited in further.
  • Be a thermostat, not a thermometer
  • Read the room and help adjust energy and cohesion as needed.
  • Regulation without judgment.
  • Make space for all voices (without putting people on the spot without an out)
  • Be aware of group separations or cohesion barriers (Invite inside jokes be shared)
  • Draw natural associations between participant shares and SNH concepts
  • Frequently capitalizing on opportunities to build consensus and shared experiences within the group (who else, raised hands, pointing out similarities in shares)
  • Prioritizing time and space for conversations and activities that happen between participants

Leading Group Discussion and Activities

(Active Learning and Peer to Peer learning)
  • Model expectations (often by example: sharing, depth of shares, energy, engagement)
  • Utilize body language, eye contact.
  • Scaffolding sharing
  • Time management
  • Course correction
  • Responding to sharing
  • Challenging/heavy shares.
  • Lengthy sharing.
  • Back pocket scripts for responding to shares/contingencies (Thank you for sharing that, it sounds like a very difficult experience. It also sounds like during that you had. [strength.]
  • Don't over process - let the participants words shine (don't land someone else's story/plane)
  • When to or not to restate (helping al participants hear, reframing a response to be on message).
  • Other ways to respond instead of over processing (thank you, yes).
  • It needs to be unpacked have participant unpack it.
  • Comfort with Silence
  • Avoid power struggles (don't get baited)
  • Simple questions and instructions with brevity.
  • Questions are scripted clearly and intentional
  • Needed materials ready and available

Fidelity to Program Science

(Active Learning, Peer to Peer Learning, Personal Meaningfulness)
  • Comfort with Concepts and Activities
  • Utilizing the clear questions as scripted.
  • Preemptive damage control.
  • Asking questions with risky responses.
  • Facilitator taking up too much space.
  • How to adapt if you lose your place, or forget an important part of a module.
  • Sequencing
  • Progression of activities and shares (intentional build up).
  • Progression of questions and depth of shares.
  • Understanding objectives of each concept/activity
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Outcomes:

Groups became increasingly unified, exhibiting a shared commitment to healthy norms, and actively encouraged peers in help-seeking behaviors, fostering a supportive environment where every member feels valued and understood.
Social Network Health's interactive training fostered an even more dynamic relationship network. Within these groups, vulnerable members can draw strength from adaptive members, leading to more changes in who they identify as valued connections.
Schools have reported significant improvements in various metrics, including increased daily attendance, higher graduation rates, enhanced identification of Trusted Adults, greater willingness to seek help, and improved connectedness among students and staff. Additionally, school disciplinary issues have notably declined, reflecting the program's positive impact on the school climate and student well-being.

Network Enhancing Facilitation Strategies

Creating an environment for collaborative learning to develop protective strengths and networks through:
  • Peer to Peer Learning
  • Personal Meaningfulness
  • Active and distributed Format
  • Authentic Connection

From Individual To Group Focus

  • Moving from a focus of individual skills to recognizing and developing group strengths.
  • Reflecting on how group strengths benefit individuals and the group.
  • Extending these benefits to the larger group.
  • Supports formation of key relationship and culture Intentional scaffolding.