Donington Training

The Six Categories of Intervention

John Talbut

The six categories are to do with the intention of the practitioner. In other words, they are six different ways in which I can intend to help another person. None of the categories is better than any of the others.

Support: When I choose to use interventions I am doing so solely to support the other person to learn what their wise self would say they need to learn. I want nothing for myself except that the other person is more in charge of their own life, more in their own power.

Warrant: Do I have the right to use this intervention with this client in these circumstances, me being how I am?

Appropriateness: What type of intervention might best help the other person to learn?

The six categories are described below with suggestions for possible interventions that might be used to help a child who is being affected by bullying at school.

Authoritative interventions

I intervene with some authority, which I have because of my role, or because of some knowledge or awareness that I have.

Informative

I intend to give some information to the other person.

Examples:

• Factual: "This is the school's policy on bullying ..."
• or it could be a possible way for the other person to deal with their problem "If you tell a teacher about it they will help you to sort it out."

Prescriptive

My intention is to encourage to other person to do something that I think will help them to learn how to deal with their problem.

Examples:

• Doing some research: "Make a list of the children that bully you and note the ways in which they are different from the other children."
• Or experimenting "Try standing firmly and giving good eye contact to children who are teasing you and see what happens."

Confronting

I intend to help the other person to become more aware of some limiting aspect of themselves or their behaviour that they are relatively unaware of. I sense that the person is likely to be upset about what I am about to make them aware of.

Examples:

• "I notice that you tend to push Amma about and say unkind things to her. That is bullying."
• The limitation may be that the person is not aware of something positive: "From what I hear most of the children in your class like you a lot."

Facilitative interventions

I try to facilitate, i.e. make easier, the other person's learning or self-development.

Catalytic

I intend to be a catalyst for the other person to work things out. In other words, I try to help them to make sense of things while not getting involved in the topics myself.

Examples:

• Asking questions: "What happened?"
• Echoing "He said 'You're stupid'."

Cathartic

I intend to help the other person to get in touch with their emotions and maybe to let them out (to discharge their emotions or cathart.).

Examples:

• "Tell me how you were feeling while he was doing this to you."
• "Show me what you would like to be able to do to her."

Supportive

I intend only to demonstrate my support for the other person so that they can get on with their learning in whatever way they want to.

Examples:

• "Hi, its good to see you."
• "I would really like you to be able to enjoy yourself at school."

Based on: Heron, John Helping the Client London: Sage

[ Donington Training ]

Updated 16th August 2017

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License