Bridgette Bielawski

Sit and Share

Sources:
Bielawski, Bridgette. Sit and Share. 2018. Temple University, Pennsylvania. Unpublished
paper.
Gale, C., & Davidson, O. (2007). Generalised anxiety disorder. BMJ : British Medical
Journal, 334(7593), 579–581. http://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39133.559282.BE
Souma, A., Rickerson, N. and Burgstahler, S. (n.d.). Academic Accommodations for Students
with Psychiatric Disabilities | DO-IT. Washington.edu. Retrieved from: https://www.was
hington.edu/doit/academic-accommodations-students-psychiatric-disabilities
Youth Group Games (n.d.). A Cold Wind Blows. Retrieved from: https://www.jubed.com/view/A
-Cold-Wind-Blows/?s=9

Equipment Needed:
- 13 Chairs (For 16 participants (for all but one); this number is subject to vary per group size)

Activity Description:
Prior to initiating the activity, the recreational therapist (RT) will arrange 14 chairs into a circular
formation and have each participant partner up into a group of two. The RT will then ask
participants for a group of two volunteers, and the volunteering participants will stand in the
center of the chairs. Upon doing so, the RT will instruct the volunteering participants to have the
remaining participants sit if the attribute the volunteers choose collaboratively applies to them;
for example, “take a seat if you are wearing a blue shirt”. Upon stating an attribute, the
participants this attribute applies to will hurriedly find a seat and their partners as a team and will
be forced to do the same, even if the attribute does not apply to them. The participants left
without seats in the middle will be asked to share one attribute they like about one another, and
the activity will resume again upon doing so. The activity can end when all participants have had
a turn to stand in the middle and share.

Primary Interaction Pattern:

Intergroup; action of a competitive nature between two or more intragroups. This interaction
pattern was chosen with the intent to promote familiarity and increase social support between
participants through identifying attributes (i.e. if the chosen attribute is “enjoying pizza”, the
team members sitting will learn that either one or both of each other enjoy pizza) as well as
complimenting one another regarding attributes.

Adaptation:
Participants who have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) may exhibit difficulty concentrating
on tasks as a result of intrusive thoughts. As a result, the RT facilitating this activity will ensure
each participant is within a partnered pair as research from the University of Washington
suggests that having a partner can assist with providing support when completing tasks. In
particular, the RT will remind participants prior to participation that each partnered pair are to
provide support to one another, such as for example a verbal cue—“we are both wearing blue, so
we have to find a seat!”—to assist in shifting concentration onto the task. In addition to this, as
all participants will have partners, this adaptation could lessen the likelihood that the participants
who have GAD will feel targeted or as though they “stick out” from others in contrast with being
the only ones with partners.