Wait!…We’re doing this Again?!, or ‘Wash, Rinse, Repeat’

Jami Osborne, LMHC, RfG-CT

December, 2025

 

The Benefits of Doing Enactments Multiple Times

One of the biggest challenges facing trainer/directors of action methods like RfG is knowing whether leading the enactment exercise one time is going to be sufficient for
helping the participants/clients.

The trainer guides a carefully chosen enactment. The group members play along, but the energy in the room feels ‘flat.’ Participants seem either confused as to why they did the activity, or unclear about what they were supposed to learn from the enactment. And the trainer’s confidence deflates, leading to less effective engagement with the group moving forward. This becomes a self-defeating cycle.

Much like washing one’s hair, sometimes one round isn’t enough. The shampoo instructions are clear: “Use a small amount, wash, rinse well, repeat.”

Sometimes, it is helpful to repeat the enactment, modifying the directions slightly, and asking the participants to ‘notice any changes in emotion or body sensations.’

The ‘Wash Rinse Repeat’ Cycle for RfG

• Wash: The Enactment: lead the enactment – participate in the enactment
• Rinse: PEP & assessment – what did I learn about the group members? What
  did the individuals learn about themselves?
• Repeat: The enactment again with new focus or instructions – notice what
  changes.

As we focus on teaching the Big 8 Core Enactments to RfG students, therapy clients, or non-clinical groups, allow yourself, as the trainer, to improvise! Think of modifications to the instructions for the chosen enactment that might elicit a new reaction for the participants. Here are just a few examples:

Presents:

Round 1:

• • Giver is instructed to offer a gift.
  • Receiver is instructed to accept the gift, imagine what it is and offer a delighted reaction to receiving that gift.
  • Ask giver to notice how it felt to give something unconditionally and have it received. [What emotion or body sensation do you notice?]
  • Ask receiver to notice how it felt to get something special without having to ask for it. [What emotion or body sensation do you notice?]

Round 2:

• • Giver is instructed to offer a gift.
  • Receiver is instructed to accept the gift, imagine what it is and offer a rejecting reaction to receiving that gift, either returning, refusing or tossing
    it away.
  • Ask giver to notice how it felt to give something unconditionally and have it rejected. [What emotion or body sensation do you notice?] Ask receiver to notice how it felt to get something you don’t like, or from someone you are not friendly with. [What emotion or body sensation do
    you notice?]
  • Repeat as many times as desired, changing the instructions slightly each time, and making sure to get feedback from the group members about their experiences in each
    round.

Mirrors:

Round 1: played in pairs as described in the RfG Practitioner Manual.

Round 2: if there are enough people, play with groups of 3, or add specific words or sounds, and ask the group members to report on what differences they experience.

 

Tug-of-War:

With 2 groups of 4 or more people

Round 1: basic instructions – just play & make it real. Ask how each felt about the outcome – to win or to lose.

Round 2: this time the loser gets to win! Ask how this felt.

Round 3: let the participants make the rule!

In addition to repeating enactments for the benefit of deepening group member experiences and insights, the trainer/therapist may want to redo an enactment to gain a broader understanding of how the individuals in the group react to one another or utilize the enactment for an assessment of client ‘clinical issues.’

Director/trainer notes:

Be clear about your goal for each version of the enactment, and why you are making the changes you make when you repeat it.

Consider these questions:

     What do you want the group members to experience? The goal of the enactment may vary from group to group, session to session or with each repeat of the enactment. If the trainer has a clear sense of desired outcome, the group members will have a corresponding insightful experience.

     What are you learning about the group members with each iteration of the enactment? If the trainer feels there is a need for more information about group members, repeating enactments with new instructions can elicit deeper experiences, and new details.

Remember, repetition aides learning– so, Wash, Rinse, Repeat!