The key ideas expressed in Lisbon during the Comworkshop and Open Days in May from the Collectif Kelvoa. The starting point for a new approach to accompaniement and guidance with Young pepople in NEET situation. Text organized by André Chauvet.
A deliberative, cooperative and strategic approach to accompaniment (conselling, guidance..).
1 Philosophy and principles of action
1-1 A philosophy
Accompanying means to implement in what we believe and guide us in our action. This is to give expression to a conception of the person:
➢ The presumption of resourced and able person
We thus refer to the capable vulnerable man valorized by Paul Ricoeur. This implies centering on what it can mobilize (which may be invisible in his own eyes) rather than its deficits or gaps that he must compensate.
➢ A person connected to others, social, solidarian, and at the same time prepared to give and benefit from support. Which protects her for solitude and allows to contribute in its measure to “society.”
➢ A comprehensive approach to the person, located and integrated in an environment, not reducible to their age, status, sex, its temporary difficulties but whole person can exercise his freedom, emancipation from its constraints and benefit from his rights.
1-2 A specific approach to accompaniement
The accompanying purposes
To provide support for a person to do something that would be more difficult without this support, the nature of that support is essential to define. This is not to do in his place, to position expert to replace it due to a passing vulnerability
This is not to return to his free will because it can be impoverished in its decision with regard to a difficulty understanding the resources that are put at his disposal. Or any reason to own this person in this situation.
It is good to allow the person:
• To exercise the freedom to live a life that has value in his own eyes
• Know the rights of his own but make effective in its own situation
• To exercise a power to act in its extent and its location
• To preserve the balance which it holds (personal ecology)
• To make the tests, to be open to possibilities, to take acceptable risks and judge itself of the benefits obtained or created imbalances
• To discover many points of view and to change views as necessary for it.
Principles
Act as professional support in this context is to accept:
• Whether the process is not linear
• Whether it is going to happen is not predetermined
• What assumptions are built in collaboration, on the way
• Whether the person remains expert of her situation, and involved free of its options and decision-making
• But the support that is offered to make this accessible and mobilizing responsibility, not guilt or terrifying
This implies integrating iterativity and the surprise of “walking together” to cooperate in the process.
2- A practical accompaniment
To illuminate the actual practices can decline this philosophy, this approach and these principles around three themes: a process, posture and professionalism
2-1 A process
The term is defined as a “walking together” by integrating detours and surprises as opposed to a procedure would suffice to reproduce to ensure the result. The coaching process involves:
• A holistic model, global, systemic
• A sense of balance to find and dynamic to drive more than to achieve results in the short term. This does not mean that concern for the effectiveness and efficiency do not guide action. But the service recipient is the person in its singularity.
• An improvement of the power of action (the first step, Kaizen), contribution and initiative
• An open approach allows the person to broaden its perspectives
• A valuation of its resources more an identification of what to compensate
• A provision of the relevant resources in the situation of the accompanied person
• An appeal to social support and exercise solidarity
2-2 Posture
• The coach ensures the quality and relevance of the proposed methodological process, negotiated deliberate
• It does not seek to exercise its power of expertise to get the person to adopt her views
• It is aware of having resources or other points of view to make available to the person
• Valuations are constantly negotiated
• There is cooperation, joint construction and deliberation
• It offers continuous regulation in advanced process
• This structure supports, equips, encourages, enlightens
• He is involved as a person in this support while clarifying what is the order of its business and the limitations of the device in which it operates
In all cases, the person is an expert of her situation.