Relationship Circle
What is the Relationship Circle tool?
What is important to someone will almost always include who is important to them. We can learn and record the important people in someone's life by having conversations and using the relationship circle person-centred thinking tool. It is common practice in social work with children and young people to record information about relationships and this is another way to capture this information with the person whom you are supporting.
A 'relationship circle' is particularly useful for exploring:
- whom a person knows
- how they know them
- who knows whom
- how these networks can help the person find opportunities and support to live the life they want.
These relationships can be represented as a
circle, or in columns, or as a spider diagram with the person at
the centre. However it is represented, it is vital to be clear not
just about who is in the person's life, but how important they are
to that person. Typically this is done by putting their name
or photo in the middle and the names of the people who are most
important in their life closest to them.
If you are doing this using the rings of a 'relationship circle' then the people in the closest ring would be people that the person loves; the second ring would be people the person likes; the third ring would be people the person knows; and the final ring would be people who are paid to be in that person's life, like support staff, hairdressers or GPs.
This process not only identifies who is important in the person's life, but can suggest how they can stay in contact with them and whether there is any support the person may need in keeping and developing those relationships. It can also show if there are other people with whom the person could share ideas, support or resources.
If people find that their relationship circle is not as full as they would like, then it can become a focus for action by asking: 'What would it take to increase the number and depth of your relationships?'
This tool helps:
- As a way to learn who is important to a person.
- As an exploration tool to see if there are any important issues around relationships.
- To identify who to talk to when developing a plan.
- To identify relationships that can be strengthened or supported
How can the Relationship Circle tool be used?
It works by identifying who is important to a person or family. It provides a starting point to actively seek to widen the connections and relationships that someone or a family has. It can also identify the nature of those relationships i.e. how someone knows the people in their life, and in particular the one person or people who are important to them.
Elsie is described by all who know her as 'the salt of the earth'. Her ability to connect with people means she was very close to her family and has many friends in her life. Elsie first developed dementia six years ago and is now bed-bound. Her family felt that it was important that Elsie stays connected with friends and family. Her support staff in the care home developed Elsie's relationship circle with her and her daughter Karen. Not only did it show who was important in her life and of whom she wanted to see more, it gave support staff a starting point in conversations and an at-a-glance guide to the other professionals working with her. The relationship circle was a way of showing all those involved in Elsie's care who is in her life and what role they could play in providing support. This contributed to improving Elsie's quality of life.
Ann Marie's story
Ann Marie lives on the south coast of England with four other people whom she has known since her childhood. They are supported by a local learning disability provider who is working to personalise its services. There are 16 people in the staff team which supports Ann Marie and her co-tenants. Naturally, Ann Marie gets on better with some people than others. Lynne, the manager, used a version of the relationship circle with Ann Marie to find out which staff she liked the most and by whom she wanted to be supported. Ann Marie put three staff members in the circle closest to her, the rest of the staff in the next circle out, and the last staff member in the furthest circle to her. She made it clear that she had three staff members that she really wanted to support her, and one that she did not want to assist her at all. Lynne used this information to develop a personalised rota for Ann Marie, based around her favourite three staff and ensuring that the staff member that she did not like, was not on the rota at all.
Videos and Stories
Houston's circle meeting.
Advocate Kelly helps Houston at his circle meeting.
Jennie's circle of support.
Introducing Jennie's circle of support and how they meet together
to think with Jennie about her transition into adult life.
Damian's relationship circle.
Damian uses his relationship circle to help him think about who is
important in his life and how to invite them to his person-centred
review.
Related materials
A practical Guide to Delivering Personalisation, Person-Centred Practice in Health and Social Care.
This book will show how to deliver personalisation
through simple, effective and evidence-based person-centred
practice that changes people's lives and helps them achieve the
outcomes they want. It covers why person-centred practice is
relevant to the personalisation agenda and what person-centred
thinking and person-centred reviews are, introducing the tools that
can help you carry them out. It also explores the relationship
between person-centred plans and support plans, and how
person-centred practice can be used in the journey of support
through adulthood - from prevention or the management of long-term
health conditions to reablement, recovery, support in old age and
at the end of life. There is also a chapter on taking a
person-centred approach to risk.
Person-Centred Thinking Minibook
A
pocket sized, quick reference minibook of person-centred thinking
tools. This includes: sorting what's important to/for us; the
doughnut sort; sorting what's working/not working; communication
chart; like and admire; relationship circles; learning log.
Produced in partnership with The Learning Community for
Person-Centred Practice.
Person-Centred Cards
These handy cards provide information on a range of person-centred thinking tools. Each card suggests the benefits of using the tools with individuals and organisations, and has step by step instructions.
All materials are available from the HSA Press website or by calling 0161 442 8271.
Related Courses
Person-Centred Thinking Skills, click here to find out more.
Blogs
The Relationship Circle tool is regularly discussed in our blog section.
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