WHY GROUPS?

Groups

Why have a class on groups?

Why do you think I added a section on group counseling?

Because group counseling in general, as opposed to any particular type of group counseling, is a very powerful approach to counseling.

The ideal is usually for a client to receive both individual and group counseling.

This ideal is often not practiced because of reluctance on the client’s part &/or expense.

There is a lot of theory which applies expressly to group counseling as a general approach.

You will learn some of it today.

Group Types

Task groups -- each of you who does a presentation will be participating in a hybrid of a task group and a psychoeducational group.

Psychoeducational groups Counseling groups Therapy groups

What do you think a client might get from group counseling that they would not get from individual counseling?

They might get some of the therapeutic factors and the Rogerian conditions which are underlined on the next two slides:

Yalom’s Therapeutic Factors

Instillation of hope Universality Imparting information Altruism The corrective recapitulation of the primary family group Development of socializing techniques Imitative behavior Interpersonal learning Group cohesiveness Catharsis Existential factors Some add Love

Process groups and the here-and-now.

Yalom’s groups tended to be process groups which specialized in the here-and-now.

Who knows what process is -- as opposed to content?

Six assumptions of process focused groups:

1.  Most problems are interpersonal in nature;2. Family experiences are the primary source of

interpersonal process; 3. A group will reactivate people’s interpersonal

processes; 4. Here-and-now relationships within a group can

bring about change and healing of past and present psychological damage;

5. In order to endure, interpersonal learning must be experiential;

6. Sustained change can happen within a short time. (Chen and Rybak, 2004)

Rogers and Groups

Rogers found that if he treated group members with the six necessary and sufficient conditions for positive change, they came to treat themselves and others in the group in those six ways.

Rogers thought that group therapy was probably the most potent social invention of the 20th century (Rogers, 1970).

Rogers continued:

Rogers thought it important that the leader, now generally called the facilitator, facilitate the expression of both thoughts and feelings, which meant that the facilitator must be comfortable with both and ready to attempt to understand and re-state the cognitive and emotional content of members’ statements.

Group Roles

Group Building and Maintenance Roles, Positive Social Emotional Roles.

Group Task Roles (Instrumental Roles).Individualistic Roles (Negative Social-

Emotional Roles).

Group Dynamics:

During my year at PSU, the psychology department has offered a class in group dynamics, but not in group counseling.

The Graduate School of Education, in its Master’s in Counseling programs, offers classes and experience in group counseling.

Does anyone know if group counseling classes are offered anywhere else at PSU?

I have a book entitled “Group Dynamics,” but I have not read it.

Can anyone tell me what a class in “group dynamics” might cover?

Group Dynamics, continued:

One aspect of group dynamics is that if you get a group of people together to do a task, some will do most of the work; some will coast; and some will do very little work at all.

Last term, some students/members dropped out of their presentation and some showed up but did little work.

Do not be too quick to resent this.I have seen the same people do most of work on one

group project, and turn around and do the least the next time, and vice versa – for reasons that may be beyond their ability to diagnosis or control.

Group Leadership and Co-Leadership.

It is generally thought that for all purposes, co-facilitators are better than a lone facilitator.

For some purposes, co-facilitators are required. For example, Oregon requires one male and one female facilitator for each domestic violence offender group.

Qualities of a Good Group Leader:

Real.Present.Gives feedback and encourages others to give

feedback.Empathic.Able to self-disclose appropriately.Encourages each member to be a co-leader.Self-differentiated.

Leadership Functions:

Caring, Energizing, Meaning attribution, Organization & executive skills.

Caring and meaning attribution have a linear relationship with leadership ability: the more of the skill the leader demonstrates, the better s/he is likely to be. Energizing and organization have a curvilinear relationship: more is better to a point, then more is worse. For example, too little organization might result in chaos, but too much might result in members losing initiative and a sense of responsibility.

Facilitator’s roles:

Organize the group.Get the group going.Get it re-started when it lags.Bring individual meetings to a close.Termination: bring and the entire group to a

close. For probationary groups, e.g. domestic

violence groups, one role is reporting to the probation officer and the court.

Facilitator-participant

Groups provide an opportunity to practice equality and dialogue. In Group Leadership Skills (2004), Chen and Rybak take the position that the ideal role for a group leader is the role of facilitator-participant, giving as much power to the members as possible.

Closest Rogers got to a true I-thou relationship.

The Quality of the Therapeutic Relationship

Yalom found that (as is true for individual therapy) the quality of the relationship between the members and the group facilitator was the principal determinate of client satisfaction and progress – not the theoretical approach.

Stages in Group Development

FormingStorming NormingPerformingAdjourningWhat do you think each of these terms means?

Resistance

Intellectualization.Questioning.Passive resistance.Absence: missing group meetings or arriving late.Advise giving.Band-Aiding.Dependence and co-dependency behaviors.“Help-rejecting complainers” (Yalom, 1995).Monopolizing.Attacking the group leader.

Conflict in Groups

InevitableBut if well handledIt leads to individual and group growth.

Special groups

DBT.AA.Domestic violence.Anger management.

Native American Groups

Many Native American cultures value cooperation over individualism, therefore,

Group counseling may work better with Native Americans if the group respects their culture and is open to learning about it.

Open vs. Closed Groups

What is the difference?

Dangers of Groups

Group think.What is group think and how would you avoid

it?

Encourage each member to become a co-facilitator as well as a member.

The End