Group Counseling

Group definition

A group of two or more people who meet together face to face and work interdependently with awareness that each belongs to the group and is working on achieving mutually agreed upon goals

Yalom's Curative Factors (HUIACDIIECG)

1. Instilling hope
2. Universality
3. Imparting information
4. Altruism
5. Corrective recapitulation of family experience
6. Development of socializing techniques
7. Imitative behavior
8. Interpersonal learning
9. Existential learning
10. Catharsis
11. Gr

Instilling hope

Faith that group counseling can help - instilling a sense of optimism by seeing others who make more progress

Universality

belief that you are not alone - allows them to see other groups members who struggle and have issues

Imparting information

Didactic instruction; help to educate and empower people with knowledge relating to their specific situation

Altruism

opportunity to gain a sense of value by helping someone else

Corrective recapitulation of family experience

provides for resolution of family of origin issues within the safety of group; identifying and changing dysfunctional patterns

Development of socializing techniques

social learning and developing interpersonal skills, empathy, tolerance, etc

Imitative behavior

Adopting behavior of others who are functioning more adequately

Interpersonal learning

Receiving feedback from others and learning and trying out new ways of relating

Existential factors

recognition of basic features through sharing, like death, aloneness, responsibility

Catharsis

releasing suppressed feelings and promoting healing by disclosing information to group

Group cohesion

receiving and giving suggestions for handling problems; give group members a sense of belonging and acceptance

Stages of Group (Tuckerman)

Forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning

Stages of Group (Corey)

Pre-group, initial, transition, working, final

Initial/Forming

group members become oriented to the group and each other

Transition/Storming

Anxiety and ambiguity reign as group members struggle to define themselves and group norms; may be conflict

Working/norming

A therapeutic alliance forms; trust between members has been established. Transition stage and working stage may merge together; as group takes on new challenges, deeper level of trust can be achieved. Conflicts may emerge as group evolves. All members ma

Working/performing

deeper level of exploration; builds on significant work done in the initial and transition stage; maturity and self exploration increase.

Final/Adjourning

Work around ending group; dealing with termination and separation, identifying unfinished business, creating action plans

What impact does normalization have?

During the working stage, as cohesion increases, group members are able to see commonalities and are struck the universality of their experiences; as members realize and acknowledge their shared experiences, they understand they are not alone and their ex

What is group cohesion?

Group cohesion is a therapeutic factor in an effective working group providing a climate in which members feel free to do meaningful work; characteristics include a climate of support, bonding, sharing experiences, mutuality within the group, a sense of b

Different types of groups

Task, psychoeducation, counseling, psychotherapy, brief

Task groups

common in community, business, and education settings. Task forces, committees, planning groups, staff development. Focus is the application of group dynamic principles and processes to improve practice and to foster accomplishment of identified work goal

Psychoeducation

focus on developing members' cognitive, affective, behavioral, skills through a structured set of procedures within and across group meetings. Deals with imparting, discussing, and integrating factual information. Often found in both school and community

Counseling

Deals with conscious thoughts. focus on interpersonal process and problem solving strategies that stress conscious thoughts, feelings, and behavior. May be designed for prevention, development, or remediation purposes. Emphasizes interactive group process

Psychotherapy groups

help individuals remediate psychological problems and interpersonal problems of living. Often have acute or chronic mental or emotional problems that evidence marked distress, impairment of functioning, or both. Deals with unconscious thoughts. Aid indivi

Brief group therapy

Time limited, process orientation. Popular in community and school settings. Popular in time of managed care because it's brief. Realistic treatment goals and clear focus. Existential concerns, complicated grief, low achieving students.

Democratic leadership

Democratic Style leader creates a safe environment where group members can express their views, thoughts, and feelings w/out fear of being rejected or put down.
Members are encouraged to:
1. Be themselves
2. Deal with their differences thru problem-solvin

Characteristics of Democratic Led Groups

1. All policies are matter of group discussion and decision, encouraged and assisted by leader(in modified democratic-the leader will limit the discussion and be more directive)
2. Leaders guide the group rather than direct, are receptive to suggestions,

Autocratic leadership

Leader controlled, member participation in leading the group is minimal
"I know best" attitude by the leader - Is there a time when this style could be appropriate?
Characteristics of Autocratic Led Groups
1. All decisions are made by the leader
2. The fu

Group leadership skills (personal)

Self-Confidence-necessary toinspire confidence in group members
Responsibility-dependability,trustworthiness, and reliability.
Attending and Listening-truly focus on the other person and hear what is being said
Objectivity-must be able to think clearly an

Group leadership skills (professional)

Empathizing
Communicating understanding and promoting trust through the use of understanding statements by communicating an understanding of the feelings a group member might be having, a leader creates a feeling of connectedness and safety for the member

Pros of co-leadership

Pros / Advantages of having co leadership in group counseling are that it presents a solid united front to the members, takes pressure off to know there is a back - up, excellent ideas emerge through discussion, twice as much can get done, and you build a

Cons of co-leadership

Cons / Disadvantages of having co-leadership in group counseling are that decisions take longer to work out, you must be in constant communication, who prevails if there's disagreement?, and conflict may arise. It is often not economically feasible to hav

Benefits of open groups

Constant modification of group culture
Greater variety of resource and skill
Can be more creative and imaginative
Good for working on initiating, and terminating relationships Issues of separation, termination, inclusion; Issues around change adaptability

Drawbacks of open groups

Can be more unstable, less predictable
Lacks depth and intimacy - no cohesion
Sub?grouping, cliques, alliances may develop
Hard to balance immediate needs of the group members

Benefits of closed groups

Consistent and predictable
Can be more cohesive and intimate
Easier to balance immediate needs of the group members

Drawbacks of closed groups

Tendency to get into conformity and 'group think'
Lacks the range and variety of the open group
Less able to deal with change and adaptability
Limited opportunity to deal with termination issues

Value of pre-group

planning, leader preparation, recruiting, and screening and selecting group members.
Leader: identifies goals and purposes of group and announces the group. Potential group members are screened and selected. Practical, operational details are identified a