Group Counseling: A Therapeutic Group Analysis

If the therapist do not share the sense of immediacy with the client then the therapeutic connection may become broken and the therapist may loss the chance of helping the client with their issue. The last skill that a group therapist need to process is having the ability to build rapport and empathy by using appropriate self-disclosure. Often clients may feel that no one have experience an issue like theirs, during these moments appropriate self-disclosure to compare their issue with someone they trust and gain insight into understanding how the could get their own issue. Group therapist who possessed both competence in technique and in therapeutic skills are then able to build group cohesion. Yalom (2005) noted that group cohesiveness produces an affiliation between members by building a reinforcing loop that promotes trust, empathy, and acceptance among the group members (Yalom, 2005).

At one point in a person life, they will participated in a group whether it is part of a specific committee, therapy, or social group. In recent years, there has been a rise in counseling within a group forum veering from the tradition individual counseling. Therapists, physiologist, and counselors believe that form of counseling is beneficial to both counselor and client. This allows the counselor to help several clients at once rather than one at a time decreasing their strenuous workload and demanding work hours. This form of counseling integrate individual that share similar issues, struggles, and experiences into one forum. This not only allows the clients to learn from the therapist but from their fellow group members. The group experience

The process of running a group therapy session is a unique time to tests a person’s skills abilities when it comes to facilitating that group. This paper will mainly look at ways when it comes to my learning's of this class that I took ways; I will also show examples and skills to run a good group therapy session. This whole paper is a reflection of the many things that I took was on being an active group counselor facilitator.

Purpose of the group counseling varies from group to group. It can be therapeutic, educational, or helping people to make fundamental changes in their way of thinking, feeling and behaving (Corey, 2004, p. 7). Group counseling/therapy has the advantage of being more effective than individual therapy because, it more closely stimulates social interactions and interpersonal communication patterns than does individual counseling (Kottler, 2004, p. 260). The techniques and strategies use in group counseling are to help resolve members’ interpersonal conflict, promote greater self-awareness and insight, and help them work to eliminate their self-defeating

Groups have an impact on the lives of others daily. Through groups and or the building of groups one may have the opportunity to build relationships, increase in personal growth, and allow one another to get on an interpersonal level. When having the support of not only yourselves but also a group, it allows others to face change more effectively and explore those challenges with an assembly of people rather than being alone. When studying group counseling, a therapy approach that is believed to be the most effective when amongst one another, there are rules behind these meetings that hold the leaders and counselors responsible. This term is to be called ethics. To one

The first time I personally experienced attending a group therapy was part of my course. Through this experience i can say that group therapy can be very powerful in healing a person emotionally and since the members were from the same class, where we all have similar goals. Group therapy helped all of us to establish meaningful and intimate relationship and we also recognised commanality of members needs and problems and to develop a sense of bonding and we became very close and we could also be there for each other during emotionally trying times.It also helped me to increase self-growth, self acceptance and self –confidence among oneself and group members. Group therapy is a powerful venue for growth and change. It also helped me in expressing my emotions in a healthy way.

In 1975, Ivan Yalom identified eleven therapeutic factors that affect change in a client. These factors are as the following: altruism, group cohesiveness, universality, interpersonal learning – input interpersonal learning – output, imparting, information/guidance, catharsis, identification, family reenactment, self-understanding, installation of hope, and existential factors (Yalom, 2005). According to Yalom, the importance of various therapeutic factors depends on the type of the group therapy practiced.

Clients seek group therapy that is potentially a positive and supportive environment that is strong enough to withstand the challenges that may be thrown at a group or member of the group. The group is led by a leader that has the ability to listen to what is said, to support the progress of the group and to model the behaviors the group has set to achieve (Stevens & Smith, 2013).There are a variety of counseling skills necessary to effectively

Lea (2007) pointed out that group cohesiveness is associated with self-identity where group members can visualize themselves as being a part of a group. Gender is an example where identity is apparent cues. Men and women is expected to have different perspective and expected to disagree on a particular topic (Lea, 2007). Therefore, gender differences can weaken group cohesiveness. A study found that when group member feels accepted to the group, they have a tendency to do the thing that allows others to continue to accept them because other’s evaluation is more important than their own (Wongpakran, et al, 2013). In addition, Yalom (2005) stated that the more group members attract to the group the longer they will stay in group therapy; they will be less likely to drop out prematurely. It is evident that group cohesiveness is extremely important in group therapy as it is a core therapeutic factor that promotes a sense of belonging and allows the group members to continue to participate and benefit from therapy

A key factor to realize, group therapy is a method of therapeutic approaches based on information, analysis, and the exploration (emotional/environmental) conflicts of individuals of three or more coming together in a group setting. Hence, the forming of members in a group setting, which consist of individuals seeking answers or resolutions to isolation, vulnerability,

Group therapy requires an assembly of individuals and a trained professional functioning through corresponding dilemmas. There are copious amount of groups that work toward a variety of areas (Wieman, Raypole, & Telloian, 2013). Some individuals seek group treatment for (a)addiction, (b)depression, (c) anxiety, (d) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and (e) domestic violence. Groups can be open or closed. An open group allows anyone to attend, while a closed group is allotted to a certain number of people and no one else for a duration of time (Wieman et al., 2013). When an individual attends a group he or she will participate in activities to create a communicative environment, develop trust with other group members, and evolve as a person (Wieman et al., 2013).

Yalom (2005) argues that 12 main factors facilitate change in group psychotherapy. These include altruism, group

Counseling groups have the abilities to experience change, growth, confrontation, and acceptance in a completely different way than individual counseling. With the compilation of several different worldviews, life experiences, and situations, the group offers a powerful setting for exploration and knowledge, as well as support and learning opportunities. However, it is impossible to create a perfect group, and the consistent search for the ideal group could limit powerful interactions. Kealy, Ogrodnicuzk , Piper, and Sierra-Hernandez (2016) discussed the need to take “calculated risks in developing lively and productive groups,” (p. 313). They also discussed the caveat of excluding individuals who may add

Theory and Practice of Group Counseling provides readers with a comprehensive overview of the process, issues and interventions for working with, in and studying groups. It outlines the basic elements of the group process, addresses ethical and professional issues specific to group work and looks at different concepts and techniques governing eleven approaches to group counseling. The approaches addressed are; Psychoanalytical, Adlerian, Psychodrama, Existential. Person- Centered, Gestalt therapy, Transactional, Rational Emotive behavior, Cognitive behavioral, Reality therapy and Solution-focused brief therapy each of which is covered in a different chapter. Each chapter is supplemented with an Author lectures section at the end which provides information on DVD and online resources available from the author. The book is concluded with integration and application section as the author aims to assist readers in understanding the connection between theory and practice within group counseling.

Psychotherapeutic groups are very complex because of the multiple processes that group members go through to experience change. According to Yalom (2005), the term process in group therapy refers to the nature of the interacting relationships between individuals. For example, the group members and the therapist. Moreover, during the group process members experience multiple factors such as sharing the internal psychological worlds of each other, internal interactions, group-as-a-whole forces, and the clinical environment. Consequently, these previously mentioned factors all contribute to the group 's processes that yields towards change.