Group Counseling Reflection

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

Jacobs, E. E., Masson, R. L., Harvill, R. L., & Schimmel, C. J. (2012). Group counseling: Strategies and skills (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

I have learnt the importance of good communication and how it is essential for building trust. (Spouse et al 2008). I did feel a little vulnerable however but experience gave me the confidence to give the correct level of information. I have learnt that I need to show sensitivity and give the correct amount of information that was required to facilitate their reassurance.

I learned two significant things about group counseling in this course. The first thing that I learned is the importance of setting up a treatment plan. The intention is to follow the client from their entrance into the program until the client is discharged. In this process the clients’ problems are identified through various assessments and as each problem is addressed, it is checked off of the list. Once all of the problems are checked off of the list, the client is considered as having completed the plan. This plan is especially important because it evokes thoughtful conversation between the client and the counselor and is the best method to gain information from the client regarding the help they want to receive. The second most significant thing that I learned about group counseling is how to design a group from start to finish. From pre group design, planning the goals of the group and determining the members to setting up the environment and structuring the sessions, each step adds its own important components to designing group counseling.

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

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.

As I began the Group Process and Dynamics course, I was excited to become educated and experienced with group counseling. Group counseling is a topic I have enjoyed in the past and have continued to be fascinated by. I have learned the elements of a group process through observation and research. The group process consists of several elements that come together when the group begins and ends when the group is terminated. I have observed group norms, group cohesion, the generation of trust, the manifestation of resistance, the emergence of conflict and resolution, healing forces, the reactions of group members, and the various stages a group develops through (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2010). Throughout this course, I was able to derive a conceptualization of groups. From this course I will take with me the understanding of how effective group counseling can be for individuals. Groups have been known to be as effective as individual therapy and a great source of treatment. Group counseling is designed as a part of a treatment plan that helps individuals and guide them through change. Group counseling is a versatile practice, which can be used in several settings and with different populations (Corey et al., 2010). This course has given me the opportunity to reflect on my own personal leadership style, the challenges that may arise, and an action plan to continue my group leadership knowledge and skills.

The goal of a counselor or my session is to help the client identify the problem that effecting her. Here is to offer techniques and strategies for dealing with her issues. Incorporate techniques and skill to the client. The goal to client is to get help for the student to learning how to cope with other I used a positive feedback. . I begin to focus on the behavior of student during the session. The counselor should make the session a two way communication process to find a solution to the problem.

In the past few years, community agencies have increasingly used groups since various groups have become a common feature of today's society. Some of the most common groups in today's society include groups for women, men, parent education, children, HIV/AIDS support, and those for reducing substance abuse. Due to the increased use of groups by communities, there are various approaches that have emerged including group counseling and group psychotherapy. Group counseling is a designed preventive and remedial approach to meet the needs of specific population in the society like women, men, the elderly, adolescents, and children. On the contrary, group psychotherapy is a re-education process of the present and past through conscious and unconscious awareness.

Looking for new and more effective ways to treat the issues of their clients, counselors and therapists may often begin to consider leading a group therapy session. Group therapy is a form of therapy in which a therapist either treats or provides psychoeducational skills to a small, carefully planned target group of individuals in an effort to ameliorate the issues and dysfunctions of each individual in that particular group of patients together (Scheidlinger, 2004). In this group, therapists often utilize some of the psychotherapy theories such as Gestalt, transactional analysis, psychotherapy or psychodrama which they often use to treat clients individually.

Group counseling may be adverted to as a course of counseling, which takes a group of people coming together under one or more trained therapists, who simultaneously facilitate them and promote them to help one another to overcome their challenges. The group members are usually peers who may not necessarily face the same problem, but their problems may be linked. According to Jacobs, Masson, Harvill and Schimmel (2012), all members in a counseling group wish and desire personal growth. This kind of therapy has been employed over the years and it has produced excellent results in the lives of the group members.

The counseling session goes through various characteristics. At the very earliest stage, the participants test the new relationship with the leader and with each other, and the leader, in a way, experiments too with the new relationship with the participators assessing which techniques would be best to employ with them and whether or not there is a match. As with all acquaintances, some work and some do not, and the earliest stages of the group session are a prelude to the future of the success of the group. Exploration is tentative, members learn the rules of this new game and the leader, in turn, learns how to act with participators.

Sanders (2011) argues that “By talking about ourselves as honestly as we can in a safe environment and listening to the feedback from others, we can check whether the view we have of ourselves is the one received by others” (Sanders, 2011, p61). Feedback not only raises our awareness to what we say but, and perhaps more importantly, how we say it - our non-verbal communication. The influence of non-verbal communication on a clients view of their counsellor can be taught, but I was amazed at just how unaware I was of my own body language. During my first few triads I could not control my hands, eventually opting to sit on them which was perceived as uncomfortable and a result of my nervousness. “Receiving feedback gives us a chance to change and modify in order to communicate more effectively” (Tolan & Lendrum, 1995, p30) and creates awareness of the importance of effective communication when building a genuine relationship with your client. Receiving feedback can also raise our awareness of the value of receiving genuine feedback itself, as well as a need to sensitively communicate feedback to others. This also creates a greater sense of empathy toward others.

In the grief support group I co-lead with a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and supervised by a Master of Social Work I learned how to facilitate a meeting. The LPCC taught me the person-centered approach and the social worker taught me to monitor client’s progression of goals. She allowed me to take lead, to link members together by similarities they share, and to give members homework. The LPCC believed in self-disclosure, she demonstrated this for me in a fantastic manner the social worker I was with did as well. Teaching me that it is great to self-disclose when appropriate and when it will benefit the progression of the group or for them to feel comfortable trusting the leader. In my group sessions I did not deem self-disclosure appropriate to use. How I will translate this is to be aware of my clients, to ask them what goals they hope to achieve, and for them to keep journals of progress. I will create a safe atmosphere for clients to speak, provide affirmation, and help clients set and maintain goals.