Group Reflection

During this group session, the patients were asked to identify common relapse triggers and verbalize ways in which they can avoid their triggers. The patients were provided with a handout on triggers and educated on alternative methods to avoid their triggers.The patient was oriented x 3. The patient reported that feelings of depression and being bored has caused him in the past to relapse. He shared that he is ready to be clean and is aware of his triggers. He further shared that he goals are to engage in outside activities that can help occupy his timeThe patient was oriented x 3. He actively participated in the group discussion. The patient identified his triggers as his relationship with his family members. Throughout the session, the patient

Considering that this was my first time, the purpose of the group is to address any PTSD symptomatology and invite all members to participate in group discussion about any related issues or topics. The group doesn’t seem structured or formatted in any way. I believe it meets the pt’s where they are and goes from there.

If you want a job done right, do it yourself. I have been guilty of approaching my job and many aspects of my personal life with this philosophy. I also enjoy the camaraderie of the team environment and enjoy working in a team environment, but it needs to be the right team. A critical assessment of my attitude towards group work is reflected in both philosophies. Teamwork is necessary but has always seemed flawed and ineffective. Someone still had to carry the burden and do most of the work. Looking back to when I first began this course, I was hopeful to learn more about the mechanics of groups and possible ways to promote positive teamwork. I expected to learn the theories behind organizational work groups regarding management, perhaps by doing case studies. I was not expecting to complete a group project; I had not previously heard of working collaboratively online to produce a combined paper.

Hands shaking, eyes rolling, flipping through the syllabus, I prepared myself for the group Organized Act of Kindness project. Group projects have always been dreadful for me; in high school, I was almost always the sole effort within the group. Unfortunately, due to my negative past experiences, I had a relatively negative fixed mindset going into the OAK project. Luckily, the other members of my OAK group were productive, friendly, and helpful; their attitudes and efforts helped me change my mind about group projects. By agreeing that we were all going to complete certain tasks and put in a certain amount of effort, we created a productive work environment in which we knew that no single person would be left to do the heavy lifting. Despite some bumps in the road along the way, our OAK project was ultimately a success and left us feeling positive and much closer as friends. Learning about group dynamics in class has opened my eyes and allowed me to realize that the members control how the group functions. My newfound understanding of group dynamics has translated to other aspects of my life, as I now see my role in group efforts in everything that I do.

If I could summarize my group proposal experience in three works it would be patient, organized, and accomplished. My group proposal experience was not that bad. However, I did have to be patient and wait for other members to submit their work. I also had to be patient and see when we could meet because some of my group members did not show up for group meetings. I also felt like the majority of my group was not participating and getting work done. My group was some what organized because we had a checklist of the materials we had to submit and complete. My group was also able to accomplish our binder on time because we had to pull each other's weight. The only good thing I can say about my group is that they are nice

I actively participated in the assignment throughout the whole process. After plenty of research on literature reviews, I devoted to extract from the former two parts and then produced the suggestions for future research related to the audit reporting model. I joined every discussion and came up with possible solutions to the problems with the topic. I followed the schedule to present my part punctually so that other group member could continue to revise the research. During the assignment period, I sometimes insisted in my own opinion, which is not appropriate for group work. Fortunately, I was persuaded through communication and change my incorrect views.

When working as a team, the lead interpreter’s “process is buoyed by the additional information fed by the second, and guided to a more accurate and conclusive interpretation. It actively supports the overall performance” (Kinsella, 1997, p. 115). My colleague provided me with strong, helpful support offering me enhancing feeds, corrections, and confirmations, that all aided in the improvement of my interpretation. While some of how she gave me assistance, and some of how I requested information differed from our pre-assignment discussion, as whole, I feel we worked together effectively, and this was a good experience to dissect how we functioned as a team.

As the leader of the group leader, I would have to be extremely careful when working with transference and counter transference. I would not get defensive if I noticed the member of the group being negative towards me in the open, and I would utilize my self-reflection techniques to question myself about what is going on in the group in efforts to not put what is happening in the group on the group, but to search within myself for answers. I would also speak with one of my mentors about what is taking place within the group.

Throughout my years in graduate school, I found myself with many opportunities to work on group projects. I always found these projects to be a rewarding experience because it was not only an opportunity to contribute my experience and ideas to the project but also listen to experience and ideas of my teammates. However, working on a group project also meant making sure to examine the work of my teammates and vice-versa. So for each group assignment, I always made sure to follow certain guidelines I laid out for myself in order to get the assignment completed.

Today, I co-facilitated a group at the alternative school. I began the group with a recap of what was discussed last week, and I asked the members to name one thing they took from the group on last week. One member stated she learned how to demonstrate self-control when she is angry. Another member stated he also learned how to demonstrate self-control. He gave an example that occurred this weekend. He stated he got into trouble at home, and his mother made him angry. He stated instead of “going off”, he took a deep breath and walked away. He stated he went in his room to calm down. I felt successful in being able to assist the members with identify coping skills they can utilize when they are angry. It was very rewarding to hear the members disclose what they learned in last session, and how they have utilized at least one of their coping skills since last time we met.

I participated in two groups while attending college. I attended one about psychology and the mind while I was in Community College. In this group was more about helping out the community. In this group we reached out to different agencies and volunteered and helped out in any way that we could. One of our major projects was getting together with the culinary arts at the community college and the Center Against Sexual and Family Violence (CASFV). This project consisted of having the culinary arts prepare a thanksgiving meal to these women and children that were not going to be having a thanksgiving dinner. This organization was very positive and always participating in events and project to help out others. When belonging to this group

Partaking in group counseling is imperative because it allows members to work on personal development and receive feedback in a supportive and safe environment. Consequently, participating in group counseling class has given me the opportunity to learn more about myself, and allowed me to become comfortable disclosing my thoughts and private information, something I usually do not share with strangers. This group class was stimulating and helped me work on my personal growth. Our group consisted of 10 diverse members, including myself. My group members were, Dr. Uellendahl, the facilitator for the first half of group class, Sergio, Angine, Rosa, Anabel, Veronica, Roy, Andrew, and Mathew. Meetings were held every Wednesday, on the CLU main

During the last group session, the group discussed the topic of the upcoming termination of the group therapy dynamic. There were two insights that were experienced and maybe a couple more during this last meeting. The first insight was when the group members were asked how they are feeling that the end of the sessions is on the horizon. The immediate reaction for myself was that I felt good and bad. The good was that this meant that the semester was coming to and end and my body and mind needs a much-deserved break. The workload was not the issue; however, this semester has been a trying one personally with family concerns being added. Furthermore, learning how to lead a group and the experience of being led in a group has benefited my learning tremendously. In that now I understand further wanting it means to be on the other side of counseling. Earlier in the program the experienced gain by being put in the chair has made a similar impact on being put in the group dynamic has added that fragile and scared feeling that is not maximized by the counselor and the client encounter. The group practice is a completely different animal in that not only does the person have to trust the group leader they have to learn to trust the group. The negative part about leaving the group sessions behind is that I really learned about my fellow students and have been entrusted with personal issues that not too many other people in their lives might be informed on.

I completed this reflection process using Gibb’s reflective cycle. I am grateful to my lecturer and fellow class members for helping me through this experience.

Knowing how to facilitate a group is a vital skill for social workers to have, as there are very few branches of social work that will not require the skills to be used at some point. Throughout the course of the semester, Social Work With Groups has taught us how to lead groups through the use of theory and practice. For the practical element of the class, we were given the opportunity to facilitate a group on the topic of stress for university students. My partners, Ashley and Megan, and I decided that we wanted to focus our specific group on healthy living and its relationship with stress. We all chose different aspects of healthy living for each of us to facilitate. We led our group on Monday, November 13th. While I feel that my facilitation did not go as well as I had hoped, I learned a lot from my experience of facilitating, participating and observing, from the material provided in the course, and now I am able to understand the implications of what I have learned on my future as a social worker.