Introduction. The Following Paper Reflects The Outcomes

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

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

Moreover, in my EPC 658 Seminar In Group Counseling, I had an assignment in which I had to develop and facilitate a psychoeducational group at my field site. Therefore, I had the opportunity of playing the role of a group leader. As a group leader, I had to be cognizant of the population I was working with. I was facilitating a psychoeducational group for first-generation college students at East Los Angeles College (ELAC). I was aware that this population tends to be very quiet and hesitant about speaking up about their problem or feel that what they are experiencing is normal because they have been faced with it all their lives. Therefore, one of my goals was to get students to feel comfortable in sharing and feel supported. The goal of this group was to provide support and offer a space where they

The topic chosen for this particular group therapy was self-care amongst college students. I chose this particular population due to the fact that I am in college and understand the importance of taking care of one’s self. As a college student certain times in the semester can be overwhelming causing students to stress frantically. Handling responsibilities such as internships, deadlines, homework, and final projects can become tiresome for a student. With such a high demand work schedule, students forget about the importance of keeping up their self-care. As a result, students are left feeling physically, emotionally, and mentally drained. Moreover, the most appropriate type of group would be an educational group. An educational group works with individuals in a group session by teaching a set of specific skills and techniques that can be utilized in a person’s life. As the educational facilitator of this group, I was able to educate the members in my session with specific tactics that can be applied in their college career. In brief, the three most important tactics to promote self-care are, managing stress, socializing, and maintaining an adequate diet.

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.

Group therapy has been used for many years as a therapeutic method in which members can offer support and understanding for each other. It can be defined as two or more people, who share common issues, meeting and interacting face-to-face to help one another reach an identifiable goal. There are several types of group therapy, one that I will be discussing in this paper is the self-help group. In recent years, self-help groups have increased in number and credibility. Members can speak freely about their experiences, while receiving advice and support from others, which in turn, can help them realize that they are not alone in their struggles. In this paper, I will analyze my observational experience of two self-help groups, Alcoholics Anonymous,

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.

Many feelings, fears, and anxieties, such as fear of judgment and silence, come to mind when I think about group counseling. Unlike individual counseling, most of my thoughts and feelings will be shared among my fellow classmates and clients during group counseling, which is quite scary to me. I fear my classmates will judge me when I start talking about my life and problems during group. I have dealt with anxiety, including social anxiety, most of my life. I do not like talking in front of people because I fear they will judge me. I often find myself stuttering or getting my words mixed up when talking to a crowd of people. This anxiety has gotten somewhat better since I have started the program, however, I fear it will

As I reflect upon my experience as a group leader, both in my co-leader position facilitating a group on assertiveness and my lone facilitative effort to utilize a technique called Autobiography, I was able to recognize three main therapeutic factors. The first was the factor of imparting information which included educational instruction about assertiveness directly seen in the co-led group. The second, therapeutic factor that was created not only by the facilitators, but by the group members was cohesion, which remained evident in both the co-led group and the one person facilitated exercise. Lastly, universality was also quite clearly recognized in both group assignments.

This paper describes the headline findings from Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on the extent of, and trends in, domestic abuse among the black women in the United Kingdom aged 18 to 45, who are the resident in households of England and Wales. Domestic abuse includes a number of various forms of physical as well as non-physical abuse consisting of partner and family abuse, sexual assault and stalking. The abuse can be either of the victim-offender relationship or of the abuse in itself. In the year ending March 2011 CSEW, a split sample experiment was started to test a set of alternative questions on domestic abuse (Olesen, 2011).

An important part of our learning and growing experience must stem from our ability to analyze and reflect upon the groups that we have been members in. This reflection can define our understanding of the weaknesses both in ourselves and in the others within our group; and it can help to shape the way that we act in future groups. Adjusting ourselves to compensate for our weaknesses, based upon an honest and thorough examination of our actions within a group setting, is one of most important thing for any person to do. It is only through this evaluation that we can improve ourselves and our interactions with others. This paper will examine a group that was required to make an important decision about adding a new member

Now, I feel like I actually think about issues in a deeper manner than before and at times I have changed my view of things. The group discussions really helped me understand more even though I did not talk much when we would have them. It made topics a little more interesting especially when people would bring things up that I would never think of. Basically, showed me how to see things in a different

Group counseling not only allows for members to learn from their therapist, it also allows for them to learn from personal experiences of other members and to gain insights and ideas on the issues they are confronting. Group counseling also helps in improving social skills among the members as they are able to interact freely in and out of the group. This way members can be more confident and open to interactions during the sessions. Group therapy influences growth and change to those involved. Also, it increases their self-awareness and enables them to gain sustenance from each other. Group counseling is also favorable to the therapist as they are able to gain faster and more efficient results for their members by counseling them simultaneously rather than one at a time. Jacobs, Mason, Harvill and Schimmel (2012) describe group counseling

Final phase in group therapy can create apprehension for some members. The establishment of basic trust, acquaintances of other group members, and the social interaction after establishing a group may be over whelming and crucial for some, therefore it is vital that group leaders can educate members how to process termination and closure in group relations (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2010).

Looking more into the skills I was able to use, I was surprised by the amount I employed. A few of those include: asking open-ended questions, active listening, teamwork, and organization. Starting with my ability to ask open-ended questions, I was able to use these when we were waiting for the session to start, and when discussing the book during each session. I was able to notice right away when I had asked a closed-ended question, which I would follow with an open-ended question. I also noticed that I grew in my understanding of the flow of questions, and how to stay on track. Following this, I found that I was able to use active listening in various ways throughout the group meetings. I was