Pre-Group Assessment

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

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.

Rational for the Group: The need for conducting a group counseling program for adolescents is crucial because they are in a very critical stage in their life. Group couselling for

Dealing with these types of individuals can be very challenging to the leader and if not dealt with effectively, they can undermine the success of the group session. Although they can also happen in individual counseling sessions, the aforementioned challenges are more pronounced in the group therapy sessions because of the higher number of participants who have different personalities and perspectives. Dealing with the issues ethically requires the counselor to set clear expectations and relevant group norms that can help in guiding the behavior of the members (Crespi,

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 philosophy of the group counseling approach is to focus on the strengths and life skills opposed to punitive measures

Pre-assessments are I important when it when it comes to teaching a lesson because it allows us to see what students already know from the lesson that is going to be taught. Pre-assessments also give students a preview of what they will learn from the lesson. Before I begin my lesson I will inform my students that we are going to start a new unit on literature in which it has to deal with the five senses. This is how my script will go: Hello class today we will begin to learn about the five sense. To first start off I would like to know what you guys know about the five senses. The first question would be: How many of you know what the five senses are? The second question would be: What sense do we use our eyes for? The third question would

Role-playing, simulations and program activities allow the group leader/ staff the opportunity to provide the group members with situations that require them to engage in a process where the leader/ staff can make observations and assess the member’s behaviors. For example, role-playing allows the group leaders and other members the opportunity to watch the group members work through various scenarios, taking note of the ways they respond to the given scenario as well as the ways in which they interact with the other members. This also allows the staff/ leader and providing them with feedback and the opportunity to process with the group. Simulations and program activities also allow all members to participate in the given activity as well as the chance to work through the simulation. In doing so, the members are given an opportunity to explore the new skills, which in turn provides the group leader the opportunity to assess nonverbal behavior as well as their interactions with others and their

It is crucial for school counselors to be able to measure growth in students who participate in the group counseling. Therefore, students were given a pre-evaluation (see Appendix O) to establish their thoughts, feelings, and views on how they perceive themselves, and how they related themselves in area of self-esteem. After completion of the sessions, the students were administered a post-evaluation (see Appendix P). This valuable information helped see potential growth in students after completing the group counseling sessions.

The pre-group evaluation is an important part of the group process. The facilitator will notify appropriate school officials, adolescent organizations, local career and counseling agencies, as well as parents in the area about the proposed group. Referrals can be made by anyone in contact with the applicant or the applicant themselves. During the individual sessions for each of the potential group members, the facilitator will conduct an informal interview with the group member and a legal guardian, should the member be under the age of eighteen. The facilitator will address any concerns about the group process, listen to the individual about any hesitations or fears they may have, and begin to initially deselect applicants for the created group. The pre-group sessions will allow the facilitator to appraise the potential member for appropriateness through needs assessment, behavioral issues, and level of development. Should an issue present itself, the proper recommendation for additional services will be conveyed to the applicant or their legal guardianship. Along with the interview, the facilitator will obtain informed consent, confidentiality and provide a brief introduction about the transition to adulthood group.

Confidentiality is an essential and important part of therapeutic process. This involve the exchange of information between therapist and client. Clients must feel and trust that all personal information that is share will be kept between the professional and the group. A counselor should explain to all clients the risk and benefit of all policy and procedures and limits of confidentially. A counselor I will provide to all client an informed consent that will need to be sign and review a few times during group sessions. The act of securing informed consent, which requires the interchange of facts, figures and data between provider and client is essential. Informed consent is not just signed legal papers, it involves a conversation between a

Preparing today’s youth for the future as adults is an important aspect for me as a counselor. Growing up, I went to schools that taught me knowledge but very little about life skills such as how to apply for jobs, communicate effectively with all types of people, setting and keeping goals and financial budgets, and other crucial skills as an adult. As a beginning therapist, I feel confident I could facilitate a group such as this and impart my wisdom and knowledge from my years growing up as well as implementing advances in counseling techniques, career and college advice, and financial information. If I were to implement a closed and open group style, I may request to have a co-therapist or another therapist to help run other groups as balancing the amount of clients and the workload may be difficult. I would also ask for a grant from my employer to help provide assistance in purchasing the Adulting books for the graduation ceremonies or changing

This research paper will explore the various ethical issues that arise during a group counseling session. There are certain ethical standards that a counselor should uphold in group counseling session, from the initial stages of forming a group, to the working stage of a counseling group, a group leader should uphold definitive ethical moral codes. This paper will also enlighten the various ways that a group counselor should act in the midst of conflict as well as confidentiality within the group. Later we will conclude the reasons why a counselor would choose group counseling settings over individual counseling. The topics listed above will be addressed in the research paper to follow.Ethics in Groups Group counseling consist of a psychiatric care in which several patients meet together with one or more therapist at a time. Every group might have a different topic that they want to address to the group but the reason for joining together is the same. They all wish and hope for personal growth (Jacobs, Masson, Harvill, Schimmel, 2012). Jacobs (2012) makes a distinct depiction of the financial issue that individual counseling can create. “Although there is still a in a community agency for individual counseling, limiting the delivery of services to this model is no longer practical, especially in these tight financial times. Not only do groups let practitioners work with more clients, but the group process is a unique l

The proposed group is for adolescents that have been discharged from the inpatient unit and group therapy with peers going through similar experiences is offered as a continuation of treatment. At discharge clients will be screened by their treatment team who will decide if the adolescent is best suited by individual, group, or family therapy as exit inpatient treatment. The group would be held at the facility and referral and screening are nessicary to enter the group. The group will be open and clients will be assessed for a six-month period following their discharge from the center.

The counseling process is a very important structure that is planned for the dialogue between the counselor and the client. It is considered as a cooperative process that the counselor help assists the client to identify any problems, difficulties, or concerns they may have experienced in their life. The process can be broken down into five stages: pre-group issues, initial stage-exploration, transition stage, working stage, and the final stage consolidation and termination. My session was the initial session and we worked on the exploration of goals to be put in place to have a successful group. My group facilitation started with an icebreaker activity utilized for group members to introduce themselves to the group. I used a candy themed