Group Therapy: A Case Study

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

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 picking who will be part of the group is vital as well, in class discussions we talked about picking certain people that will be able, to be honest, and share during that time. A group facilitator would never choose someone for a group that will not talk and is it, the central theme of group therapy is having others share about their past and presents experiences. During the facilitating period, there will be times where there are arguments between people in the group during class hours; we had great discussions on how to deal with the situation where multiple people are arguing during this period. Some of my suggestions were getting the two people to talk after class and resolve issues that they might have with the other person.

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 Effects of Psychoeducational Group Therapy on Symptoms of PTSD, Anxiety and Depression Among Incarcerated Women

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 the current literature 90% of individuals who were involved in-group therapy had a significant increase in their mental wellbeing after one week of treatment (Emond, 2012). However, it is important to identify the effectiveness of each group therapy, since group therapy incorporates a range of different types of therapies, which are aimed for diverse goals and outcomes. Therefore, this essay will discuss and compare the history, effectiveness and underlying issues of psycho-educational and interpersonal group therapies. Furthermore, from the evidenced based literature, it was shown that interpersonal group therapy and psycho-educational group therapy have great outcomes in stabilizing the mental status of in-patient’s in the mental health setting.

In general, therapeutic factors are difficult to distinguish in the group process. During the different stages of group development, some factors will be more valuables than others, and at times many therapeutic factors come into play at once. Yalom had the therapeutic factors rankled by a specific level of importance. The factors include interpersonal input, catharsis, cohesiveness, self-understanding, interpersonal output, existential factors, universality, instillation of hope, altruism, family reenactment, guidance, and identification or imitative behavior.

Track 1 residency really taught me so much about myself. We had so much time to ask questions about how to counsel people. We did some relaxing exercises, and we had the chance to learn about other people. I learned that it is important to be aware of how you are handling what you are experiencing in that very moment. This was a time to ask questions, and to learn how to ask people questions. In track 2, I hope to further enhance my skills what learning how to use the skills that I already have.

I find having a detailed group manual is incredibly useful in the therapy and having homework, challenges, and resources become even more effective when individuals are able to talk about them and how they made them feel with other

Process groups are useful in teaching clients healthy ways of communicating, so they can develop effective and satisfying relationships with other individuals. These types of process groups are called psychodynamic groups. Psychodynamic groups consist of clients with a wide range of issues. They help clients learn healthy coping skills, and teach them to become self-aware of their dysfunctional behaviors. This allows clients to be happier and live within society more successfully (Fortinash & Holoday Worrett, 2008; Montgomery, 2002).

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.

substantial information about the group process. As I have learned in this program, group therapy is a powerful form of therapy that allows group members to complete their therapeutic goals in a group setting. As a therapist, I believe it is essential to experience what group process is like. For this class assignment we were required to record a video session of a group session demonstrating skills discussed by Yalom in our required text. This paper will serve the purpose to explore my reaction of the experience of leading the group, reflections on the Yalom skills I incorporated, and my views on the strengths I displayed as a leader. In addition, I will explore ways I can improve as a group leader. From this assignment, my hope is to complete a session with tenants of Yalom, and make improvements to my therapeutic style.

Depression in late life is very common, particularly in older adults who are moving in to a different phase of their lives. They may experience a loss of a job, death of a spouse, empty nest, or a move that has taken them away from their social network. Geriatric depression is expensive for everyone involved, from the seniors who suffer not only mentally but physically from its effects to the increased use of health services such as emergency room visits. Suicide is also a consequence of depression in seniors. Sometimes depression is not diagnosed properly because its physical symptoms can mimic other illnesses. Many women, ages 55 and up, experience feelings of loneliness, isolation and do not know what to do now that they are in this new stage in their life; not working etc. Is the women’s group effective in helping members overcome feelings of depression and isolation?

The group therapy leader is one of the most essential variables that will influence the group’s success or breakdown. Group therapy leaders need to have very important group leadership skills before they can go into helping individuals deal with their own problems. Group leaders must have knowledge of how groups best function and that they individual posses the skills to intervene in timely and effective ways. When a group leader creates a group climate that fosters interpersonal norms such as directness, openness, respect and concern for one another, these norms will create therapeutic interactions among the members. Essential leader behavior is to cultivate a group climate that is secure, constructive, and encouraging, yet strong enough to at times withstand highly charged emotions, challenges, and interactions between members. In addition to personal characteristics, group leaders need to acquire a body of knowledge and a set of skills specific to group work. Counseling skills can be taught, but there is also an element of art involved in using these skills. The objective of this paper is to compile a list of the important factors and traits that allow therapists to be successful group therapy leaders.