The Pros And Cons Of Group Therapy

Group therapy is a highly effective process that is at least as therapeutic as individualized therapy (Yalom, 2005). It is a powerful tool in psychotherapy, however the implementation of group therapy can determine how effective this process can be for the individuals participating. Some elements that are key in the implementation of a new group are the establishment of rules, norms and ethical guidelines. Included in these guidelines are the group leader’s proper training, knowledge of the subject matter, responsible duel relationships, the therapist own personal growth, confidentiality of the therapist, informing participants of the potential emotional outcome of the group, ethical use of exercises, and making appropriate referrals when needed (Jacobs, 2016).

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 group method of therapy has been shown to be effective in domestic violence cases, as in an example study participants were found to have a decrease in mental distress and perceived greater social support (Constantino, Kim & Crane, 2005) as a result of an eight week group program.

When it comes to a group theory session, the counselor wants to give the individuals in that setting Instillation of hope, members of therapy groups often find hope as they discover and focus on how to face their problems. Installation of hope is vital because you want to have the individuals that are part of that

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

By being in a group, we can be exposed to other perspectives on our problems that we may have never considered. Group therapy is very effective to bring about changes in the member’s.

Psychiatric inpatient group therapy is not a new concept, having presence in inpatient culture for over eighty years. Inpatient group therapy has many unique purposes. For example, there are several group treatment goals. These

Researchers have the opportunity to support a breadth of populations by guiding practitioners in the optimal construction and delivery of group therapy” (p. 196).

Group therapy is an important method that is commonly used by psychiatric professionals in the treatment of many types of mental illnesses. They consist of three or more people and are targeted at promoting psychological development and change. There are three different types of groups. The task group works by using tasks, such as activities and techniques, designed to help clients work toward desired goals. In addition, midrange groups work by allowing clients to share their thoughts and feelings with others who have learned to cope with similar problems over a longer period of time. Lastly, process groups work by allowing clients to work on their communicating patterns, skills and methods (Fortinash & Holoday Worrett, 2008).

The main difference between group counseling and group psychotherapy is on the focus of the group. Group counseling tends to focus on the development, improvement, progress, self-consciousness, prevention, and elimination of obstacles to growth while group psychotherapy focuses on issues like personality reconstruction, treatment, and remediation (Corey, 2011, p. 8).

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 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

You made a violent point of the benefits of group therapy, while also talking about the negative consequences of group therapy. I never thought about the shortcomings of having people with the same type of or different addiction together in one place at the same time. The unintended are unforeseen consequences is truly astonishing, instead of helping one each other overcome addiction, instead some cases the opposite could occur were about group members increase the addictions of the other members in reality becoming a detriment to their

On the other hand, a psychotherapy group is a group that offers services or treatment to members of the group. Psychotherapy group can many forms and it varies based on the focus of the group. This is most times a small group with a therapist. Many groups are designed to target a specific problem,