Group Processes
What is Group Therapy?
Group therapy is modality of treatment in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group. Just like individual therapy, group therapy addresses client concerns and has the goal of helping clients achieve change. However it is different than individual therapy in a number of ways:
1. Group therapy addresses client change in relation to a single goal that all group members have in common. This could be coping with anxiety, building self esteem, overcoming depression, dealing with chronic pain, etc...
2. Group therapy usually follows a clearly outlined schedule, and has a set start point as well as a completion point. In other words, group therapy is limited to a certain number of sessions.
3. Group therapy uses the group atmosphere as a mode to promote feelings of validation, reassurance, and hope. Rather than simply having a single therapist to provide clients with these constructs, group therapy is often seen as a more helpful way to help clients achieve their goals because of the cohesive group atmosphere that is created. Often times, participants will all be at different stages in their life both physically and psychologically. Drawing upon the unique experiences of group members, participants can gain a more complete understanding of self and others.
Group therapy is modality of treatment in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group. Just like individual therapy, group therapy addresses client concerns and has the goal of helping clients achieve change. However it is different than individual therapy in a number of ways:
1. Group therapy addresses client change in relation to a single goal that all group members have in common. This could be coping with anxiety, building self esteem, overcoming depression, dealing with chronic pain, etc...
2. Group therapy usually follows a clearly outlined schedule, and has a set start point as well as a completion point. In other words, group therapy is limited to a certain number of sessions.
3. Group therapy uses the group atmosphere as a mode to promote feelings of validation, reassurance, and hope. Rather than simply having a single therapist to provide clients with these constructs, group therapy is often seen as a more helpful way to help clients achieve their goals because of the cohesive group atmosphere that is created. Often times, participants will all be at different stages in their life both physically and psychologically. Drawing upon the unique experiences of group members, participants can gain a more complete understanding of self and others.
My Experience with Group Therapy
Another interesting learning that stemmed from the mock counselling group I participated in as a component of this course was the establishment of group rules. In a group, rules are often used as a way to provide some structure to the group and allow participants to get an idea of what to expect in terms of appropriate/acceptable and inappropriate/unacceptable behaviors within the group. The following is a list of rules taken from the Responsible Choices for Men Group. This list will give you an idea of what a list of rules may look like:
1. No distracting foods
2. No cross talk
3. Be sober for group
a. Dismissal for intoxification
4. If you gotta go, go
5. Be on time
6. If coming late, quiet knock + enter
7. Respect for group members and confidentiality
8. Acknowledge each other out of group
9. No cell phones
1. No distracting foods
2. No cross talk
3. Be sober for group
a. Dismissal for intoxification
4. If you gotta go, go
5. Be on time
6. If coming late, quiet knock + enter
7. Respect for group members and confidentiality
8. Acknowledge each other out of group
9. No cell phones
Building Group Competencies
My personal approach to counselling, which is largely based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), emphasizes taking an educational approach to group work. Teaching clients self management skills and how to restructure their thoughts is the main focus of how to help clients achieve change in therapy groups. By identifying problematic behaviours that individuals want to resolve, strategies to modify maladaptive thinking patterns can be used in a group format to construct a new set of beliefs that result in a new set of behaviours. Similar to individual therapy, it is the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that is the focal point of group therapy when using a CBT approach.
References
Corey, G. (2008). Theory & Practice of Group Couseling. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Corey, G. (2008). Theory & Practice of Group Couseling. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.