Group Counseling

Question 1

Group leaders are most beneficial, generally, when they replicate the ____________ found individual therapy

Answer 1

common factors (Burlingame, MacKenzie, & Strauss; 2004)

Question 2

Most theories of change develop within the individual thus applying them to groups may be _________

Answer 2

problematic (Burlingame, MacKenzie, & Strauss; 2004)

Question 3

Yalom (2005) emphasizes that the specific benefits of group are:

Answer 3

provision of social learning,
developing social support,
improving social networks,
-reducing relapse for clients with recurring issues
-adding group therapy to the treatment of women who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Question 4

Leader should thoughtfully integrate agents of change into group rather than conducting _______ in a group setting

Answer 4

individual therapy (Burlingame, MacKenzie, & Strauss; 2004)

Question 5

Does group work for everybody the same?

Answer 5

No, not all clients have the same experience in group; self-reflective responders value self-understanding; other directed responders value vicarious learning and altruism and affective responders value acceptance and catharsis (Kivlighan, Coleman, & Anderson, 2000)

Question 6

Group cohesiveness may bolster group members ____________ to group, and therefore the groups’ standards become more salient

Answer 6

attraction (Frank, 1957)

Question 7

Cohesion predicts ________________

Answer 7

outcome (Burlingame, Fuhriman & Johnson, 2001)

Question 8

6 predictive factors of group outcome?

Answer 8

(Burlingame, Fuhriman & Johnson, 2001)

• Pregroup preparation,
• early group structure,
• leader interaction,
• feedback,
• leader modeling,
• member emotional expression

Question 9

Are there differences in outcome between group and individual therapy?

Answer 9

• -Meta-analysis generally do not find differences
• -Effect size in meta-analysis of 111 studies was .58, indicating that the average group recipient is better off than 72% of untreated controls (Fuhriman & Burlingame, 1994)
• Results suggested that group and individual were both efficacious when compared to control groups and were equal in their effectiveness (effect size = 1.35 for both) (Tillitski, 1990)
• (McRoberts, Burlingame, & Hoag, 1998) – Both individual and group therapy better than controls. No statistical difference in effect size.
• -most moderating variables = ns

Question 10

Is individual therapy ever better?

Answer 10

Yes, individual shown superior when groups do not use process principles (Burlingame, MacKenzie, & Strauss; 2004)

Question 11

What are Yalom’s 11 therapeutic factors (2005)?

Answer 11

oInstillation of hope   oUniversality: 
oImparting information   oAltruism: 
ocorrective recapitulation of primary family group: 
oDevelopment of socializing techniques: 
oImitative behavior:   oInterpersonal learning: 
oThe corrective emotional experience: 
oThe group as a social microcosm: 
oGroup cohesiveness:     oCatharsis: 
oExistential factors:

Question 12

What are Yalom’s criteria for exclusion?

Answer 12

• almost all clients will fit into some group
• good =capacity and willingness to examine their interpersonal behaviors, to self-disclose, and to give and receive feedback
• bad = brain-damaged, paranoid, hypochondriacal, addicted to drugs or alcohol, acutely psychotic, or sociopathic, unable to participate in the primary task of the group, be it for logistical, intellectual, psychological, or interpersonal reasons;interpersonal role that is detrimental to themselves as well as to the group (then group can become a venue to recreate the maladaptive patterns without the possibility of learning or change), deeply depressed suicidal clients (a structured, homogeneous group for chronic suicidality has been reported to be effective), those who can’t make it regularly (long commute, no transportation, etc.)

Question 13

What are Yalom’s criteria for inclusion?

Answer 13

• MOTIVATION: highly motivated for therapy in general and for group therapy in particular
• willing to take some responsibility for these problems or, at the very least, acknowledge them and entertain a desire for change
• impulsive individuals who find it difficult to control the need to act immediately on their feelings usually work better in groups than in individual therapy

Question 14

What is Shapiro’s stages of group?

Answer 14

Stages of Groups (Shapiro, Peltz, & Bernadett-Shapiro, 1998)
Phase 1: Preparation: determination of group goals and population, members apply for group, screening
Phase 2: Transition: leader specifies ground rule, introductions, silence, there-and-then discussion, long silence, focus on here-and-now processes, leader encourages expression of emotion
Phase 3: Treatment (Working; Intervention): internal focus, norms solidified, minority members identified, intensity increases, leader employs therapeutic skills, expression feelings about process and group
Phase 4: Termination: leader announces imminent end of group, invitation to work, trust boost, transfer of training, closing ceremonies, leader’s closing,

Question 15

Cohesion has 2 dimensions, what are they?

Answer 15

structure and quality (Burlingame, Theobald, & Alonso (2011)

Question 16

Citation for examples of cohesion?

Answer 16

(Burlingame & Barlow, 1996)

Question 17

as cohesion increases, what improves?

Answer 17

client outcomes and psycho-distress decreases? (meta-analysis; Burlingame, Theobald, & Alonso, 2011)

Question 18

What therapeutic factors of Yalom’s 11 appear to have good empirical support?

Answer 18

(Joyce et al., 2011) Joyce et al. found that four therapeutic factors emerged:
Instillation of Hope, Secure Emotional Expression, Awareness of Relational Impact, and Social Learning

Question 19

continuous education on group multicultural competence includes at least three elements, what?

Answer 19

(Green & Stiers, 2002)

1) ongoing self-examination of one’s own experiences and biases
2) gathering a network of resources on multicultural dimensions of group therapy,
3) developing professional relationships with mental health professionals experienced with and representative of populations of interest

Question 20

Tuckman (1965) purported there were 4 developmental phases that groups went through, what?

Answer 20

testing-dependence, 
conflict, 
cohesion, 
and functional roles
--better known as forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (Tuckman, 1965)

Question 21

In 1998 a meta-analyses of 23 studies by McRoberts et al., found that group therapy is _______…

Answer 21

A cost-effective, equally effective alternative to individual therapy.

Question 22

Bennis and Shepard (1956) outlined a model that included only two stages, what were they?

Answer 22

dependence and interdependence

Question 23

Do studies find empirical support for Tuckman’s (1965) 4-stage model of group?

Answer 23

Yes (Kivlighan, McGovern, & Corrazini, 1984)

Question 24

What are Yalom’s (2005) 3 stages of group?

Answer 24

Orientation, conflict/dominance, cohesion

Question 25

What are the 2 tasks of the forming stage?

Answer 25

1. Member must understand how to achieve primary task for which they came.
2. They must attend to social relationships in the group to attain their niche (comfort and gratification)

Question 26

It can be argued that a
successful therapy group has not really been created until it has experienced, addressed, and successfully weathered one or more ______________.

Answer 26

initial dropouts (AGPA, 2007)

Question 27

There is growing consensus that cohesion is the best definition of the _____________.

Answer 27

therapeutic relationship in group (Burlingame et al, 2002; Yalom & Leszcz, 2005).