Group counseling and group work Flashcards
Where did most counseling take place prior to the 1960s?
In a dyadic relationship. The popularity of family therapy and behavior therapy did not start until the 1950s.
What is pairing?
This is when group leaders put group members in smaller groups during experiential experiences. This happens often.
What are some qualities of a group?
- A membership which can be defined
- Some degree of unity and interaction
- A shared purpose
A group is really a cluster of people in a recognizable purpose or 3 or more people who meet with the conscious cause or purpose.
Which is more beneficial - group counseling or individual counseling?
Though group counseling is very beneficial, preliminary meta-analysis research shows that individual counseling still generally produces better responses for depressed clients – but the data isn’t totally convincing. In general, group therapy is see as effective as individual therapy…but 1:1 therapy is probably better.
Who coined the term group therapy?
Jacob Moreno, the father of psychodrama.
What is psychodrama (Joseph Moreno) and how does it relate to group therapy?
Moreno noted that people in Vienna involved in theatrical productions without scripts experienced a cathartic reaction which seemed to be curative. In psychodrama, the client expresses spontaneous feelings via role-play. Literature talks about Moreno’s theater of spontaneity in the 20s that relied on improve and drama as healing forces. Psychodramatic techniques are appropriate for family and group therapy
How did Fritz Perls (gestalt) impact group work?
He is considered a major figure in group therapy, particularly his work at Esalen Institute in Big Sur.
How did Frank Parsons impact group therapy?
Parsons, the father of guidance (vocational guidance), did work that set the stage for group therapy since he relied on groups to conduct group work related to career and vocational choice.
Who is Joseph A. Pratt?
Pratt, a top Boston physician, formed what may have been the first counseling/therapy groups from 1905-1923. The groups dealt with tuberculosis.
What did Freud think about groups?
Freud’s Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego was published in 1921, but his focus on individual treatment seemingly kept him from becoming a major player in the history of groups or creating a comprehensive model of group therapy.
What two 1940s organizations made group work into a legitimate specialty?
The American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama (ASGPP) spawned by the work of Jacob Moreno in 1942 and the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA) which resulted from the effort of Samuel Richard Slavson.
How did Alfred Adler and Jesse B. Davis’s work preface the group movement?
Jesse B. Davis (a hs princple) is cited as a pioneer in school guidance counseling and often as America’s first school guidance counselor. In 1912, Davis had each high school student attend a class each week where he relied on groups to explore careers and values. His systematic work resulted in the National Vocational Guidance Association.
Adler, known for individual psychology, was engaging in group treatment during the early 1920s at his child guidance facilities in Vienna. his rationale for group work was simply that “man’s problems and conflicts are recognized in their social nature”.
What are the 3 classifications of groups (a model popularized by Caplan)?
- Primary group - stresses a healthy lifestyle or coping strategies to stop a problem before it starts. These are often labeled “prevention groups”
- Secondary group - a problem or disturbance is present but not usually severe. The secondary group works to reduce the severity of length of a problem and generally includes aspects of prevention. I.e. a group dealing with grief of shyness.
- Tertiary group - deals more with individual difficulties that are more serious and longstanding. (I.e. long term psychotherapy, focus on childhood, etc). Focuses more on the individual than other types of group.
What is coleadership or cofacilitation?
This is when two counselors are used in a group setting.
What is immediacy?
This is a skill that takes place in a group or individual session when the counselor explores the client-counselor relationship as it is transpiring right at that moment. Immediacy relates to the counselor’s ability to convey what is happening between the counselor and the client.
Why did groups initially flourish in the US?
Because there was a shortage of therapists during WWII and many soldiers were plagued with severe psychological problems. Jacob Moreno had brought the idea of group therapy to the US in 1925 but the post-war era catalyst the growth.
What is the difference between process and content in groups?
Group content refers to what the group is discussing. Group process refers to analyzing the communications, interactions and transaction.
What is a T-group?
This is a training group. Also referred to sometimes as “laboratory training groups” or even “Sensitivity groups”. Originally, T-groups were used in industrial and organizational settings to process personal interactions and improve efficiency. Now they primarily focus not on mental health issues but on human relations processes between personnel in a business setting. Shared leadership is a common area of concern.
The first T group was conducted in 1946.
What is group cohesiveness?
Cohesiveness refers to the focus that tend to bind group members together. It’s a sense of caring for the group and other group members. The term cohesiveness is associated with Kurt Lewin’s field theory in which cohesiveness was seen as a binding force between group members positive valence. When cohesiveness goes out, absenteeism and other factors go down. High cohesiveness leads to high group productivity and commitment. When there is no cohesiveness, the group will be viewed as fragmented.
Who is Kurt Lewin?
He was the creator of “Field theory” which focused on how cohesiveness is the binding force between group members. He was also a key player in the T-group movement in the US.
How does group therapy differ from group counseling (which is also called an interpersonal problem solving group)?
Group therapy, also dubbed a personality reconstruction group, would be of a longer duration.
In the context of group work, “therapy” is implied when the problem is more severe and more individual work is needed for a longer duration. Psychotherapy groups are common in inpatient and residential treatment. The psychotherapy group is tertiary and may emphasize the role of the unconscious and childhood more than a counseling group.
Counseling groups do not tend to be psychodynamic and so focus on conscious concerns. There is generally less structure in a counseling group than a guidance group.
What are the 3 different type of group?
- Guidance group - a primary group in the sense that it is preventative. Also called affective education group, psychological education group, or psychoeducation group. Guidance groups, which originated in the public school system, do not deal with remediation of severe pathology. Instead, they are preventative and try to provide instruction about a potential problem (I.e. substances, skills). In most cases, they are time limited. Recently, the term “guidance group” has been less popular than “psychoeducational group” because “guidance group” is associated with negative practices like excessive advice giving.
- psychotherapy group - groups for more severe problems and for individual work over a longer duration. Based on psychodynamic therapy, often used in inpatient facilities.
- counseling group - less severe issues, less structured, focus on conscious concerns. Not psychodynamic.
It is assumed that the leader of a counseling group needs more training than someone running a guidance group. But sometimes, experts say the group therapy leader of a psychoeducation/guidance group must have the most training because they need to treat people who are not functioning normally.
Do experts find structured or unstructured exercises to be more effective in groups?
Structured exercises are less effective than unstructured techniques.
A structured group exercise is like an assignment for the members. The benefit is that this can help the group all focus on one thing. Although these exercises are popular and helpful, they’re generally not as effective as an unstructured method.
Yalom pointed out that structured exercises can create a pattern in which group stage are passed over and the exercise may purge feelings before the members are ready to handle them – or could cause the group to rely on the leader too much for support. Research found that leaders who used structured exercises were better liked than leaders who didn’t – but the group outcomes were lower!
Group exercises must correspond to the level of group development. In a beginning group, exercises to build openness and trust are useful and then can evolve to be more open ended, critical feedback, etc
What is one disadvantage of group work?
though groups can allow a counselor to see multiple people at a time, one disadvantage is that individual issues are not always properly examined. This is particularly likely to happen if the leader is process-oriented.
What is the risky shift phenomenon?
This is the tendency for a group decision to be less conservative than the average group member’s decision prior to group discussion. New research shows that group behavior is not necessarily more risky but does shift more toward the social norm than an individual decision made prior to group participation.
What is group polarity?
This is when a group experience can polarize decisions such that they are more in line with members’ initial views (vs. the risky shift phenomenon) – essentially, a person’s views may become more extreme after participating in a group.
What is Taxonomy?
The science of classification. In counseling, the most common method of determining a client’s classification (diagnosis) is to compare the client’s symptoms with the DSM and/or ICD. Sometimes this can also be referred to as nosology, the classification of disease.
How behavioristic and structured are assertiveness training groups?
Assertiveness training groups are typically quite behavioristic and highly structured. They rely on numerous exercises (structured groups - vs unstructured groups which have few exercises or tasks). Behavioral groups such as an assertiveness training group are generally highly structured.
Some exerperts would say that no matter what a group cannot possess struture but that some groups have a low degree of structure or less structure like a non directive psychodynamic group or existential group.
What is a self-help group?
A group, like weight watchers or AA, that is composed of a group of people all attempting to cope with a specific issue. Members have a common goal or problem and learn from each others. The group is not led by a professional though may consult with professionals. Self help groups are extremely popular. Most of them are voluntary.
Note that there is a difference between a support group conducted by an organization like WW or AA that might charge a fee vs. a self-help group (I.e. a group of neighbors getting together to brainstorm neighborhood cleanup ideas) would not have either or both of those features.
Many of the groups are 12-step groups like AA.
What is 13th stepping?
This is when established members of AA or other 12-step groups exploit new members for sexual purposes
What is a marathon group?
This group plays on the theme that after an extended period of time, defenses and facades will drop and the person will become honest, genuine, and real. A marathon group generally lasts at least 24 hours and may be conducted over a weekend or period of several days. This paradigm is usually credited to Stoller and Bach in the 1960s.
For which groups do the ACA and the ASGW recommend screening for potential group members?
All groups. A professional counselor uses a screening process to determine who is or isn’t appropriate for a given group. This can determine the success or failure of that particular group. Also, if a prospective group member is in individual therapy, the group leader, after getting the client’s permission, should contact the person’s therapist before making a final decision.
What is an example of a type of personality that might not lend itself to group work?
Hostile individuals who act out aggressively, people who are actively suicidal or homicidal, paranoid clients, those who are totally self-centered, or those who are psychotic are not appropriate for most counseling groups – though there are some psychotherapy groups that may cater to specific issues in these populations (I.e. an anger management group, etc)
In general, clients who are very verbal, open to feedback from others, and believe in group therapy often make excellent group members.
Why do most group leaders feel that private screening sessions (vs. group screening) are better?
Though a pre-group interview for screening and orientation can be very beneficial in determining whether the client’s needs meet the needs of the group, an individual screening interview can help the client-counselor interaction and allow the client to voice concerned regarding what he or she wants from the group, learn about procedures, and gauge whether they have faith in the leader’s ability. Some literature emphasizes that screening is a 2-way process - both can decide whether it is a good fit.
Individual screening modalities can also form trust. All that said, there are certainly people whose behavior is quite different in a group vs. individual situation.
What do most experts this is the most important trait for group members?
The ability to trust. Irvin Yalom feels that the main factor in selecting participants for a group is that the group members are able to feel cohesive. Research indicates that high denial, low motivation, and low intelligence are associated with premature termination from group therapy.
What is the difference between a closed and open group?
Closed groups allow no new members after the group begins.
What is one major advantage of a closed group vs. an open group?
It promotes cohesiveness. Generally a closed group will have more unity because the membership is more stable and members get to know each other and build trust. That said, if individuals drop out of a closed group, because they don’t add new members, the overall amount of group cohesiveness drops.
What is one major disadvantage of a closed group?
If everyone quits, there will be no more members!
How do the numbers in an open group differ from a closed group?
The numbers are typical more stable – because they replace people when they leave.
What is one major disadvantage of an open group?
Sometimes, members who begin after the first meeting have missed information and experiences.
What is a counselor’s best practice to do when a group member is speaking?
When a group member is speaking, a counselor should try to face the group member. This can be difficult with everyone sitting in a circle, but it fosters good “attending behavior” on the part of the group leader.
Do people who are similar tend to sit near or far from each other?
Generally, people who are similar will sit next to each other.
