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Group WorkPart 1

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Definition of Group Work

Group workGroup work is a broad professional is a broad professional practice that refers to the giving of practice that refers to the giving of help or the accomplishment of help or the accomplishment of tasks in a group setting. tasks in a group setting.

Group dynamics refers to the scientific study of groups and those events that occur within group sessions. It is an area of study within social psychology.

Group work is Group work is interdisciplinaryinterdisciplinary, drawn , drawn from many fields (e.g., counseling, from many fields (e.g., counseling, psychology, social work, sociology, psychology, social work, sociology, education, and/or psychiatry).education, and/or psychiatry).

Group work involves the application of group theory and process by a capable professional practitioner to assist an interdependent collection of people to reach their mutual goals, which may be personal, interpersonal, or task-related in nature .

The main purpose of group work is The main purpose of group work is to to provide help and supportprovide help and support..

A second purpose of group work is to help members and the group to accomplish tasks and goals.

Group work occurs intentionally in a variety of work, educational, mental health, and community settings.

Group work leaders must be able to Group work leaders must be able to apply group theory and processapply group theory and process

effectively to specific situationseffectively to specific situations..

Group work leaders must be well trained in application of group theory, of group work competencies, and of professional judgment, and they must be personally and interpersonally competent.

Leadership Styles

Several different (group) leadership styles have been identified:

In the Authoritarian leadership style, the group leader makes all policy decisions for the group and generally directs how the group functions.

In the Democratic leadership style, the group leader helps the group members to make policy decisions and generally helps the group function in a democratic manner.

In the Laissez Faire leadership style, the group leader is minimally involved in group matters and generally allows the group to determine and follow its own “natural” course.

In the Speculative leadership style, the group leader maintains a heavy emphasis on “here-and-now” discussion, particularly in regard to leader or member in-group behaviors.

In the Confrontive leadership style, the group leader also focuses on the “here-and-now,” but attention is directed to the impact of each member’s in-group verbalizations and behaviors.

In the Charismatic leadership style, the group leader capitalizes on personal power and attractiveness to direct the group toward its goals and purposes.

A group is a A group is a social ecological systemsocial ecological system containing individual, interpersonal, containing individual, interpersonal, and total group elements, in which and total group elements, in which interpersonal connections are interpersonal connections are important.important.

The leader needs to recognize and develop interpersonal interdependence (i.e., the interpersonal connections between and among

members).

For the most effective leadership styles, For the most effective leadership styles, group work leaders group work leaders work collaboratively with work collaboratively with group membersgroup members to establish their goals. to establish their goals.

Goals include combinations of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and task components, as well as aspects of both content and process.

Core Competencies

All professional counselors should All professional counselors should possess possess basic, fundamental basic, fundamental

knowledge and skills in group workknowledge and skills in group work..

Advanced group work competencies build on the core set.

Following are the Following are the core knowledge core knowledge competency areascompetency areas for effective group for effective group work:work:

Definition of group work (presented previously)Purposes for group work typesDefinition of four group work specializationsSimilarities and differences of typesBasic principles of group dynamicsTherapeutic factorsImportant personal characteristicsEthical issues unique to group work

Core knowledge competency areas continued

Group developmentGroup member rolesAdvantages and disadvantages of group workResearch applied to area of focusRecruiting and screening membersGroup and member evaluation

Therapeutic Factors

Therapeutic factors are those aspects of group life that are widely believed to account for help-giving and personal change.

The following list of therapeutic factors is based on the work of Yalom:

Instillation of hopeUniversalityImparting informationAltruism

Corrective recapitulation of primary family groupDevelopment of socializing techniquesImitative BehaviorInterpersonal learningGroup cohesivenessCatharsisExistential factors

Yalom’s Therapeutic Factors continued

Instillation of hope

An assumption, belief, or act of faith that the group will be of therapeutic value. This position is fundamentally important for aiding growth, change, and goal accomplishment.

Universality

The awareness that one is not alone, not the only person in the world to be experiencing these adverse or difficult circumstances or feelings. Universality is the “common denominator” of group involvement.

Universality is more achievable through group participation than through other forms of help-giving due to its interdependency.

Imparting Information

Provision of didactic information to members by the leader or by other members as a means for promoting learning about one-self and others.

Altruism

The intrinsic act of giving to be helpful without intending to benefit in any tangible way.

In a group, members can receive through such giving, thereby gaining increased self-awareness, knowledge, and skills.

Corrective Recapitulation of the Primary Family Group

Creating a positive environment within the group such that members who were participants in a negative family environment can correct faulty ways and learn new ways of functioning.

Development of Socializing Techniques

Social learning, or the creation of basic or new social skills, is a common outcome of group work.

Group interaction, with its interpersonal orientation and/or skill based orientation, can be a powerful milieu for social skill development.

Imitative Behavior

Members can learn by observing the leader or other members who model effective and appropriate behavior.

“Vicarious” or “spectator” therapy is an important source of learning in groups.

Interpersonal Learning

Interpersonal learning is a mediator of change in groups that is built on the group serving as a social microcosm in which corrective emotional experiences can occur.

It includes an “interpersonal sequence”:

Members display behavior Receive feedback and self-observe Appreciate own behavior Appreciate impact on others

Group cohesiveness

It is the analogue of “relationship” in individual therapy and provides a sense of “we-ness.”

It reflects the attractiveness of the group for its members and is a necessary precondition for effective group therapy.

Existential Factors

Development of meaning from experience, involving such areas as the importance of assuming personal responsibility, and recognizing that life can be unfair and unjust.

Personal Characteristics

Group work leaders must be aware of self and be able to use self as instrument of positive change.

Knowledge of self includes awareness of one’s own:

Personal strengthsPersonal weaknessesBiasesValuesStimulus value (effects on others)

Ethical Issues

Knowledge of professional ethics is critically important (e.g., ACA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice).

Knowledge of ethics particular to group work practice is essential.

Ethical concerns particularly important in group work include:

Confidentiality implicationsVoluntary participationImposition of leader valuesCoercion and pressureEquitable treatment of membersLeaving a groupDual relationships techniquesGoal developmentTermination and follow-up

Group Development

Group development refers to the progressive evolution of a group generally expected as being normative.

Over 100 models of group development exist and most are sequential or cyclical in nature.

Models help to predict, plan, and guide, but any particular group may not conform closely to any one model.

A “generic” model of group development includes at least the following stages:

Group FormationControlWorkTermination

The Group Formation stage involves working on the group’s

purposes and goals,security,trust,inclusion,dependency, andorientation.

The Group Formation stage is sometimes known to as the Orientation Stage.

The Orientation Stage includes determination and conveyance of the nature and structure of the particular group and members getting acquainted with one another, exploring each other’s expectations, and generally becoming involved in the group.

The Control Stage involves working on the group’s

regulation,conflict,power, andorganization.

The Control Stage is sometimes known as the Transition Stage.

The Transition Stage often involves group members “testing” each other and the group leader, with associated conflict, resistance, confrontation, and attempts to dominate among group members.

The Work Stage involves working on the group’s

open communication,cohesion,interdependence,problem solving,productivity, anddata flow.

The Work Stage is sometimes known as the Action Stage.

The Action Stage is characterized by developing cohesiveness and (psychological) intimacy among group members and by productivity and movement toward the group’s goals and purposes.

The Termination stage involves working on the group’s

integration,application,evaluation and summing-up,unfinished business,disengagement,saying good-bye, andclosing.

The Termination Stage is sometimes known as the Completion Stage.

The Completion Stage involves termination of the group’s work, including attending to a wide variety of group member emotions that may be associated with ending the group.

The most valuable resource for a group is its members. Understanding them and utilizing their experience and contributions is essential.

Positive group member roles include those as

client, helper, model, and/or reality checker.

Members in counseling, psychotherapy, and psychoeducation groups are seeking help and assistance through group participation. They profess a desire to change or to develop.

Members can help each other by giving feedback, sharing experiences, and modeling effective interactions. Doing so can also help them gain self-understanding and promote growth and change.

Members can demonstrate through their attitude and behavior effective ways to perceive, think, and act, thereby assisting other members to grow and change.

Members can serve to provide each other with guidance about feasibility and appropriateness of goals and actions through providing feedback, raising issues of implementation, and serving as a “sounding board.”

Negative group member roles include those as

monopolizer,resister,silent one,withdrawer,intellectualizer,joker,manipulator, and/orattacker.

This concludes Part 1 of the presentation on

GROUP WORK