Managing problems within a group

Ask yourself 3 Qs

1. When is it a problem?

2. To whom is it a problem?

3. Why is the problem occurring?

Difficult behaviors in Individuals

Group problems

The silent member

• Several problems may occur:1. The member may go unhelped or unnoticed

The silent member

2. It may increasingly drain the more talkative member

The silent member

3. It may be difficult for the participating member when they disclosing personal details

Reasons why the member might remain silent

Problem solving ideas

1. Accept the silent member and don’t push him/her to talk

2. See the person in an individual basis to check out his/her perspective and explore the behavior

3. The silent member should be encouraged to communicate non-verbally

Problem solving ideas

4. Tackle the problem directly within the group situation “ what do you think”

5. Regular use of pair and smaller groupwork may be helpful technique ( the gold fish bowl exercise)

6. Eye contact

Fish bowl group

Dominanting member

• Group members are frequently faced with the difficulty of having one or more over-dominating members.

• This problem is often felt sooner as other group members become quickly irritated and may well lapse into non-participation and apathy rather than compete if this happens group can be destroyed

• The group allows and even encourages one or two members to dominant the group

• This process is called restrictive solution whereby some members do not need to talk and expose themselves to risk if they can get another person to do this

• The dominant member is unaware of others needs he or she is likely to jump in and respond first ,talks constantly ,even aggressively,moralizes,offers advices, an interrupts the other.

The problem of dominanting member arises from factors:

• The member may be self-centered • May not appreciate the group rules • The leader may have unduly encouraged the

dominant member early on .• And this lessens trust and leaves other

members feeling insecure that they may be put down at a late date .

Problem solving ideas:

• Do not simply silence the person.• It may be necessary to speak to the person on one to

one basis.• As a group leader you might try sitting next to the

over dominant member .• Draw other members in by asking who agree,who

disagree.

The angry or distressed member

• A member in pain who suddenly breaks down in tears or is aggressive.

• When strong emotions are being expressed such as sadness we need to recognize what may be occuring and why

First,,,

• The individual may be simply be expressing their distress or tension, this can be viewed positively in that the person feel safe enough to share difficult feelings

Second,,,

• We should consider if the person is simply reacting to having emotions provoked by the treatment activity itself or reacting to other group members

Third,,

• Amember may be expressing emotions on behalf of the group ,having picked up the underlying group feeling

Problem-solving ideas:

• Listen to the distress being expressed, understand before intervening.

• As group leaders e need to manage our own feelings.

• We have to consider the specific needs of the member concerned

• The line we seek is to encourage constructive rather than destructive.

Disruptive or bizarre behavior

• Persons who are difficult to control • These individuals may be actually ill and

experiencing a psychotic illness which results in bizarre and un-predictable behavior

• The individual may simply preoccupied with his or her own needs and unconcerned about any effects of his or her odd behavior on others

Problem solving ideas

• Consider carefully whether or not the person is suitable for a group

• Manage the behavior• Attend to the degree of stimulation• Help the other group members make sense of

the behavior contain and manage it.

The silent groupThe apathetic groupA group in conflict

Chapter “7”

The silent group

15 min in a group could be acceptable in a group and a nightmare for other .

_ Think about the following silence :_ in an activity group, the atmosphere is

relaxed and comfortable, and group members are absorbed in their tasks.

Good OR Bad ?!!

In a directive, teaching session, the leader asks a group a Question. No one responds .

_ the silence of the group may mean that the members are thinking how to respond

its more a problem if the group is usually silent , boredom or apathy

In a psychotherapy group, the atmosphere is tense and emotionally charged. members remain silent for 20 min. and responses vary_ some occasionally giggle with each other, others look deep in thought, and others look disengaged, thinking of other things .

Is a different orders of silence . It’s bound to be extremely tense for all concerned and often indicates a lack of trust where members are holding back what they might say as they feel unable to share their stronger feelings .

Generally !!

In any group we need to assess carefully the line between positive silence where the group is reflective and working constructively, and negative silence. In general negative silences occur in activity groups when members fell bored, apathetic or somehow resisting the activity .

Problem solving ideas

1. Wait before intervening the silence .2. Group leaders should also examine their

own feelings and ask “ what is bothering me about the silence ?

3. If group members are resisting to becoming involved in an activity it may need to be Put on hold temporarily. Get the group to reflect on their own needs and responses

4. In psychotherapy group it’s important to allow silence to occur

The apathetic group

The apathetic non-responsive often poses particular problems for occupational therapists as the essence of our brand of therapy is to get people to be active and do things

The members are passive , lack of motivation

the apathetic feelings infect every one even the leader is not immune !!

Problem solving ideas

Strategies to handle apathetic group members need to link directly to the source of the problem …

1. Change the activity … to be more interesting introducing competition or challenge … even by making a changes to the environment to be colors and movements .

Cont, …2. Take a closer look at each individual’s

problem of volition .One may not feel the activity is sufficiently

meaningful for him …

3. The policy for the group attendance should be reviewed. Ideally members should not be forced to attend and if they wish to leave it should be accepted .

4.If the apathy is a symptom of tension and avoidance in the group as a whole more efforts need to go into building a trust and cohesion “ positive group building exercises can be introduced “

5. The leader should examine their own behaviors … “ are we being too active and creating the passive members ?!!

A group in a conflict

Could be in different ways …Anger may be expressed between group

members or towards the leader .

The anger may be experienced in an open _ or disguised manner _ perhaps revealing it in apathetic or sabotaging behaviors and undermining comments .

The source of the conflict is often difficult to pinpoint as a combination of factors may be involved .

Individuals hit out in anger when they offended , threatened or pushed to a sensitive area .

And they may be angry at the group “ it’s aim or direction or methods .

Problem solving ideas1.don’t be aggressive !!It could be a positive “ storming” for the group

members are being constructively honest with each other.

2. Encourage the constructive expression of the negative feelings and explore what the conflict is about. Control it if the expressions threatens the group task or make the members feel unsafe.

Cont, …3. If conflict erupts between individualsIt may be necessary to take them on one side to

discus the difficulty and then give responsibility to them to handle the situation more positively .

4. If tension are being created by the group activity it may be necessary to modify it, for instance, inject a humour or make it easier to do . After the conflict the group may need some soothing activities or building excersies for group cohesion.

Cont’ ….5. When destructive sub group emerge we can

do one of two things : _ we could open up a discussion in the group

about the dynamics and point out the negative effects .

_ or restructure the group activities to encourage different sub_groupings, for instance breaking up the cliques and encouraging different members partner each other .

Cont, …

Finally , as leaders we should examine our own approach .

Thank You

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