Who should lead groups?
Any helping professional who is looking for an economical and effective means of helping individuals who share similar problems and concerns
- ethically anyone who is qualified to satisfy the goals and objectives
9 Reasons for leading groups?
Types of group interventions
Education
Discussion
Task
Growth Groups and Experiential Groups
− These groups benefit those who want to learn more about themselves
Counseling and Therapy Groups
- Theory
Support
− Consists of members with something in common and meet on a regular basis
Self-help
Laypeople with similar concerns as those at the meeting generally lead self-help groups
Leadership styles
Interpersonal oriented leader
emphasize the here and now, interactions among group members, the group as a whole, the ongoing group dynamics, and the obstacles to the development of effective interpersonal relationships within the group. (Focus on group process)
Intrapersonal oriented leader
focuses on the needs of the individual members (Focus on personal issues)
-better for most counseling and therapy groups because members in most of hese groups have intrapersonal conflicts (within themselves)
6 Factors that make an effective leader
7 Ethical considerations
12 Potential group problems
Stages of group
− All groups go through three stages regardless of the type of group or style of leadership: the beginning, middle or working stage and the ending or closing stage.
The beginning stage
− Refers to the time period used for introductions and discussions of such topics as the purpose of the group, what to expect, fears, group rules, comfort levels, and the content of the group.
− For task, edu, and discussion groups this stage is when the members determine the focus of the group.
− This stage may last part of the first session, the entire first or the first couple
− Its not uncommon for the members of certain groups to take more than two sessions to feel enough trust and comfort
− A leader who provides very little structure tends to create a group that stays in the beginning stage for several sessions
The middle stage
AKA the working stage when to members focus on the purpose. They learn new material, discuss topics, complete tasks, or engage in sharing and therapeutic work.
− This stage is the core of the group process. The stage when members benefit from being in a group.
− During this stage many diff dynamics can occur. Leader must pay particular attention to the interaction patterns and attitudes of the members toward each other and the leader.
− This is the time when members decide how much they want to share.
The closing stage
− The ending stage is devoted to terminating the group.
− During this time members share what they learned, how they changed, and how they plan to use what they learned.
Therapeutic Forces
−Factors that influence group dynamics
−Some of the forces present in almost any group situation: members want to feel accepted by the group, know what is expected, feel they belong, and feel safe.
− The leader can tune in to some of the group dynamics and therapeutic forces by considering the following questions: How does each member feel about being in the group?
Yalom’s curative factors
- 10
−Created best-known list of therapeutic forces and discusses them in terms of curative factors. These eleven factors need to be present in order for group to be successful:
Jacob’s therapeutic forces - 15
− 15 forces the leader should attend to − They can either be positive (therapeutic) , neutral or negative (antitherapeutic) 1. Clarity of purpose for both the leader and the members 2. Relevance of purpose for the members 3. Size of the group 4. Length of each session 5. Frequency of meetings 6. Adequacy of the setting 7. Time of day for both the leader and the members 8. The leader’s attitude 9. Closed or open group 10. Voluntary or nonvoluntary membership 11. Members level of commitment 12. Level of trust among members 13. Members attitudes toward the leader 14. The leaders experience and readiness to deal with groups 15. Coleadership harmony
Clarity of purpose
− The single most important therapeutic force is clarity of purpose that is the leader and the members must clearly understand the puropose of the group.