Training

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Comprehensive Exam Review
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Group Work Part 1
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Definition of Group Work
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• Group work is a broad professional practice
  that refers to the giving of help or the
  accomplishment of 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.
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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 .

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

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

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

A second purpose of group work is to help members
and the group to accomplish tasks and goals.
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• Group work leaders must be able to apply group
  theory and process effectively 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.
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Leadership Styles
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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.
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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.
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In the Confrontive leadership style, the group
leader also focuses on the here-and-now, but
attention is directed to the impact of each
members 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.
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• A group is a social ecological system
  containing individual, interpersonal, and total
  group elements, in which interpersonal
  connections are important.

The leader needs to recognize and develop
interpersonal interdependence (i.e., the
interpersonal connections between and among
members).
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• For the most effective leadership styles,
  group work leaders work collaboratively with
  group members to establish their goals.

Goals include combinations of intrapersonal,
interpersonal, and task components, as well as
aspects of both content and process.
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Core Competencies
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• All professional counselors should possess
  basic, fundamental knowledge and skills in group
  work.

Advanced group work competencies build on the
core set.
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Following are the core knowledge competency areas
for effective group work
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Core knowledge competency areas continued
Group development Group member roles Advantages
and disadvantages of group work Research applied
to area of focus Recruiting and screening
members Group and member evaluation
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Therapeutic Factors
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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
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Yaloms Therapeutic Factors continued
Corrective recapitulation of primary
family group Development of socializing
techniques Imitative Behavior Interpersonal
learning Group cohesiveness Catharsis Existential
factors
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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Personal Characteristics
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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 ones
own Personal strengths Personal
weaknesses Biases Values Stimulus value
(effects on others)
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Ethical Issues
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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.
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Ethical concerns particularly important in group
work include
Confidentiality implications Voluntary
participation Imposition of leader
values Coercion and pressure Equitable treatment
of members Leaving a group Dual relationships
techniques Goal development Termination and
follow-up
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Group Development
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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.
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A generic model of group development includes
at least the following stages
Group Formation Control Work Termination
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The Group Formation stage involves working on the
groups
purposes and goals, security, trust, inclusion, de
pendency, and orientation.
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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 others
expectations, and generally becoming involved in
the group.
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The Control Stage involves working on the groups
regulation, conflict, power, and organization.
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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.
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The Work Stage involves working on the groups
open communication, cohesion, interdependence, pro
blem solving, productivity, and data flow.
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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 groups goals and purposes.
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The Termination stage involves working on the
groups
integration, application, evaluation and
summing-up, unfinished business, disengagement, sa
ying good-bye, and closing.
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The Termination Stage is sometimes known as the
Completion Stage.
The Completion Stage involves termination of the
groups work, including attending to a wide
variety of group member emotions that may be
associated with ending the group.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Negative group member roles include those as
monopolizer, resister, silent one, withdrawer, int
ellectualizer, joker, manipulator,
and/or attacker.
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This concludes Part 1 of the presentation
on GROUP WORK