In the sixth edition of the book Group Therapy: Concepts and Procedures , authors Robert Berg, Garry Landreth, and Kevin Fall discuss group work and the group process based evidence. The authors offer in-depth details regarding the importance of group counseling, the responsibility of the group, and importance of the group setting, the role of the group facilitator, leading groups, and the problems or challenges to be expected during the group process and potential solutions. They also discuss group work for adolescents and children. The book is organized into 13 chapters. The present paper summarizes the main points of each chapter.
Chapter 1 & 2
In the first chapter, the authors review the historical basis of the group work or counseling. The review considers vital timelines of crucial developments ranging from 1905 to 2007 with a focus on professional organizations related to group counseling including the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA), Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW), and the American Psychological Association (APA). In particular, the role of these organizations is to address various challenges of group work through documenting the required ethical guidelines and through their position papers. For example, the ASGW developed practice guidelines in 1998 to supplement the ACA guidelines regarding group work. The guidelines specified the required ethical responsibility measures among counselors in group settings and the need for competent group leaders. The chapter traces the origins of group counseling to group psychotherapy and group guidance in the 1960s and to morality plays, drama, and religious movements. Notable contributors to the group work field include Mesmer, J.H. Pratt through his directive-teaching technique, and Alfred Adler through the Adlerian method, and J.L. Moreno through psychodrama and group therapy. Other contributors include S.R. Slavson through activity group therapy and Carl Rogers with the phenomenological approach. The professional organizations offered the required credibility and acceptability of the group counseling processes.
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The authors also discuss the advantages and drawbacks of group work and the basic elements of a group. They emphasize the importance of understanding the rationale for group counseling before using the approach because the effectiveness of group work relies on understanding the group process. Factors to be considered before practitioners can use group counseling include the us elements that relate to the complex interpersonal dynamics of the entire group, the you elements that concerns awareness and relationship with others,, and the I elements that relates to the self. Group work is beneficial because it allows people to redefine and discover themselves, enables group members to learn more about others, and help members familiarize themselves with ways of relating to others. Practitioners are encouraged to use group counseling as part of the process of assisting clients to develop. Nevertheless, the main drawbacks of group work include some people preferring one-on-one counseling to group work or being hostile or angry to benefit from group counseling. Group work is also ineffective for certain age groups such as children aged 5 years and below. Besides, people benefit from specific group counseling techniques and not all techniques are appropriate for all clients.
They also explore group typology as an essential first stage when developing a group approach. Specifically, the chapter identifies four group typologies defined according to the role of the leader, group characteristics, and group objectives. The typologies include psychotherapeutic, counseling, psychoeducation, and task. A Task group focus on transforming a group from point A to the identified point B. Examples include committees and a majority of meetings such as faculty meetings. Psychoeducational groups focus on preventing issues particularly for groups with skills deficit. Examples include girl power groups, groups for preventing interpersonal violence, and parenting groups. Counseling groups use the group interactions to gain insights into individual members and create opportunities for change. Examples include personal growth or process groups not focusing on skill deficit. Psychotherapeutic groups address deep-rooted mental maladjustments that have significance effect on daily functioning. Examples include groups in outpatient organizations and psychiatric hospitals.
Going to the second chapter, the authors highlight the importance of integrating issues concerning diversity and social justice in groups. In particular, the chapter illustrates the process of applying diversity and social justice in groups. The process requires practitioners to engage in self-reflection before being committed to learning and growth about others and themselves. The process involves four steps in which in the first step, the practitioners examine their culture, racial identity, and ethnic values to understand themselves as individuals. The second step involves the practitioners examining their beliefs regarding group counseling and the assumptions in the Eurocentric view of group counseling. The second step can be challenging for practitioners who are part of the dominant culture such as White practitioners, which can negatively affect the group process if not tackled. The third step entails learning about other cultures to understand their values and the effect of the values on group work. Practitioners can learn about other cultures through traveling to other countries, joining local group with different identity elements from their own, or joining a sports team with diverse players. Practitioners can also gain information from the different media types about other cultures. The last step involves practitioners developing individual plans for group counseling with an emphasis on cultural diversity guidelines for working with multicultural groups.
They also examine different models to assist beginning group workers to think about individual multicultural competency levels and familiarize themselves with skills concerning these dynamics in various group settings. For example, the chapter considers the Dimensions of Social Justice Model that practitioners can use to describe development models for understanding the extent to which they have integrated social justice elements in the group experience. The model has five stages including naivety, multicultural integration, liberatory critical consciousness, empowerment, and social-justice advocacy. In particular, the book emphasizes the importance of using standards for multicultural competency from the Association for Specialists in Group Work to guide the development of multicultural competency. Specifically, enhancing multicultural skills entails considering group work as a distinctive counseling modality, understanding and using diversity-focused competencies relevant to the development of an environment conducive to social justice, and gaining insights into individual culture, its effect on individual views of others, and its effects on individual views of the members of the group.
Chapter 3 & 4
The third chapter emphasizes the role of theory in group work as it contributes to the conceptualization and understanding of information from client and offers the path to change. Nevertheless, practitioners develop theory based on their values about people and change. When using different modalities in group counseling, practitioners are required to expand their lenses and accommodate new information rather than change their theory. Nevertheless, practitioners and clinicians find it challenging to expand their lenses because of their educational background. Group work lacks comprehensive theoretical frameworks that can assist practitioners understand group behavior. Thus, the chapter demonstrates the way therapists can use theory with groups by offering examples with theories such as the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Gestalt, Adlerian, and person-centered.
The REBT allows practitioners to deal with irrational beliefs of clients by confronting them on their magical and absolute thought patterns. The approach requires the practitioner to be focused and directive while welcoming individual members. Practitioners also use the GESTALT model to eliminate impediments that hinder effective lives with an emphasis on the present interactions. The Adlerian theory highlights the importance of the group in influencing change and development among people. Thus, the approach considers people holistically in which their behavior emerge through interactions within a group. When using the approach, practitioners should first establish a relationship, analyze the situation, gain insights in to the situation, and reorient the members. Following these steps enables the practitioner to understand their behaviors and alter bad behavior through cooperation in a social context. Regarding the person-centered approach, the practitioner influences the climate of the sessions by depicting genuineness, empathy, and unconditional positive regard towards members of the session and by being congruent. In turn, this helps the practitioner to establish a growth climate that will stimulate members to discover their potentials.
The chapter also encourage group counselors to focus on a personal development model when developing a relevant theory for use in group work in which the tenets of the chosen theory must align with the beliefs of the practitioner. Specifically, the chapter highlights the importance of counselors integrating individual personal values with a grounded theory to support a congruent approach and conceptualize their abilities. The authors also discuss their theoretical strategies when working with groups. The strategies include the group-centered theory, the integrated strategy, and the Adlerian strategy. The group-centered strategy focuses on the practitioner as the facilitator of the group. The objective of the facilitator is to assist clients feel safe so that the aims of the therapy can be achieved. The integrated strategy focus on mastering each theory that aligns with the style and personality of the practitioners initially before selecting interventions that work best. The Adlerian strategy highlights the importance of helping people change in groups since they also grow and live in groups. The group can be the person’s family or social group. Thus, it is essential to select a theoretical style that assists in understanding the group experience. However, it is vital to remember that the chosen style must align with the real self through considering individual beliefs regarding the way people develop, become unstable, and change.
Regarding the fourth chapter, the authors review essential ethical aspects of group counseling. Practitioners are required to understand the relevant professional ethical standards completely. Ethics includes a set of professional values, which contributes to the formation of the structure and identity of the practice and work profession of group work. Practitioners should use professional organizations such as the AGPA, ASGW, APA, NASW, and the ACA to learn more about the applicable ethical codes in their profession. Practitioners are especially encouraged to learn about and adhere to the ethical standards governing professional behavior from the ASGW and the AGPA. Still, practitioners can learn about the relevant ethical guidelines through their experience with personal counseling, attending relevant courses regularly to update their knowledge about the guidelines, participating as members in group work, and conducting group work under supervision. These components helps practitioners to be clear about the existing ethical codes. Thus, it is vital to understand and be comfortable with the use of existing ethical standards as this offers the basis for developing competency in group work. Group leaders should also establish and comply with personal ethical codes.
Detailed discussions about ethical dilemmas are also offered. In particular, the authors discuss matters such as dual relationships, confidentiality, and informed consent. Regarding dual relationships, practitioners are encouraged to avoid establishing additional relationships with members of the group besides the professional relationship as this can interfere with objective and professional practice or compromise the ability of the group member to engage in the group fully. Concerning confidentiality, it should be considered an essential principle because it helps in the establishment of trust and cohesion within the group. The practitioner should educate group members regarding the importance of respecting and upholding confidentiality in groups before beginning the session. The informed concept element is also relevant and practitioners must inform members of the group about what the session will involve before beginning. Informing the group members may entail engaging in pre-group screening or preparing a written consent form or a professional disclosure statement.
The chapter also explores effective leadership training models to aid in ethical practice based on the ASGW and CACREP guidelines. Practitioners are encouraged to engage both in didactic and practical learning to ensure that they experience the roles of facilitators and members. Such types of learning can be obtained from laboratory groups, observation models, field-based model, simulated group counseling model, and group actor model offered by various Universities.
Chapter 5 & 6
In chapter five, the authors explore the importance of leaders in group work as this enhances effective facilitation. Nevertheless, effective leadership requires practitioners to familiarize themselves with relevant group leadership elements. Thus, the chapter discusses traditional leadership models such as laissez-faire, democratic, and authoritarian that can be used for assessing group leadership in addition to the effect of these models on different group dynamics. For example, the authoritarian leader style stresses the authority and power of the leader. Within groups, this style allows the leader to implement appropriate ways for attaining session objectives without consultation, which is suitable for task and psychoeducational groups particularly during the initial and final group phases. The technique can also result in aggressive demands from members in addition to dissatisfied members. Nevertheless, leaders practicing the democratic style emphasizes cohesion and group climate in which the leader encourages the involvement of all members in determining the desired path. Democratic leaders also focus more on the process than they do on the content, which encourages the input from members and stimulates the creativity of the leader. The style is suitable for psychoeducational and psychotherapy groups particularly during the commitment development phase. It also results in cooperation and friendliness within the group. Regarding the laissez-Faire style, the focus is on the group in which the leader only interprets and assists where necessary. Support groups benefit immensely from this style especially during the later phases when members assume more roles. Leaders are encouraged to examine the styles and work with styles that matches their personality by regularly reflecting on the way they relate to the group.
Individual reflection entails knowing leader roles. The chapter outlines the functions of the group leaders such as use of self, executive functioning, meaning attribution, emotional stimulation and caring. In particular, leaders are encouraged to support group members to express themselves freely to express their emotions. Stimulating members emotionally entails using strategies such as empathy, confrontation, and exhortation to engage affective domains of members. Besides, leaders should be caring by being genuine, warm, kind, and encouraging as this allows them to form therapeutic alliances with group members. Another role of leaders is to help group members understand the underlying meanings of events within the group and attribute meanings. Meaning attribution entails teaching members to understand ways of benefiting from the group. Additionally, the complexity of group counseling requires the leader to engage in executive function by establishing structures for the functioning of the group. Regarding the use of self, group leaders are encouraged to engage in self-disclosure judiciously by focusing on the prevailing events. This can be through stories or personal reflections.
The authors offer a holistic overview of essential therapeutic factors and leadership skills for facilitating a successful group. Specifically, the chapter highlights the importance of interpersonal skills for group leaders. While personal values, societal values, social expectations, environment, and culture influence the interpersonal skills of the leader, leaders should enhance their competencies to engage in effective communication. Specifically, the chapter emphasizes the importance of elements such as catharsis, cohesion, universality, confrontation, genuineness, and empathy when developing interpersonal competency. It is also essential for leaders to familiarize themselves with relevant therapeutic factors in addition to understanding their functions and the required competencies. In particular, factors such as instilling hope, imparting information, being altruistic, developing socializing methods, and ensuring group cohesion are vital. The importance of these factors concerns their ability to influence change in the group. In combination, being familiar with the leader functions and styles besides the therapeutic factors is essential for counselors because it helps them engage in self-evaluation to determine their effectiveness in facilitating the group.
In the sixth chapter, the authors discuss the internal processes of the group leader’s self. These processes integrate the experiences, self-knowledge, and the melding theory of the counselor. The integration also increases the self-confidence of the counselor when dealing with groups. The chapter highlights the role of gaining insights about self and the importance of the counselor person to facilitate group work. However, learning about self requires the counselor to engage in supervised experiences such as through organizing counseling groups in identical settings to the anticipated work group. Counselors should also engage in self-exploration by keeping a diary of their response to experiences. Counselors can also learn in the group counseling setting through interacting with group members, observing members, and reflecting on the group experience to understand themselves. Consequently, practice in a group is essential because it allows therapists to engage in individual reflection about their skills and growth areas. The authors demonstrate various ways of learning about self and the group process, through personal examples of excerpts from their diaries. Failure to learn may result in anxieties, taking excessive roles, and lacking trust and faith in the group, which impede the group process. Therefore, learning through practice is crucial.
The authors also encourage therapists to learn more about the tenets of Taoism, develop an individual philosophy, and use it to assess the personhood of a group leader to overcome the complexities of the group process. The tenets offer vital lessons regarding the key components of self and group leadership. Counselors can supplement these lessons with the relevant ethical standards to develop appropriate value structures to their professional lives. The Carl Rogers interview in the chapter demonstrates the way counselors can engage in self-reflection concerning the role of self-developing the competency of group work.
Chapter 7 & 8
Chapter 7 considers the concept of co-leadership, which, as a leadership modality, employs the relationship of co-leaders as one of the therapeutic tool. The modality allows leader to collaborate to address issues, which enhances the therapeutic experience and training. The modality is particularly useful for group counselors as it emphasizes the role of the relationship between co-leaders in the group process. The authors emphasize that potential leaders thinking about becoming group co-leaders must know that while co-leadership is used widely, it is under-researched. Nevertheless, co-leadership can be an effective tool that benefit both the co-leaders and the members of the group. In particular, the complexity of a group sessions requires counselors to address several issues simultaneously since the leader dynamics, the individual group members, sub-groups, and the entire group arise at the same time. Thus, the need to attend to the processes and contents of each elements requires collaboration between therapists since an individual counselor can be overwhelmed. The partnership allows each therapist to focus on a specific element, which contributes to in-depth processing of the content.
Additionally, counselors, just like other humans, experience emergencies such as medical issues, diseases, or family matters that can interfere with their work. In such situations, the group suffers. Co-leadership ensures continuity even when one therapist is unavailable. However, co-leadership does not concern rotational leadership as this impedes consistency. Another benefit of co-leadership is that the collaboration offers vital lessons regarding ways of engaging in a healthy relationship to the entire group. Nevertheless, co-leaders must respect each other through healthy conflict management, trusting each other, and practicing effective listening skills since their behavior affects the entire group.
The effectiveness of co-leadership, however, relies on dealing with several pitfalls to the process. For example, co-leaders may engage in power struggles, which hampers their effectiveness and affects the group negatively. Thus, co-leaders must avoid undermining each other’s’ input or attending to members based on their affiliations to the leaders. It is particularly crucial for co-leaders to avoid creating subgroups affiliated to individual leaders. Besides, dysfunctional communication may emerge in which the co-leaders focus more on verbal interactions to gain power in the group such as through speaking after the other to connect to the group. The issues mainly occur during the initial phases of the relationship as co-leaders attempt to connect with the group. The main issues that arise concern doubled feedback or distraction from the group process. Another pitfall of co-leadership concerns the incompatibility of the co-leaders as these impedes the growth of the relationship and diminishes the co-leading value. Incompatibility arises mainly due to theoretical clashes and personality differences, which can impeded the group process. In such situations, the willingness of the co-leaders relies on their ability to understand their differences and respecting the differences to avoid adverse effects to the group. It is crucial that co-leaders share theoretical compatibility to enhance connection and satisfaction in their relationship. Co-leaders are encouraged to spend adequate time understanding each other’s approach to find areas of conflict and agreement. Financial issues can also affect co-leaders negatively, particularly concerning the generated income from the group. While co-leaders can attend to numerous groups within a short time, the income may be inadequate. In turn, this may discourage counselors to engage in co-leadership due to concerns about losing income. Nevertheless, the issue can be addressed through increasing the fee or increasing the number of group members.
Ensuring the development of productive co-leadership teams entail learning from co-leadership development models to evaluate functioning, engaging in a careful selection process, and engaging in continuing consultation and supervision. The chapter encourages counselors to interview potential co-leaders, choose people with similar theoretical positions, focus on people whom they can establish honest and cooperative relationships, share the aspects of planning and running the group, and commit time for collaborative work before and after sessions when selecting a co-leader. Development models are also useful as they offer ideas regarding ways of managing co-leadership. Specifically, attending to the various stages allows leaders to evaluate the progress of the relationship and discover impediments that should be addressed to ensure a smooth working relationship. Examples of the stages include pre-commitment, commitment, and termination.
In chapter eight, the authors discuss the daunting process involved when creating a group, which can paralyze therapists. The difficulty usually arises due to factors such as internal resistance to leading a group. While counselors learn what to expect and what not to expect in group work, facilitating a group requires additional competencies than applying knowledge from school. Although some counselors progress smoothly to group work, others find it challenging to take the first step due to concerns regarding group expectations and counselor role in group work. Some also find it challenging to focus on the numerous details required to initiate the group process. Nevertheless, the chapter encourages counselors to take the first step by spending adequate time on minor details and start experiencing group leadership.
The chapter also offers a sequential model that therapists can follow when initiating groups while considering all the necessary elements that ensure the creation of an effective group for both the members and the therapist. The models entails starting the group with an idea and making a quick decision, refining the idea through research before initiating the group, organizing relevant themes that will aid in the group work, starting recruiting and marketing for the group, and conducting the pre-group interview. The pre-group interview phases of the sequence is considered as an essential stage that helps the therapist select a good fit of group members. The phase entails assessing the readiness of potential members for a group experience, ensuring that the selected members have at least a single minimal primary interpersonal association, selecting people without pathology or extreme problems, determining the fit of potential members in a group, and formulating regulations and expectations. It is, nevertheless, vital to consider each step carefully to ease the challenges and effort concerning implementing groups.
Chapter 9, 10, & 11
Chapter 9 illustrates the developmental phases of groups. These phases mostly overlap rather than work independently. The phases also demonstrate the cyclic nature of group development in which groups re-examine issues in-depth progressively. Nevertheless, these phases should be regarded as relevant themes in a group setting owing to the complexity and volatility of interpersonal associations. The authors outline an individual stage model with three phases including pre-commitment, commitment, and termination. Individual phases have sub-stages that demonstrate essential dynamics at each phase. For example, for the pre-commitment phase there are two stages, the initial testing of group limits and tentative self-disclosure and exploration. The initial stage involves anxiety among group members. The anxiety range from helpful anxiety that increases productivity to harmful anxiety that is counterproductive. Anxiety is particularly common among naïve members due to uncertainties of the purpose and direction of the group. Thus, during the beginning stages, group members may be confused, uncertain, and doubtful as they try to adapt to new and strange situations. Members typically avoid discussing irrelevant topics and avoid sustained work as they familiarize themselves with each other. For the counselors, they should focus on structuring the group appropriately by explaining the meaning of group counseling, setting the time for group meetings, identifying the topics to be discussed, explaining the importance of being confident and establishing boundaries.
Over-structuring such as when counselors comply with rigid regulations or become teachers should be avoided as it harms the therapeutic development process within groups. Structuring is useful as it facilitates the group and assists the counselor to approach the group with self-confidence. Structuring focuses on group members and self-structuring focuses on counselors. Avoiding the initial phases may result in adverse effects such as lack of trust among group members since the experience of the first interaction allows members to understand their roles. However, structuring should be used carefully as it can impede members from playing their role in determining relevant content for the group. Besides, structuring does not teach members ways of dealing with frustrations and anxiety. Additionally, strict adherences to the structure can interfere with continuity of conversations for different meetings or hinder the introduction of immediate concerns. For the second stage under pre-commitment, self-disclosures and behavioral expressions are encouraged to allow members gain insights into each other, themselves, and the leader and to commit their involvement in the group. The stage contributes to future group cohesion as personal expressions increase connections among members. The role of group leaders is to establish a positive climate for the group as this establishes a firm foundation for later stages.
When shifting to the commitment phase, group members undergo four phases including depth self-exploration and understanding, commitment to change and growth, working toward increased personal effectiveness, and preparing to leave the group. The shift to the commitment phase involves members experiencing conflict, which is natural since members face reality to establish in-depth connections. Thus, counselors must possess good conflict management competencies to address potential conflicts to ensure the group feels safe. Members also start committing themselves to mutual assistance and support after addressing conflicting issues. The group then becomes more informal and relaxed as they orient to reality. The leader also assumes more roles to facilitate the group process. The group then start working toward becoming more effective after addressing initial concerns and mastering development tasks. Members become more respectful with low aggression levels as they focus more on compromises and the welfare of each other. In the last stage of the commitment phase, members of the group focus on supporting each other, working interdependently, and develop intense feelings, which may result in issues during the termination phase. Regarding the termination phase, the counselor must lead the group in addressing feelings of loss constructively, assessing growth, identifying areas for further assistance, and developing plans for a life without the group. Thus, it is essential determine the time for termination, even though resistance to terminate should be expected from members. Termination can be done appropriately by addressing any unfinished business, establishing goals for future undertakings after the end of the treatment, considering alternative treatments, and exploring the personal meaning of the termination for individual members.
The chapter also discusses additional stage models from the scientific literature for assessment purposes. The models are useful as they assist practitioners to describe group behavior an. Examples of the discussed models include forming and orientation and exploration for the pre-commitment phase and storming, norming, performing, and adjourning for the commitment phase. In the end, the chapter details a group protocol with an extra process observation to demonstrate the different leader and member actions.
Chapter 10 introduces various resistance forms that therapist may face in groups. The chapter defines resistance to illustrate that practitioners cannot avoid or be concerned with resistance. Rather, resistance should be considered as an essential component of the group process. Thus, counselors should expect resistance throughout their work with groups and be prepared to address the underlying issues rather than personalizing resistance and assuming excessive responsibility for groups. Security and trust issues are the major sources of resistance in which people hesitate to reveal information because of not trusting the recipient. Leaders can address issues of security and trust by first disclosing their views regarding the underlying causes of an issue. However, leaders must still clarify their decisions and reactions when intervening to address resistance. They should also possess basic objectives and principles of the intervention. In particular, addressing resistance offers opportunities for the progress of the group.
An outline of a technique for assessing resistance is also offered. The technique entails engaging in self-reflection to identify the nature of the resistance, the relationship between the resistance to the way members deal with changes in their lives, the way other members of the group react to resistance, and the way the counselor responds to the resistance. The chapter also discusses important themes such as the importance of cohesiveness, power struggles, sub-groups, and silence. These elements help the leader to harness the power of resistance to facilitate change in the group. The authors also addresses the roles of specific problem members of a group in relation to the basic personality of a member and the way they affect the group. Group problems such as controlling others, avoidance, dependency, humor, rescuer, monopoly, and attacks are discussed.
In the eleventh chapter, there is a discussion of the role of follow-up and evaluation for a total group counseling process. Practitioners should not view the two steps as supplements that are added to the experience of the group. Rather, the steps should be regarded as essential factors that enable the group facilitator to assist members of a group. Practitioners can use evaluation to facilitate the effort of the group in providing effective assistance to members of the group. However, the leader must engage in self-evaluation first to gain insights into their personality and approach to groups. Specifically, group leaders enhance their facilitative efforts by engaging in an effective and systematic assessment process. Tools such as the GLSI can be helpful for self-assessment in exploring the facilitation skills of the counselor. It is also essential for the facilitator of the group to develop self-awareness and welcome feedback from members of the group.
The chapter also examines various techniques for evaluating leaders and the entire group as part of a comprehensive approach to group work. For example, leaders can use the HIM tool to evaluate the group as it allows them to understand group process and dynamics. It can also be used to assess the progress of the group towards the established objectives. It is also crucial for leaders to gain insights into the reactions of the members to the group progress by engaging in self-, leader-, and group evaluation. Such evaluations contribute to the development of authentic working associations within the group. Seeking feedback from group members when the group process nears the end is also vital. The group leader should also encourage members to engage in self-evaluation towards the termination of the group to help them redefine their experiences or establish new objectives.
Chapter 12 & 13
Chapter 12 recognizes the role of play as a communication mode for children. Children in group counseling are unique because of their communication level and attention during sessions in which the counselor cannot implement the techniques applied to adults to the children. Owing to the shorter attention of children, counselors should use physical activity to engage children through play therapy. Nevertheless, counselors must still adhere to the established ethical codes regardless of the age of the group members. Besides, counselors must inform parents or guardians about the intention of the counseling and seek their consent. A previous supervised training with children can be very useful in ensuring effective sessions with children, particularly concerning communication with children.
As a core component of group work with children, play should be used effectively. The chosen play activity must also consider the developmental stage of children and their communication means. Play usually centers on children acting out their behavior, which rules out discussions or interviews, particularly for children under 9 years old. The suggested techniques when working with children are group plays and psychoeducational groups or structured group counseling. Group play is particularly effective for children under 9 years old owing to the difficulty of this age group in communicating verbally. Thus, play enables the children to express their feelings, disclose wishes, explore relationships, describe experiences, and achieve self-fulfillment. Psychoeducational group focus on skill deficit of members and may include groups focused on coping with siblings, self-esteem, social skills, dealing with bereavement, dealing with divorce, anger-management, and friendship. The objective is to impart new skills to the group members. The modality also uses creative ways such as structured discussions and questions, activities, games, role-plays, stories, or puppets to simulate information sharing.
The chapter also reviews ways of group work facilitation when working with children and discusses the structural issues such as group make and size. For example, when selecting members for a group play, factors such as compatibility of needs, the well-being of the members, and the appropriateness of the members to the therapeutic process are essential. The counselor should also articulate the group objectives, screen members to harmonize the purpose of the group to the needs of the child, and determine the size and make-up of the group. In particular, screening should involve guardians or parents of the children and use play sessions to determine the response of children to the play therapy process. Regarding the size, a single leader should work with five children on average while co-leaders can work with eight children on average. Nevertheless, factor such as the attending demands of counselors and children needs influence the group size. Still, the developmental stages and ages of the children should be homogeneous. Counselors can also use the CCGPT model determine their roles when working with children, particularly beginning counselors. The selected group setting can be a designated playroom or a section of a larger room with the required materials and toys. Nevertheless, the setting must be large and offer the necessary privacy to ensure children feel free. Counselors are responsible for selecting the relevant toys based on the purpose of group counseling.
For the psychoeducational group, member selection relies on the availability of specified skill deficit such those affected by divorce to ensure only members who belong to the group are selected. In these groups, counselors focus on balancing conveying information with processing. Nevertheless, they must first create a comfortable setting for the group work and ensure members understand the group work norms. The group process begins after defining the skill deficit, the required topics or skills to address the deficit, and the criteria for selecting members. Counselors are also responsible for selecting the required activities for a specific group with a focus on the development stage, age, and the topic. A detailed exploration of child-parent relationship therapy is also offered. The chapter also explores group specifics and session information and outlines. There is also an examination of the evidence concerning the outcomes of the aforementioned approaches. Group play therapy is found to be effective for various issues affecting children. Psychoeducational groups are also common for schoolchildren and are effective for diverse issues such as social anxiety, bereavement, sexual abuse, and dealing with foster placement.
In chapter 13, there is an exploration of the application of specific group components to the adolescence stage development. Owing to the influence of peer pressure on the development of adolescents, the chapter emphasizes the role of group counseling on the adolescents compared to other age groups. The counselor should consider establishing settings conducive to the group work by considering factors such as the selected settings, group size and duration, group objectives, and strategies for intervention. In particular, the selected environment must have enough space without distractions. Besides, group members should not exceed ten or be less than five as small group sizes stimulate feelings of intimacy. Strategies such as structured sessions, role-plays, socialization skill-building exercises, decision-making training, and assertiveness training are also relevant.
Practitioners are encouraged to focus on self-awareness and socialization issues. Group work offers adolescents with an opportunity to learn appropriate ways of expressing their feelings, accepting responsibility for self, discovering that they are not alone, experiencing acceptance, and discovering that they can offer and receive assistance. The chapter also offers a psychoeducational group example to illustrate relevant process dynamics for adolescents. Psychoeducational groups are appropriate for the developmental concerns of adolescents.
Reference
Berg, R. C., Landreth, G. L., & Fall, K. A. (2017). Group Counseling - Concepts and Procedures. (Sixth Ed.). Taylor & Francis Ltd.
