Self-help groups for individuals diagnosed with PTSD help them overcome the physical, emotional and psychological challenges that they face. According to Humphreys (2004) throughout the world, self-help groups are re-emerging due to the growing interest in promoting recovery among addicts. Therefore, self-help groups have introduced a shift in how treatment and intervention care is delivered to individuals that are battling PTSD. The self-help group meetings I attended mainly focused on providing mental and physical support services to individuals who are diagnosed with PTSD. The self-help group for individuals with PTSD recognizes recovery support services as the emerging primary interventions that assist people in going through the recovery process. The self-help group identifies the treatment of PTSD as a continuous treatment process that cannot be treated using one-shot intervention. Therefore, the group holds three meetings a week that allow fourteen of its members to interact with each other, share their experiences and assist each other on how to access professional services.
Content and Process
The theme of the meeting was finding "Numbness and Avoidance." There were fourteen members present in the meeting who were encouraged to discuss and share their experiences. The meeting was preceded over and moderated by the group leader who would appoint a member to talk about their journey through recovery and encourage other members. The meeting was divided into three segments that would allow the members to analyze the theme and gain an in-depth understanding of how it applied in their lives.
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The first part, members had to identify and discuss ways in which PTSD has denied them of various opportunities in life – as they have become unconscious about things happening around them. One of the recurring statements from the members was that PTSD is a disease that each one of them has struggled to overcome for more than a year. One of the members elaborated on the theme as he provided encouraging word on how the self-help group has assisted him through the recovery process. He pointed out that PTSD shackles one up and can be a strong force that controls every aspect of a person’s life. Therefore to regain control of one’s life away from mental disorders caused by PTSD a person has to identify a support system that will assist them in escaping from the cycle.
The second part of the meeting the moderator took over to motivate the members and re-awaken their spirit of recovery. In this session, the moderator defined what finding how PTSD affected a person's mental well-being – by explaining to the members that feelings of numbness result in unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and thoughts. For instance, she explained that numbness and avoidance do not mean that a person has lost their touch with the world; it is a shift of one's mental, physical and emotional perspectives about themselves and life in general. In addition to this she went ahead to explain that as people, it gets to a point in life where one perceives themselves as hopeless individuals. Therefore, she emphasized that as one is recovering from PTSD, it is important to regain consciousness of one's physical and mental state.
The third part of discussing the theme involved evaluating how the members can strengthen their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual lives to lead a healthy and fulfilling life free from the bondage of PTSD. During this session, the moderator opened up the discussion by providing a few pointers that included examples of physical activities that can assist the individuals in overcoming PTSD. Afterward, each of the participants provided their own examples by using personal experiences to elaborate. One of the members explained that attending the meetings have helped him gain mental and spiritual strength to beat the urge to drink consistently. He explained that the recovery support program that is provided in the meeting had enabled him to find happiness and liberation in life.
The moderator ended the meeting by encouraging the members to acknowledge that the recovery process is a step-by-step transition program that equips the members with a spiritual awakening – through which they can recover from the mental effects of PTSD. She further explained that the self-help group for individuals diagnosed with PTSD puts the members in a position of neutrality and helps them recover from the mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.
Group Dynamics and Participants
The atmosphere of the meeting was characterized by a sense of belongingness and a safe environment in which the participants would engage without receiving any form of judgment. This atmosphere was enhanced by the social engagement by the members who did not shy away from sharing their experiences to encourage and help others through their recovery journey. According to Forsyth (2009), communication is essential to in a group as it forms the basis of how it functions. The group dynamics of the self-help group included influential actions and processes that were aimed at helping the members address some of the struggles they have gone through as they strive to recover. The group was led by a professional whose main role was to initiate the discussion as the members contributed to the discussion by talking about their experiences. In addition to this, the members were provided with the opportunity to discuss a particular topic related to the theme that the self-help group could address.
The meeting was structured in a way that was inclusive for all members. The structure of the meeting ensured that the professional moderated the discussion while providing helpful tips to assist the members. It was inclusive as all participants got the opportunity to contribute to the development of the topic.
Leadership Behaviors
The moderator exhibited effective interpersonal skills which ensured that the participants were comfortable and receptive during the discussion. The participants responded to the warm, empathic and affirming leadership traits that the moderator demonstrated. The moderator demonstrated participative leadership skills by allowing the participants to engage with her and others. In addition to this, she exhibited active listening skills as she could ask for feedback from the participants. This way she was able to assess the readiness of the participants to engage and share their experiences. The leader also practiced transparency by sharing her experiences and reassuring the participants of the importance of being honest with themselves. Individuals who struggle with PTSD tend to experience a wave of emptiness within themselves which robs them of the ability to live a fulfilled life. It is for this reason that it is essential for the support group leader to exercise transparency and use a re-affirming attitude.
The leader was able to show empathy to the participants as she had a firm sense of her identity accompanied by a clear reflection of her past experiences and that of the group. This enabled her to understand and manage her emotions towards the topic or individual’s perspectives (Fassinger and Shullman, 2017). As a result, her advice to the participants was objective since she was aware of her individual capacities and tendencies – thus, she could recognize her defenses when they emerged. While observing the engagement among the participants and the leader, it is evident that support programs can be intense emotionally. This is because the leader is not in control of the emotional reactions of the participants and their own. From the meeting, it was clear that the leader conducted herself professionally by not allowing the content issues that invoked anger to disrupt the atmosphere of the meeting. This revealed that she is a leader that is emotionally aware and healthy to assist individuals that are going through emotional, physical and psychological traumas.
Application and Conclusion
The moderator of the group conducted herself professionally ensuring that the participants benefitted from the sessions both spiritually, physically and emotionally. The meeting promoted a biblical point of view as the participants were encouraged to be accommodating to each other’s’ point of view even though it contrasted with theirs. In addition to this, the participants were encouraged to be forgiving of themselves to facilitate the recovery process – since guilt and anger were the main emotional feelings that negatively affected them physically and spiritually. From this meeting, I understood the role of a leader in moderating a support group meeting. The leader mainly focused on her interpersonal skills which were effective in ensuring that the participants felt that they were in a safe space where they could share their thoughts and experiences without judgment. The experiences of the participants revealed that self-help support groups act as a therapy session for individuals diagnosed with PTSD – as they provide them with an environment they can engage with other people that are dealing with similar physical, emotional and psychological issues.
References
Fassinger, R. & Shullman, S. (2017). Leadership and Counseling Psychology: What Should We Know? Where Could We Go? The Counseling Psychologist, Vol. 45 (7) 927–964
Forsyth, D. (2009). Group Dynamics. Cengage Learning
Humphreys, K. (2004). Circles of recovery: Self-help organizations for addictions . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
