Initial Group Norms

At one point in a person life, they will participated in a group whether it is part of a specific committee, therapy, or social group. In recent years, there has been a rise in counseling within a group forum veering from the tradition individual counseling. Therapists, physiologist, and counselors believe that form of counseling is beneficial to both counselor and client. This allows the counselor to help several clients at once rather than one at a time decreasing their strenuous workload and demanding work hours. This form of counseling integrate individual that share similar issues, struggles, and experiences into one forum. This not only allows the clients to learn from the therapist but from their fellow group members. The group experience

In this group there were no disruptive members. I filled the role of an observer, I offered feedback at the end of the session. The counselor filled the role of standard setter. There was an encourager, a harmonizer, an expediter, and a follower.

The process of running a group therapy session is a unique time to tests a person’s skills abilities when it comes to facilitating that group. This paper will mainly look at ways when it comes to my learning's of this class that I took ways; I will also show examples and skills to run a good group therapy session. This whole paper is a reflection of the many things that I took was on being an active group counselor facilitator.

After completing the group task of preparing a presentation on, transferring individual facilitation skills into a group work setting I will critically reflect upon my own participation. I will evaluate my self-awareness while working in the group, as well as those around me. The way that I personally dealt with any issues that arose within the group and how that affected the group dynamics. I will also briefly discuss the roles in which each member of the group took and how role allocation affected, the group dynamics and the working relationships. Finally I will evaluate my work having discussed it with my fellow group members.

As a group leader, I have a myriad of ethical responsibilities to the group members, especially at the closing of the group. I need to exercise due diligence by using sound professional judgement to make sure each of my clients have some form of closure before they leave the group. In order to facilitate and prepare the group members for closure, I want to address three main points; I want to consolidate what they learned in the group, understand what they will do with what they learned, and how will they continue receiving support. Each member should share during this time.

Being as this group is not in the average group setting, communication is key for greater results. Members should make good use of use group email, group discussion board forum, or text for updates and for clarifying any questions. All members are encouraged to check their emails and discussion boards daily. If a member is unable to fulfil their commitment, all other members should be notified immediately so that the task can be reassigned and completed in a timely manner. Exchanges will be open, honest, respectful and proactive.

Activity 3: Counselors will facilitate a group environment that provides a learning environment that has examples and

As I began the Group Process and Dynamics course, I was excited to become educated and experienced with group counseling. Group counseling is a topic I have enjoyed in the past and have continued to be fascinated by. I have learned the elements of a group process through observation and research. The group process consists of several elements that come together when the group begins and ends when the group is terminated. I have observed group norms, group cohesion, the generation of trust, the manifestation of resistance, the emergence of conflict and resolution, healing forces, the reactions of group members, and the various stages a group develops through (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2010). Throughout this course, I was able to derive a conceptualization of groups. From this course I will take with me the understanding of how effective group counseling can be for individuals. Groups have been known to be as effective as individual therapy and a great source of treatment. Group counseling is designed as a part of a treatment plan that helps individuals and guide them through change. Group counseling is a versatile practice, which can be used in several settings and with different populations (Corey et al., 2010). This course has given me the opportunity to reflect on my own personal leadership style, the challenges that may arise, and an action plan to continue my group leadership knowledge and skills.

Describe how your experience of the leading, participating in, or observing groups have informed or influenced you regarding your own group leadership skills, leadership style, and perception about groups;

Our group facilitation was on the subject of time management with regards to completing most important tasks first and devoting time to those specific tasks. Our goals for the group were to create an inclusive, encouraging, and positive environment between group members. My partner and I researched ideas for information that we could use to share as well as use our experience’s with the topic amongst the group. The duration of our group facilitation was ten minutes. As we reflect on the events coming to and during the facilitation we will discourse the inclusion between group members, linking members to discussion and group as well as the process of our facilitation.

An important part of our learning and growing experience must stem from our ability to analyze and reflect upon the groups that we have been members in. This reflection can define our understanding of the weaknesses both in ourselves and in the others within our group; and it can help to shape the way that we act in future groups. Adjusting ourselves to compensate for our weaknesses, based upon an honest and thorough examination of our actions within a group setting, is one of most important thing for any person to do. It is only through this evaluation that we can improve ourselves and our interactions with others. This paper will examine a group that was required to make an important decision about adding a new member

The change with the group norms is very difficult to work with. There is a saying “In the union there is strength”. I looked up the definition of Group Norms and it says: “Unspoken and often unwritten set of informal rules that govern individual behaviors in a group”. By what the text book says and this definition it is hard but not impossible to change people the ways of thinking. The process is going to be slow and hard to change the mines of the individual since there is a group that is like the force of a magnet trying to separate them but it bulls you every time you try to separate them. You will have person that will resist the change and you may have someone who will not change. These are the ones you need to identify and separate those

In conclusion, this class has changed my perspective about working in a group. Since my prior experience with groups was so unsettling, I believed that all groups were going to be the same. However, this class has made it possible to believe that there are groups that respect and take into consideration other members’

Everyone will begin with an exercise of progressive muscle relaxation and giving a short summary of their current circumstance before the session start. Mindfulness-based exercises often to be used as a closing exercise in the group program. Usually, all sessions will be closed by asking questions, such as ‘How do you feel at this moment? What have you learnt today?’ (Ruesch, Helmes & Bengel, 2015). In a spiritual religious group, topics of discussion in the sessions are as first session: introduction, an explanation regarding objectives and provisions of the group, the advantages of group therapy, talking over depression and suicide, explaining the topics of upcoming sessions and assignments; second session: prayer; third session: reading Quran and understanding the meaning; fourth session: concern with forgiveness and clemency; fifth session: repentance; sixth session: concentration on the silent thought; seventh session: talking over religious disciplines; eighth session: serving others and doing advance services; ninth session: patience, and tenth session: reliance on God (Ebrahimi, Kazemi, Khoshknab & Modabber,

The facilitators and members had medium participation throughout the group. In preparation for the group Mendelsohn chapter 4 influenced the groups formatting. The group structure was divided equally between the facilitator and co-facilitator. The facilitator introduced the groups purpose and rules. The co-facilitator engaged the group with the adjective name exercise and the groups expectations. Next the introduction of strengths was presented by the facilitator, the co-facilitator probed for the group to further discuss each member strength. Last but not least a crisis intervention plan was assigned by the facilitator and finally a resilient haiku was presented to the group that was created by both