Summary Report of my Group

Amanda Collins

Department of Education, California State University, Northridge

EPC 658: Seminar in Group Counseling

Dr. Tovah Sands

May 10, 2023

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1. The name of the group is COUNSEL 004: Career Planning. It takes place from 8:00am-
9:00am on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Foreign Language Building at Los Angeles
Valley College.
2. Type of group, based on ASGW typology
a. This is a task group. Students will determine a major by learning about various
career theories and completing various career assessments.
3. State the purpose of the group from the perspective of group members
a. This group is designed to assist me in choosing a major by exploring my career
options. I will explore my interests, skills, personality type and values using
career assessments and on-line resources. I will access information regarding
occupational characteristics, employment trends and labor market updates.
Emphasis will also be placed on developing my student educational plan (SEP).
4. The population consists of first-time college students who are undecided or planning on
changing their major. The students in the group are representative of the LAVC
population who tend to be students of color, first-generation college students, and are in
their second semester of college. While there are a total of 20 members in the group, I
will focus specifically on the six members who have consistently attended the group and
whom I’ve worked with. Sofia is 19 and identifies as a first-generation Latina student,
Alexandra is 18 and identifies as a first-generation Latina student, and Natalie is 18 and
identifies as a first-generation Latina student. Greg is an 18-year old Caucasian male
who did not disclose if he was a first-generation college student. Ali is a 19-year old
male who did not disclose his ethnic identity or if he was a first-generation college
student. Keke is 18, female, and did not disclose her ethnic identity or if she was a first-
generation college student.
5. The goal of this group was for the members to determine a major to base their student
educational plan (SEP) on. Specifically, each group member should be able to write a list
of 5 steps in picking a major and complete the first 3 steps by the end of the Spring
semester.
6. Guidelines and Reflection
a. A3. Assessment- Assessment of self. Group Workers actively assess their
knowledge and skills related to the specific group(s) offered. Group Workers
assess their values, beliefs and theoretical orientation and how these impact
upon the group, particularly when working with a diverse and multicultural
population.
i. We met this standard of group counseling through our group. My co-
leader, who is also the director of the Career/Transfer Center, utilized her
specialization in career counseling to help students use their values,
interests, and skills to determine a major. Her method is to have students
determine an end goal so they’ll know the steps to get there. My
experience is in transfer, so I was able to help students reflect on the best
environments and opportunities to help shape their career path.
b. A3. Ecological assessment- Group Workers assess community needs, agency
or organization resources, sponsoring organization mission, staff
competency, attitudes regarding group work, professional training levels of
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potential group leaders regarding group work; client attitudes regarding

group work, and multicultural and diversity considerations. Group Workers
use this information as the basis for making decisions related to their group
practice, or to the implementation of groups for which they have supervisory,
evaluation, or oversight responsibilities.
i. Me and my co-leader assessed our group members’ needs during class.
Mainly, my co-leader would inform me of patterns she would see in the
group (e.g., the majority of our students are introverted due to lack of
connection during the Pandemic), and I would adjust my counseling
approach with the students accordingly (e.g., meeting with them one-on-
one to offer space for their voice to be heard outside of group).
c. Section B: Best practice in performing, B.1, B.3, B.7, & B.8
i. B1. Self Knowledge- Group Workers are aware of and monitor their
strengths and weaknesses and the effects these have on group
members. They explore their own cultural identities and how these
affect their values and beliefs about group work
ii. We have partially met this competency outside of the group session. My
co-leader and I have discussed our ethnic backgrounds and how they
shaped our view of the world during a team meeting. Additionally, my
coleader has shared how her experience failing school and then returning
for her master’s impacts her desire to teach career with the group.
However, we have not yet explicitly discussed how my experiences
impact my interactions with group members.
iii. B2. Group Competencies- Group Workers have a basic knowledge of
groups and the principles of group dynamics, and are able to perform
the core group competencies, as described in the ASGW Professional
Standards for the Training of Group Workers (ASGW, 2000). They
gain knowledge, personal, personal awareness, sensitivity, and skills
pertinent to working with a diverse client population. Additionally,
Group Workers have adequate understanding and skill in any group
specialty area chosen for practice (psychotherapy, counseling, task,
psychoeducation, as described in the ASGW Training Standards)
iv. We partially met the standards for this competency. As I only got to
spend a few hours over the course of three weeks with the students, I often
responded to the needs of the group in the moment without consciously
considering group counseling competencies. Also, while I work with a
diverse population of students in this class, I think I need more time with
them, and more research on my part, to feel confident addressing their
unique needs.
v. B3. Group Plan Adaptation- a) Group Workers apply and modify
knowledge, skills and techniques appropriate to group type and stage,
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and to the unique needs of various cultural and ethnic groups. b)

Group Workers monitor the group’s progress toward the group goals
and plan. c) Group Workers clearly define and maintain ethical,
professional, and social relationship boundaries with group members
as appropriate to their role in the organization and the type of group
being offered.
vi. We met this goal by checking in with the students at the start of every
group session, reminding students of the differences between my role as
an intern and my co-leader’s role as a counselor, and adjusting our
approaches based on the group’s responsiveness.
7. Outcome Measures for Individual Group Members
a. Ali- Ali’s goal was to complete the 2nd step of selecting a major: discussing career
assessment results with a counselor or trained career counseling intern. Ali would
send the group leader a screenshot of his counseling appointment confirmation as
well as notes from his meeting with the counselor by the end of the spring
semester.
b. Keke- Keke’s goal was to complete the 3rd step of selecting a major: researching
career descriptions on O*NET. Keke would print out a description from O*NET
of at least 1 career she is interested in and bring it to group leader on May 1st.
c. Greg- Greg’s goal was to complete the 2nd step of selecting a major: discussing
career assessment results with a counselor or trained career counseling intern. To
demonstrate that he met this goal, would send the group leader a screenshot of his
counseling appointment confirmation as well as notes from his meeting with the
counselor by the end of Spring semester.
d. Alexandra- Alexandra’s goal was to complete the 1st step of selecting a major:
completing a career assessment. Alexandra would submit her receipt for the
Holland Interest Inventory to the group leader and share her results with the class
on Wednesday April 26th.
e. Natalie- Natalie’s goal was to complete the 4th step of selecting a major:
selecting 5 majors related to her career. Natalie would bring in a worksheet with
her Holland code, her selected career, and her 5 majors of interest related to that
career to group on May 1st.
f. Sofia- Sofia’s goal was to complete the 4th and 5th steps of selecting a major:
selecting 5 majors related to her career and choosing one major to use for her
student educational plan (SEP). Natalie would bring in a worksheet with her
Holland code, her selected career, and her 5 majors of interest related to that
career to class on May 1st. She will pick one major from that list and request a
student educational plan (SEP) from the counselor at the end of the spring
semester.
8. Results for Each Group Member
a. Ali- Ali successfully completed his goal of discussing his career assessment goals
with an intern at the Career/Transfer Center. He scheduled an appointment with
me after a group meeting, sent a screenshot of the confirmation to his professor,
and discussed his feelings about his Holland Interest Code results during our
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appointment. Ali also took the notes that I wrote during our session home with
him. These actions took place four weeks before the end of the spring semester.
b. Keke- Keke successfully found a description from O*NET of at least 1 career she
found interesting and brought it to the group leader. She did so on May 8th as
opposed to the original time, May 1st.
c. Greg- As of now, Greg has not met his goal of meeting with one of the
Career/Transfer Center interns. He was assigned by my co-leader to schedule an
appointment with a Career/Transfer intern for the upcoming week as homework.
d. Alexandra- Alexandra has not yet completely fulfilled her goal of taking a career
assessment. While she says she has paid for the Holland Interest Inventory
Assessment and taken it, she has not brought her receipt to class yet. Once she
does, we will give her the results of her assessment and she can share them with
the class. This will likely take place during the next group meeting.
e. Natalie- Natalie has not yet fulfilled her goal of selecting five majors related to
her career. While she has received her Holland code and shared her results with a
Career/Transfer Center intern, she has not brought in a worksheet with her career
and her five majors of interest related to her career. If she does these steps within
the next three weeks, she will still meet her goal by the end of the spring semester.
f. Sofia- Sofia has not yet met her goal of finalizing her student educational plan.
She has brought a worksheet into class with her Holland code and her selected
career, but she has not selected 5 majors of interest by the May 1st deadline. She
also has not picked a major to base her student educational plan on. If she can
pick one major in the next three weeks, she will be on track to accomplish her
goal by the end of the spring semester.
9. Describe specific group leadership skills you used in this group. Provide specific
examples
a. I utilized linking and feedback with the members. For instance, we had the
members do an activity where they separated into two groups based on each letter
of their Myers Brigg Personality. The group members were asked to identify how
a photo made them feel. Initially, only one or two members spoke up, saying the
picture made them feel happy and at peace. I then linked those students by saying
that happiness and peacefulness were important qualities that were important to
them and asking who else in the group liked peace and happiness. A few more
students spoke up after this. I used feedback with one of the group members
during a private session when I told them that their reasoning for wanting to
pursue a private investigator license was not too ambitious or confused, rather
when they spoke to me, I heard confidence and clarity of thought.
10. What did you learn as a result of your group leadership experience? What was this
experience like for you?
a. I enjoyed this group experience as short lived as it was. This allowed me to
connect with students more personally than I have at the Career/Transfer Center
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as most of the students I work with will only meet me in-person if they visit the
center. This way, the students got to see my face, personality, and expertise
before scheduling appointments with me. It was also enjoyable to be part of their
learning process. I watched group members gradually gain confidence in their
ability to explore their career options. One challenge in co-leading this group was
the lack of active participation in class. When students met with me one-on-one
after class, they were a little more inclined to speak openly with me. During the
group itself, there were various long periods of silence that my co-leader would
often try to fill by asking open-ended questions to stimulate discussion. This is a
pattern she’s observed in years past since the Pandemic. We would never force
students who did not want to participate to speak, but we encouraged them to
share their thoughts should they be inclined to share. If I were to lead this group
again, I would want to keep in mind the lack of comfortability with participating
actively in class discussions and allow space for either small talk or ice breakers
so the group members can better connect with each other.