GROUP

COUNSELING
 Effective Group
Counseling

Practical
Considerations in
forming a Group
 What is group counseling?
Group counseling involves a small group of
people (usually 6-10) who meet together
weekly, along with one or two trained
members of the Counseling Center staff, to
talk about their struggles and problems. These
groups can take a variety of forms. Some
focus on a specific topic or problem, while
others address a number of different concerns.
What makes group counseling work?

 When people come into a group and

interact freely with other group members,
they tend to recreate those difficulties
that brought them to counseling in the
first place. Under the skilled direction of
the group facilitators, the group is able to
give support, offer alternatives, or gently
confront the an individual. In this way,
the difficulty is resolved,
BEGINNING COUNSELING GROUPS
 A crucial element in starting counseling groups
is making decisions beforehand.
 Pregroup planning is the first step in the
process.
 Leaders design groups so that they will yield
productive and pragmatic results for
participants. Among the most important
considerations are those associated with
objectives, membership, rules, time, place, and
dynamics.
 Stages in the Development of the
group:
 1. Formation of the Group:

 It involves making students aware about the Group

by making announcements, putting posters etc.

 The second step involves screening and selection of

group members.

 The third step involves briefing the members about

the group, plan, its goals and also the group ethics.
 2. Initial stage: Orientation and Exploration:
This involves determining the structure of the
group, getting acquainted and exploring the
member’s expectations. They also become
aware of how the group functions, define their
own goals and clarify their expectations.

 3. Transition stage: Dealing with resistance:

This is quite a difficult phase where the
members deal with their anxiety, resistance
and conflict and the leader helps them deal and
work with their weaknesses.
 What are the benefits of group
counseling?
 In a group, you can:
 Learn more about how you are perceived by others.
 Experience a sense of acceptance and belonging.
 Discover that you are not alone in the difficulties you are
experiencing.
 Hear ideas from others which enhance your ability to
make decisions and solve problems.
 Benefit from the experience of being helpful to others.
 Learn to constructively express your feelings and ideas to
others.
 Gain encouragement by observing the successes of others.
 OBJECTIVES OF GROUP
COUNSELING
 Group counseling involves individuals who are having
difficulties they wish to resolve that are of a personal,
educational, social, or vocational nature.
 These groups are primarily run in educational institutions
or agencies.
 They deal with specific, nonpathological problems that
members are aware of prior to joining and which do not
involve major personality changes.
 For instance, group counseling may focus on how members
achieve such goals as relating better to their families,
becoming organized, or relaxing in the presence of
supervisors at work.
Why would someone choose Group
Counseling instead of Individual?
Some of the benefits of group are:
 allows you to be less isolated as you work on your
issues
 helps you to realize you're not alone in your struggles
 provides multiple perspectives on issues and how you
are seen by others
 provides an ideal means for practicing and learning
new interpersonal behaviors
 helping others helps you to see your own issues
differently and to feel you have something to offer
others
 What about confidentiality?

 The responsibility for confidentiality is

shared among the group leader(s) and all
group members. Every member of each
therapy group at the is required to sign to
agree to adhere to these rules of
confidentiality.
Advantages of Group Counseling:
 It caters to the needs of more than 1 student and
the maximum being 8 to 10 students forming a
group.
 It also is time saving when compared to
individual counseling as issues can be addressed
simultaneously among the students.
 It also provides a healthy atmosphere for
sharing experiences and learning from the other
group members so that the student doesn't feel
left out and also is supportive.
What you can expect from Group Counseling
 Group counseling provides you with some
unique opportunities. You'll learn to
 address current concerns most important to you.
 identify with others who are experiencing similar
concerns.
 increase your self awareness and focus on aspects of
your life you wish to change.
 gain immediate feedback on how others see you
from other members and the leaders.
 become more sensitive to the needs of others.
 respect individual differences as you learn to affirm
your own uniqueness.
 GROUP MEMBERSHIP
 Group membership is either homogeneous or
heterogeneous.
 Homogeneous groups are composed of individuals who
are similar, such as adolescent boys, single parents or
individuals working with grief and loss issues.
 Heterogeneous groups are made up of people who
differ in background, such as adults of various ages
with varied careers.
 While homogeneous groups can concentrate on
resolving one issue, their members may be limited
experientially.
 In contrast, heterogeneous groups offer diverse but
multifocused membership.
 Effective group leaders screen potential members
before accepting them.
 Screening allows leaders to select members and
members to select leaders and groups.
 The ideal group size of eight to 12 allows members an
opportunity to express themselves without forming into
subgroups.
 In order to help dispel and overcome misconceptions
about groups, leaders can utilize pregroup interviews to
identify fears related to upcoming groups.
 Through feedback and explanation, misunderstandings
can be immediately clarified and corrected.
 GROUP STAGES
 In addition to preplanning, effective group
counseling leaders recognize that groups go
through five stages: dependency, conflict,
cohesion, interdependence, and termination.
The stages are often called "forming,
storming, norming, performing, and
adjourning.
 Recognizing group stages gives counselors
an opportunity to devise or utilize
appropriate leadership interventions.
 The first group stage is "dependency" or forming.
At this time, group members are unsure of
themselves and look to their leaders or others for
direction.
 The second stage in group counseling is "conflict,"
or storming. It may be overt or covert. The type
and amount of conflict that is generated relates to
how much jockeying for position goes on in the
group.
 Stage three focuses on "cohesion," or norming,
which can be defined as a spirit of "we-ness." In it,
members become closer psychologically and are
more relaxed. Everyone feels included in the
group and productive sharing begins to occur.
 In the fourth stage, performing, the main
work of the group is begun.
Interdependence develops. Group
members are able to assume a wide
variety of constructive roles and work on
personal issues.
 The final stage, adjourning deals with
termination. Issues of loss in separating
from the group are raised. Celebrating the
accomplishment of goals is also a
primary focus within this stage.
GROUP COUNSELING SKILLS
 As with other groups, leaders of effective
counseling groups need to employ a variety
of interpersonal skills.
 Among the most important of these are:

 a) active listening, where leaders are sensitive

to the language, tone, and nonverbal gestures
surrounding members' messages;
 b) linking, where leaders help members
recognize their similarities;
 c) blocking, where leaders keep unfocused members
from disrupting the group by either redirecting them or
preventing them from monopolizing conversations; and
 d) summarizing, where leaders help members become
aware of what has occurred and how the group and its
members have changed.
 Empathy, personal warmth, courage, flexibility,
inquiry, encouragement, and the ability to confront are
vital skills too. Counseling group leaders must wear
many hats in helping their groups make progress. The
more skills within the counselors' repertoires the more
effective they will ultimately become.
Ethical issues involved in group
Counseling are:
 Informed consent: The leader has to demonstrate to all
the members honesty and respect and also provide
information about the group in the initial session. The
information includes a clear statement regarding the
purpose of the group, ground rules, the group leader’s
introduction, information concerning fees, issue of
confidentiality, rights and responsibilities of group
members etc.
 It also involves stressing on the responsibilities of the
group members which are regularity, punctuality,
being willing to openly talk about oneself, providing
feedback to others, maintaining confidentiality.
 While a member wants to leave a group, he
should provide a valid reason to the group
leader for opting out and not just leave
without prior notice and explanation.
 Confidentiality is one of the key norms of
behavior in a group. It should be clearly
explained in the initial session by the group
leader to all the members and also the
situation when confidentiality can likely be
broken in certain cases.
Characteristics of a Group
leader
  Some personal characteristics are very essential for the
 Some personal characteristics are very essential for the
group leader as in order to promote growth in the
member’s lives, the leaders themselves should live
growth oriented lives. They are:
 
 Presence: Being emotionally present means able to
share the joy and pain that others experience. This
helps in being empathizing and compassionate to the
group members.
 
 Personal power: It involves the group leader to be
confident about themselves and facilitate the member’s
towards empowerment.
 Courage: The group leader must be able to openly
accept his faults, confronting others.
 
 Willingness to confront oneself: The group leader
should be willing to question himself, about his
attitude, feelings, biases etc.
 
 Sincerity and Authenticity
 
 Sense of Identity
 
 Inventiveness and Creativity: They should be open
to new experiences, share new ideas and not stick to
traditional  ritualistic methods.