Group Stages
This group stage is characterized by anxiety, defensiveness, and resistance as members test boundaries and challenge the leader and other members. This stage involves power struggles, conflict, and emotional struggles, but it is also a time when members begin to increase self-awareness and start to trust the leader enough to share feelings and thoughts that were held back during the initial stage.
What is: Transition Stage (Norming)
This leader skill is used to connect one group member to another during your group session.
What Is: Linking
This ethical standard requires social workers to protect each member’s personal information shared in a group setting, though there are limitations to it.
What Is: Confidentiality
Key concepts from this theoretical approach include: being influenced by unconscious motivation and early childhood experiences; analyzing inner conflicts that are rooted in past. Techniques include: free association, analysis of transference, interpretation
What is: Psychodynamic Theory (or psychoanalytic approach)
You are co-leading a group and group member calls out that you never participate as the leader and suggests that you must think you are better than them. What factors do you need to consider about this statement when responding?
What Are: Power dynamics- differ roles, ethical self-disclosure, the vulnerability of being in a group as a participant
This group stage is characterized by orientation and exploration, where members are cautious, hesitant, and focused on understanding the group's purpose, rules, and the leader's role. Key characteristics include a central task of establishing trust, with members assessing who they can trust and how much to disclose, while leaders model trust-building behaviors and begin establishing norms
What is: Initial Stage (Storming)
This skill is dependent on active listening, it involves the ability to convey the "essence" /convey that you understand the deeper meaning about a group member sharing.
What Is: Reflective Listening
Explaining group purpose, expectations, and rules at the first session reflects this ethical responsibility.
What Is: Informed Consent
Group leaders trained in this theoretical/practice approach think more in terms of experiments than techniques. This approach focuses on what is in the individual's awareness, feelings, thoughts, sensations, and actions are all used as way to understand group members.
What Is: Gestalt Therapy
You see a group member who is usually very verbally engaged in your group who is currently very withdrawn. They are not making eye contact, they appeared visibly tense (clenched fists, shaking leg), within the first few minutes of the group this seems to be increasing as they are becoming increasingly tense and agitated. Pausing the group to give everyone a break and to briefly check in with this group member is an example of this strategy.
What Is: De-Escalation?
Not every group reaches this stage, but if the group does you will see increased cohesion and productivity, in terms of group members working together towards a common goal.
What Is: Working Stage (Performing)
This is a therapeutic intervention that combines sharing education with group members and connecting it to some supportive strategies (e.g. coping skills).
What Is: Psychoeducation
You are leading a teen grief group. A group member asks you to come to their birthday party at Kings Dominion next week, they have friends from school who will be at this party. If you attend, what potential ethical issues can arise?
What Are: Boundary Violations & Dual Relationships
Often recommended as an evidence-based approach to behavior change that is grounded in this practice approach is grounded in partnership (collaborating with group members), evocation (empowering group members to identify and express their goals). The following techniques are utilized: open-ended questions, affirmation, and reflections
What Is: Motivational Interviewing
As a BSW the psychoeducation group you are leading about addiction has turned more into a therapy group and members are disclosing intense trauma histories. What ethical principle should you be aware of here.
What Is: Competence- not working outside the scope of your practice
This stage is often called the pre-group phase, where you may meet with group members individual to assess readiness for group.
What is: Forming Stage
Being constantly engaged with your group and identifying changes in verbal / non-verbal behaviors in sessions involves this skill
What Is: Assessment
You see a group member sitting in a Wendy's enjoying a square hamburger with their family. You really enjoy working with this individual in your group, so you excitedly walk up to them and say hi. What ethical principle did you just violate?
What Is: Confidentiality (group members could approach you first in public and say hi, but you should not be approaching them with no acknowledgement).
Core components of this theory include: observational learning, modeling, reinforcement/punishment, and reciprocal determinism. This theoretical approach can be especially use in teen groups, due to the role of peer support and peer influence.
What Is: Social Learning Theory
During the first week of group you asked your group members to not bring their phones into a the group room and your group members agreed with this. Despite this agreement, one of your group members consistently brings their phone into the room and texts throughout your group session, this group is violating your group _____
What Is: Norms
This final stage of a group may result in: reinforcement of learning that occurred throughout the group, activities to address the closure of the group, and addressing emotional needs of group members once the group has ended.
What Is: Termination (Adjourning)
When your group members brings up some random stuff that has no place in your group session, you can use this technique by acknowledging what they have shared but not addressing it immeadiately.
What Is: The Parking Lot Method
This is the primary indicator of an ethical self-disclosure. (AKA- what question should you ask yourself before self-disclosing in your group).
What Is: Self-Disclosure for the Intended Benefit of the Group (am I self-disclosing for a clinical reason to support the group, or is it because I want to talk about this).
This theoretical approach focuses on the social aspects of behavior, contending that people are influenced and motivated by societal forces. Understanding the important goals that drives a person's behavior is central to this theoretical approach.
What is: Adlerian Theory
In our class role plays we were limited with what we could do to manage the physical environment of a group, with full creativity available, what are some examples of things you could do to help manage this physical environment of your group
What Are: spacing of chairs, use of tables for writing/drawing activity, inviting room, use of music, lighting, decorate the space, manage distractions