Paper Sample on Group Therapy: Identifying & Coping with Shared Experiences

Introduction

Group identification refers to identifying members with intermingling groups and differentiated conceptually from common fate, cohesion, and social identity (Breitbartet et al., 2015). Group therapy is a type of psychotherapy that uses personal interaction with individuals with shared experiences to aid each person to cope, process, and grow. It involves patients adjoining to discuss the same problem supervised by a psychologist. The group targets the population facing specific problems like panic disorder, chronic pain, social anxiety, obesity, depression, and substance abuse.

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This group aims to help patients develop socialization and communication skills and allow them to study how to accept criticism and express their issues from issues. It still allows patients to develop self-awareness as they listen to others with common issues. This group's rationale is to improve patients' conversational practices, peer interaction, interactive communication, and it ensures the effectiveness of the cost.

The group interactions offer possibilities for growth and change. For group therapy to benefit patients treatment depends on the magnitude of their careful preparation and selection; therefore, group therapy appears to be beneficial to patients with common problems (Breitbart et al., 2015). The patients who define their issue as interpersonal are devoted to engaging themselves to pertinent self-disclosure, ready to be transformed by the group as well as initiate change in their relationship. Patients must be selected and allocated to a group that fits their problem well. As a result, a screening interview, mental status examination, and psychiatric history can help select the patients for group therapy (Breitbart et al., 2015). Besides, the selection of patients depends on the exclusion and inclusion criteria. An inclusion criterion includes motivation to change and the capacity to undertake group tasks. An exclusion criterion involves the likelihood to assume a divergent role and the inability to put up with a group setting.

Theoretical Framework for Group

Psychoanalysis theory states that there are unconscious forces that steer behavior (Zettle et al., 2016). The therapist still uses actions like free association, transference, and dream analysis. This model puts together interpersonal functioning and social understanding with psychoanalytic insights. The theory assumes that the long term change occurs in a serious formed group whose merged membership reflects broad societal norms. The stimulating group members' interactions become the aim of treatment and a therapeutic task by creating an understanding of conversations, group interactions, and events that facilitate a strong strategy each member studies about themselves.

The interpersonal group therapy theory states that the aim of the group therapy is established on the grounds of interpersonal studying as the primary technique for the change (Zettle et al., 2016). The group gives remedy to maladaptive behaviors and interpersonal beliefs via response from others and encourages examination with healthier different behavior first in the group outside the group.

A psychotherapy group using a standard format as well as structured week to week (Deblinger et al., 2016). The group format will assign time for preparing different activities to be studied and interventions to be used. Every session will start with an evaluation of the objectives to connect with previous meeting work. A process of checking in will follow permitting time for discussion of unresolved thoughts, feelings, and concerns for the last session; hence, it will be used to analyze emerging issues and the group's mood. Therapeutic activities, discussions, and content delivery will follow. In mid-session, a social break will be permitted. To assists all patients in transforming back to normal life, the group will end with summarizing all agendas, formulating reflective discussions, addressing all problems and questions, and giving feedback on the work discussed. A personal-centered art therapy model to individual integration and reflection will be applied to promote art therapy activities and aid in structuring the meeting planning (Deblinger et al., 2016). The activities and topics for the next session will be written in the following heading. The group period aims to cover psychotherapy materials focused on enhancing adaptive coping strategies when faced with different challenges. The group uses a flexible plan and gives time to attempts all arising therapeutic issues.

The group will focus on anxiety, stress, and depression issues. The topics covered are personal control, wellness and health, safety planning, value and beliefs, relationships, chemical dependency, and mental health systems. The activities performed depend on the reason the group will be discussing during a particular session. Some of the activities include dialogue-driven like sharing stories, reading. Others are physically engaging, and team-focused exercises like ice breakers enable members to know each other. Playing music, acting, and painting enhance creative expression. Wilderness ventures and role-playing are used to ensure trust among group members. These activities help members to develop self-confidence when interacting with individuals outside of therapy.

Analysis of Group Process and Client Outcomes

Group dynamics refers to a set of psychological and behavioral processes between groups or social groups (Deblinger et al., 2016). Under group therapy, participants, in the beginning, accord to the psychologist as the authoritative figure. The clients involved in the group associate their therapist with the ability to tackle all their problems and magical powers. There is open communication between the two parties. That is, members can use face to face talk to their therapist as they express their problems.

The group therapy will involve closed groups; it will undergo different phases such as forming, storming, norming, working, and termination (Deblinger et al., 2016). Forming is a phase where the group members will be oriented towards one another, learn much about the group, and work on being accepted. This phase is normally marked by apprehension period in which their participants try to their role in the group and studying on the group's processes and rules. After forming, the group develops to phase two, which is on storming. Under this phase, conflict arises among the member as they resist the group's influence and rebel against the task accomplishment. Often conflict management becomes the main focus of attention as members confront their differences. As a result, then the norming stage is developed where the group initiates commitment and cohesiveness (Deblinger et al., 2016). In the exercise, new techniques are established by the group members to work jointly. The setting of norms for appropriate behavior is done in this phase. Working, which is the next phase, allows the group members to work to achieve the set goals. Under this working level, proficiency is established by the members in realizing their set objectives and becoming more resilient in their joint working patterns. Lastly, termination, which is the last phase, is arrived. Here disbarment of the group happens. Under it, members have felt that they have a similar experience.

The key element for the success of a group is cohesiveness. There has to be an identification feeling in the group, belongingness feeling, and willingness of the member to sacrifice their wishes (Deblinger et al., 2016). Mainly here, members maintain their focus on the main goal, which is set to help one another solve their problems and bring close feelings to each other. The group should not hinder any individual functioning from the outside. Besides, the group has to become to an end by itself.

Under group therapy, group norms refer to the informal regulation of code of conduct and habit, which give some conformity and order to group operations and activities (Deblinger et al., 2016). Members in the group have their right to be aware of the group goals, methods, and rules when they meet their therapist. All the involved members in the group have to agree to ensure the protection of each other's identities. Also, they have to ensure the confidentiality of the group's content. That is, no one should discuss one's personal history without permission given. Besides, therapists are only tasked by law to exercise to the authorities whether any expression from any participant has unfavorable intentions to them or others. They still have to maintain an ethical, professional, and respectful environment.

Evaluation of Group Outcomes

The main ways which are used in evaluating group therapy outcomes are effectiveness and efficacy. Effectiveness refers to the advantage of therapy that occurs within the context of mental health practice (Breitbart et al., 2015). Efficacy is the therapeutic advantage found in the comparison of no-treatment and treatment group control within the clinical controlled study context (Breitbart et al., 2015). Inefficacy, the question is whether intervention or treatment is found to achieve benefit for the members compared to the treatment. If this happens, the treatment is efficacious. In effectiveness, the question is how effective the counseling offered to the clients who have a problem and gets treatment within the group.

The installation of hope is a major curative factor in this group. Different patients come for treatment, feeling overwhelmed by their inability to manage substances, and being defeated by life. They feel that they have no possibility of a good life outcome and somewhere to go. When these people join a group with people battling the same challenges, they have incredible opportunities to see a change in others (Breitbart et al., 2015). At the same time, they witness their progressive victories celebrated and acknowledged by others. Via this process, their hope starts to emerge. The focused attention and energy for hope in this healing factor get great particular attention from the members.

Disorder substance abuse tends to hinder relationships and forces the group members into isolation increase. In a short group experience, the members experience other individuals who faced the same problem. Therefore, this makes them aware that they are not alone in life hence feel tremendous satisfaction (Breitbart et al., 2015). The sense that there is no exclusion of their pain and those with the same problems are ready and willing to help them can make them profoundly healing. Such assists the clients make a move beyond their isolation. It also gives some hope to them.

Conclusion

Few tools are available for measuring and assessing the process of group therapy, members' interactions, and group dynamics (Breitbart et al., 2015). It is crucial to understand one's behavior in the group. The most used tools are group cohesiveness scale, group session rating scale, group climate questionnaires, therapeutic factors scale, and interpersonal relation checklist. The rationale of these tools is to measure and assess the group rules, norms, and other dimensions in the whole group.