Individual Therapy Vs Group Therapy Essay

Al-Anon is a world-wide fellowship 12 steps program and the counterpart to Alcoholics Anonymous that was found in 1951; Al-Anon states that they are not affiliated nor:

Having experience in conducting group did not decrease the level of preparation and anxiety that came with the preparation for this exercise. However, the experience made the actual process of conducting group therapy less intimidating once the session started. This experiential exercise fostered the ability to look at myself as a group facilitator and be able to plan for group; it allowed me to be in tuned to the ongoing process occurring during the session and the ability to reflect after it was completed.

The text book, The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom with Molyn Leszcz begins with the preface of the fifth edition. In the preface, Irvin D. Yalom introduced Molyn Leszcz as his collaborator and how they met at Stanford University in 1980. He then discussed how they both worked hard collaboratively to combine old and new material to make this edition. Their goals for this edition were to prepare student therapists for the present-day workplace and to keep the current methods from decaying, so that students can gather wisdom and techniques of the field when they get the opportunity to utilize those methods as therapists. Yalom briefly talked about what each chapter in the text would discuss. He closed out by mentioning while making changes to this text, he was also writing the class novel, The Schopenhauer Cure, which complements this text very well.

According to Virginia Brabender, co-author of Essentials of Group Therapy, this form of treatment involves “a small group of members and one or more therapists with specialized training [verbally communicating among each other] …it is designed to promote psychological growth” (Brabender 15). In practice, this method has been proven to be quite successful in treating psychiatric patients: “review studies…consistently reveal that group therapy is effective in producing positive changes” (Brabender 161). Furthermore, it has been determined that group therapy allows patients with different forms of mental disorders, including severe anxiety and PTSD, to see benefits in their esteem, satisfaction in life, and behavior (Brabender

Therapists must access their own internal process such as their feelings, attitudes and moods. Therapists’, who are not receptive to the awareness of their flow of thoughts and feelings, will not be able to help clients be aware of theirs (Kahn, 1997, p. 40). Though congruence does not mean that therapists have to share personal issues with clients, a therapist must not conceal their inner process from the client, and not be defensive but transparent (Kahn, 1997, p. 41). By being open sometimes a therapist learns more not only about their client but about themselves

In conclusion this semesters group therapy, has been a great learning experience to understand the therapeutic elements of the group. In the previous semesters of practicum, it was mostly about the experience and developing self-awareness, but with this semester, I can lead group with greater understanding of it’s effectiveness and what to be careful of when conducting group. The 11 therapeutic factors as expressed by Yalom, was apparent over the course of the semester, with each therapeutic factor playing its

This group would go over women’s issues. The group leader would need to screen member’s to be sure that the members would benefit from this experience. This group would include six group members that would meet once a week for an hour. The leader would encourage the ladies to talk about some of those issues in their lives that would stop the group member from moving forward. For example: one lady would come into counseling because she has self esteem problems. She does not feel that people would want to be around her. The counselor would work on these kinds of issues. In this case, the counselor would need to examine their cognicent thought patterns. The counselor would encourage the client to talk about how they would feel about themselves, and try to work out those negative thoughts that would group member would have. The counselor would also encourage the group members to help her work out those thoughts, by forming a relationship with other group members and helping one another about some of their problems that are stopping them from moving

As the leader of the group the counselor will use the intake appointment to meet with the participant individually and talk about the group structure. Once the counselor has met with the participant, the participant will answer some screening questions. After the participant has completed the screening questions the counselor will have an interview with the participant. The counselor will get additional information or clarification based on the screening questions. The counselor will then advise the participant that she will call the participant to inform them if they will be part of the group.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that is associated with symptoms of arousal, flashbacks, and avoidance. PTSD affects all individuals. PTSD is diagnosed through self- report measures and clinician administered interviews in order to measure the severity of the disorder (Bauer, M.R. et. al,. 1993). Veterans and trauma survivors are reported to experience PTSD, however with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy, it decreases the symptoms and trauma-related cognitions among the individuals affected.

This type of group will be a homogenous therapeutic process group with the goal to help those that identify as members of the LGBTQ community. Subsequently, the overall theme for this closed counseling group will be “adjusting to college life as a member of the LGBTQ community.” The first group will consist of ten prescreened individuals. There will be one meeting per week for one hour for twelve weeks starting in mid-September. This is

Many theories of group counselling have borrowed ideas and approaches from psychoanalysis. The primary aim of the analytic process is reorganize the client’s personality and character structure. This aim is attained by making unconscious conflicts conscious and analysing them. Wolf (1963, 1975) developed group applications of fundamental psychoanalytic approaches such as working with transference, free association, dreams, and the historical factors of existing behaviour. The group leader relates understanding to the family-like relations that emerge among the members and between the members and the therapist. Because of the family-like atmosphere, the group provides opportunities to evoke associations to both family-of-origin and present life

After the Advanced Skills Facilitation course, I had learned many counselling skills in group counselling and different settings of group counselling. Also, it provided a lot of exercises for us to practice group counselling sessions. Thus, there are many things that I can make a reflection on it.

Based on the intake, Benjamin’s alcohol abuse has been identified as an ongoing problem in need of treatment. It is mainly manifested in the combination of the loss of his wife, retirement, and poor relationship with his daughter. I believe Benjamin will greatly benefit from attending individual and group therapy to learn to cope with his grief that possibly led him to alcohol abuse. In his case, I would apply the DBT approach as he has difficulty regulating emotions and behavior. The session focuses on teaching him to learn coping skills, including problem-solving and emotional regulation. The goals also include homework assignments to practice them between sessions so that he can demonstrate he practiced them between sessions. Practically, utilizing self-monitoring log help to address the most severe issue first, which is the alcohol abuse that possibly resulted from the loss of his wife. It seemed Benjamin experienced renewed, intense grief, and began drinking to feel better. This DBT approach also effective in the group therapy that focuses taking action and participating in changing one’s thoughts. The focus of treatment is on what is relevant, current and practical

I think that the structure of working in small groups increased my engagement in the whole process. I felt that the structure of the two components was clear and the style of facilitation helped creating a safe space for developing psychologists. When participating in a reflective group that gives feedback to your work as a psychologist you also experience the influence of the advice on you. It is a brief experience on how you can use the feedback you take from colleagues in a way to improve your work as a

Much discussion is devoted to the literature regarding group work as it remains an integral part of the social work field. Group work is important as “the need to belong is one of the most basic and powerful human needs as well as the most social” (Ashford, & Lecroy, 2008, pg. 140). Group work is found to be an effective intervention and has become a major treatment modality in the mental health services (Knight, 2017; Clements, 2008). This intervention has been found just as effective as an individual intervention (Knight, 2017). Groups have played an instrumental part in transforming how the social work field thinks about the helping process for clients. Social work using groups utilizes group processes as ways to help individuals and the groups accomplish their goals (Social Work Practice with Groups, n.d.). Group work can be defined as “a method of working with people in groups for personal growth, the enhancement functioning, and for the achievement of socially desirable goals” (Social Work Practice with Groups, n.d.). Group work emphasizes member empowerment and mutual support both which