Sunday, June 21, 2015

Reflection: Group Therapy Workshop



“Some of the most comforting words in the universe are “me too.” That moment when you find out that your struggle is also someone else’s struggle that you are not alone, and that others have been down the same road.”

Putting your wall down and telling strangers your struggles can be very intimidating. But suffering in silence and thinking that you may be the only one in the world who has to go through a difficult time can be even more severe.. Therefore group therapy offers a support network, where people of different backgrounds and personality come together to share and offer feedback to a common issue everyone is going through in a group.  Therefore, by talking about their experiences and sharing their feelings about it, people tends to bond towards the group hence finding support where they all gain strength through sharing.

However, I have noticed that for most of the members in a group, it is easy to assume the counselor's seat and to give advice rather than sharing their own feelings. So the challenge is how, as a facilitator can we encourage sharing among the group and avoid "group bonding" towards one person; which would rather make that one person thinks that he is the only one struggling, making that person feels that his private self has been violated which would often result to that person not wanting to share again.

Well, I am very new to the profession and to be honest, I still have so much yet to learn when it comes to the various kinds of counseling. But in particular, I believe that in group therapy, sharing is the support, rather than giving advice.

So, what is group therapy?

Accordingly, group therapy is where people come together to talk about issues that concerns them. It is a safe place where everyone shares and learn to interact with each other. It is where people freely shares, listens to each other and provide feedback. It is also where one learn so many ways on how to cope with difficulties by learning different ways how to cope with it. Therefore, it is very important that people in the group shares common issues and to openly discuss.

So my initial thoughts was, what is the role of the facilitator? what are the common challenges a facilitator faces while keeping the group together and be able to maintain a safe place for everyone. While there is no limit to the setting, there must be some kind of a goal so that each individual in the group can benefit from it as well as it can move on as a group, towards a common goal which to be able to find healing and yet again, support.

Well, it was my first time to actually come to a group therapy workshop. And my goal was, as a beginning Counselor, I wanted to know how to be able to facilitate the group as effectively as I can as well as know the role I am going to take in the group.

"Partly because I do trust the group, I can usually be quite loose and relaxed in a group even from the first. That's overstating it somewhat, for I always feel a little anxiety, perhaps, when a group starts, but, by and large, I feel, 'I don't have any ideas what's going to happen, but I think what's going to happen will be all right,' and I think I tend to communicate non-verbally that, 'Well, none of us seems to know what's going to happen, but it doesn't seem to be something to worry about.'" I believe that my relaxation and lack of any desire to guide may have a freeing influence on others."

And so my further study lead me to an article by Carl R. Rogers, where he sited 13 points to keep in mind when facilitating a group such as: Group Acceptance, Individual Acceptance, Emphatic Understanding, Operating in terms of feelings, Confrontation and feedback, Expression of my own problems, Avoidance of Planning and "Gimmicks", Avoidance of Interpretative or Process Comments, Physical movement and Contact, Trust in the therapeutic Potentiality of the Group, Being Aware of your own faults, Special Problems and  Non-Facilitative  Behavior.These key concept will help the facilitator become aware of the role he plays in the group therapy and his share of influence.

Therefore, it is noted that the role of the facilitator is to support and encourage self expression among the members. He is to assure that there is mutual trust and emotional safety within the group environment. The facilitator in all ways must display active and empathy skills and be able to use his counseling skills to facilitate should there be important issues or key themes to be addressed in the group. Importantly, the facilitator must ensure to help the group transition smoothly from an open process group to the psycho-educational part of the session.

In conclusion, as a facilitator, one must be willing to allow a member to participate or not to participate in a group. Every member should feel that they at some point can withdraw personal participation and not be coerced. Doing so, it will allow members to most likely open up on the next sessions knowing that they are not force to do or say something that they are not ready to express. It is also important for the facilitator to allow silence and observed if there is a presence of unexpressed pain or resistance. Also, we have to accept every statement at their face value and avoid judgement, that we are willing to believe what the person is saying rather than trying to "psycho-analyze" what it really means. The key is not to control the group and what happens within it but to assure that there is a sense of trust, and respect.

I still strongly believe that each one and every therapist, beginner or expert, unite to one solitary goal. And that is to provide an honest therapeutic environment where each individual finds healing and comfort in embracing being one with others. To let every member know that they are not alone and there are others who they can walk side by side with.

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