ANALYZING GROUP TECHNIQUES

Group Therapy Video: Analyzing Group Techniques

Irvin Yalom, an existential therapist, is one of the most well-known proponents of group therapy. Group therapy is one of the evidence-based techniques for treating mental problems (Wheeler, 2020). Group psychotherapy has been shown to be effective in treating a variety of mental problems, including depression, gambling disorder, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) (APA, 2022). Therapy groups often have anywhere from six to fifteen participants. This depends on the goals and nature of the group. A group may fall into one of the three classifications. Additionally, it might consist of either voluntary or involuntary membership. This essay’s goal is to examine a film of a group therapy session and make inferences by responding to particular queries.

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Background Information

Members of voluntary membership groups have done so voluntarily and with full knowledge. On the other side, participants in involuntary membership groups have been required to attend group treatment by a mandated authority, such as a court of law (Corey et al., 2018; Rosenthal, 2017). These individuals frequently suffer from mental illnesses that drive them to commit minor offenses. An excellent example is a person who steals a little money to support their addiction, such as an alcoholic or a gambler. Through collective therapeutic or curative aspects, groups promote healing. These include catharsis, social cohesiveness, universality, benevolence, instillation of hope, interpersonal learning, existential factors, and imitative behavior, according to Overholser (2005) and Yalom and Leszcz (2005).

Group Therapy Techniques

            The film includes examples of active listening, encouraging, shutting off, using your eyes, tone-setting, and empathy among other group therapy skills. Particularly with reference to the participant who had remained mute throughout, the group facilitator or therapist did a fantastic job of bringing these tactics out. By arranging the chairs in a circle, the eyes were used. The therapist was able to keep eye contact with every participant in the group in this fashion, which allowed him to identify the female group member who was silent.

The way the therapist framed the tone of the session was another example of tone setting in action. He gave the group members advice on how to articulate their anxieties. Additionally, he was sympathetic with the woman who was shy and pushed her to speak. There was clear evidence of active listening, and the leader kept urging the group to express their emotions fearlessly. Last but not least, the leader employed the tactic of abruptly ending the conversation while intervening to refocus the conversation so that everyone may participate and gain from the curative elements.

            The aforementioned methods employed in the film are supported by enough evidence from the literature. Works by Rosenthal (2017), Corey et al. (2018), Overholser (2005), and Yalom and Leszcz (2005) contain this evidence.

What the Therapist Did Well

            The therapist did a good job, in my opinion, of identifying the group member who was silent and encouraging her to talk. She eventually admitted that she was reluctant to talk since she was uncomfortable with having a large gathering of people pay close attention to what she said. The therapist successfully got the quiet woman to talk and engage with the other group members by carefully applying encouraging and active listening tactics.

What I May Have Done Differently

            The utilization of the cutting off technique is something I noticed and might have handled differently. In this instance, I would have used it carefully because, in my opinion, overusing it might have the unintended consequence of preventing group members from speaking. The majority of group members are sensitive, and throughout the group’s initial formation stage and the beginning of each session (the opening phase), they grow more vulnerable. It was evident from watching the video that this group was still developing.

The reason I make the aforementioned comment is because the woman who was reluctant to speak said that it takes her some time to adjust to new people in a setting like the one she was in. This can only imply that the group members still needed to get to know one another and form a bond. Therefore, cutting off may not be the ideal approach to apply extensively at such a key point of the group.

Insight Gained

            I learned from seeing the group leader manage the group that a group leader needs to have a keen eye and spot individuals who might be having issues right away. Analyzing Group Techniques These are typically expressiveness and adjustment issues. It is obvious that if this does not take place, a person who is afraid to express themselves may lose out as others advance and benefit from the group therapy features.

Handling a Difficult Group Member

            If I were the group leader, I would use the inner circle outer circle strategy to deal with a challenging group member (Corey et al., 2018; Rosenthal, 2017). In this method, the therapist decides to arrange the members who are not disruptive and interested in therapy in an inner circle of seats and the disruptive members on an outer circle of seats. In this manner, they won’t disturb the other participants who want to get something from the meeting. They still have the option to decide to make a positive contribution, in which case they will be permitted to take part.

As additional techniques, I would encourage involvement in the group and set the tone. I would expect to see disagreements, mistrust, and misunderstandings in the first phase of group therapy; cohesion in the second phase; and rage in the third phase (Corey et al., 2018). Learning from others’ experiences and realizing that one is not alone in dealing with an illness are, in my opinion, two advantages of group therapy. Even by itself, this promotes recovery and coping. On the other hand, the two biggest difficulties I see are managing antagonistic involuntary group members and the level of diversity needed to manage individuals with different cultural backgrounds.

Conclusion

Treatment for mental health issues with group therapy is successful. It is a secure substitute for or addition to medication therapy for certain disorders. However, it necessitates that the therapist or group facilitator be knowledgeable about specific strategies that are crucial to group therapy’s effectiveness Analyzing Group Techniques. These consist of encouraging others, active listening, and eye contact. There are many other difficulties, and the group therapist needs to be alert for them. They include the requirement for unmatched multicultural competence. All of the supplementary materials are scholarly because they are either peer-reviewed journal articles or authoritative subject texts produced by recognized authorities and specialists.

References

American Psychiatric Association [APA] (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), 5^th ed. Author.

Corey, M.S., Corey, G., & Corey, C. (2018). Groups: Processes and practice, 10^th ed. Cengage Learning.

Overholser, J.C. (2005). Group psychotherapy and existential concerns: An interview with Irvin Yalom. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 35(2), 185-197. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10879-005-2699-7

Rosenthal, H. (2017). Encyclopedia of counseling: Master review and tutorial for the National Counselor Examination, State Counseling Exams, and the Counselor Preparation, 4^th ed. Routledge.

Wheeler, K. (2020). Psychotherapy for the advanced practice psychiatric nurse: A how-to guide for evidence-based practice, 3^rd ed. Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Yalom, I.D., & Leszcz, M. (2005). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy, 5^th ed. Basic Books.