GROUP COUNSELING

Group Counseling

Group Counseling

Introduction

Group counseling is a direct service offered to students as part of a comprehensive school counseling program (Agazarian, 2000). Although group counseling is cited as an effective intervention, we found that many high school counselors struggle to effectively plan and implement ongoing group counseling services. In fact, the overall frequency of group counseling in high schools has been found to be remarkably low (Cohen, 1998).

Group counseling is more in consonance with the Control Theory, later named Choice Theory, forwarded by William Glasser. This theory states that a person's behavior is inspired by what that person wants or needs at that particular time, not on an outside stimulus.

That all living creatures control their behavior to fulfill their need for satisfaction in one or more of these five areas: survival, to belong and be loved by others, to have power and importance, freedom and independence, and to have fun. The most important need among the five is love and belongingness. Group counseling promotes this kind of feeling. Being connected to others is encouraged in group counseling (Lakin, 1995).

Benefits of Group Consoling

Group counseling is a process where 4-10 individuals meet weekly with a professional counselor (facilitator) to discuss specific issues. Members are encouraged to give support to one another and to provide feedback to other members. Students build trusting relationships where members feel safe to explore sensitive issues and resolve emotional difficulties. Members work through these issues through discussion, trying out new behaviors, and paying attention to how they interact with and react to one another. It is an opportunity for students learn how to change life situations for the better.

One great benefit of group counseling is that members are able to relate to others who are in a situation similar to their own. This allows members the opportunity/possibility to see how someone else handled a certain problem and provides a model as to how he/she might handle the same problem. It also fosters empowerment, for example, when a member can report to the other members a successful interaction in dealing with a difficult situation outside of the group. Members learn from each other, and many times, grow together emotionally throughout the group process.

Group counseling is also a safe place where you meet with the same individuals each week. The group is generally closed to anyone else once the core members have been established. When people join a group it is requested that they keep the contents of the group discussions confidential. Disclosing group information outside of the group is inappropriate; therefore, it is stressed that what people talk about or share with the group must remain within the group.

Group counseling is better than individual counseling when it comes to developing new behaviors that clearly communicate their needs and help in attaining fulfillment in the reality. Group therapy considers the key elements of what the group are looking for and what will make their life better, what the group will do to bring about what they want and how they are ...