PSYCHOLOGY

Group Counseling

Group Counseling

Task 1

Chakraburtty, A. (2009), “Group Therapy and Mental Health”, WebMD Publications, reviewed on March 09' 2009

Sources: American Group Psychotherapy Association and Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology

Task 2

The article under discussion here talks about the relationship between group therapy and mental health. The article begins with an insight as to what a patient should expect from a group counseling session that deals with panic disorder or anxiety. The write up also shows the benefits of group counseling sessions.

The author begins with the description of group therapy by drawing comparison with psychological therapy which is conducted with a group of people instead of an individual session with each person. The session starts with an introduction of all the members and then discussion flows across the members to discuss problems and solutions.

The benefits of group therapy or group counseling is that it sends out a message to the person that he or she is not the only one suffering with the disorder. Group therapy shows that people the problem they think is exclusive to them is often general. For some patients, this piece of information is often very helpful. The author also talks about how group therapy sessions can develop a person's ability to develop skills that could help them relate to other individuals with the same kind of problems. These sessions can also allow individuals to hone their relationships they have outside the therapy group. The treatment in these sessions goes a long way in helping individuals. Members of the group with same problems can also help each other out with their problems. By discussing the issues in groups, people can develop solutions that they may not have considered earlier.

There may be a tendency to refrain from disclosing personal information to strangers initially. But it is human nature ...