Chapter16 (Critical Incident): Informed Consent for Minors

Background:

 Paula is completing her internship at an elementary school, under the

supervision of Mr. George
 Wants to conduct a counseling group for third grade boys whose
parents have divorced within the last 2 years, sessions will focus on
helping group members manage the changes in their responsibilities at
home & school as a result of a new family situation
 Adapting a plan from 8th grade students she did during practicum

Incident:

 One of the student’s fathers called the principal because they were not
informed about the counseling group, but what had happened was the
Elementary school sends a letter to the parents of every student at the
beginning of the school year informing them that the school counseling
program & curriculum are approved by board of ed and they must
request in writing if they do not want their child participating in
counseling activities
 This specific student in the incident didn’t have anything in their files,
therefore the intern assumed the child’s verbal agreement to join the
group was sufficient

Chapter 10 (Corey): The Person-Centered Approach to Groups

 Carl Rogers
 Nondirective approach
 Emphasizes an equalization of power

Key Concepts

 Trust in the Group Process

o Trust in the fact that human beings have the tendency to realize
their full potential
o Based on trust that group will move forward in a constructive
way (that there is potential for the group process)
o Accepting and trusting atmosphere should be present in order for
a group to move forward
 o Members express themselves more directly, become more open-
minded, look for more answers within themselves
 Therapeutic Conditions for Growth
o Belief that individuals have within themselves everything they
need for positive change, this growth will happen in an
environment that fosters trust, understanding, empathy
o Necessary climate for acceptance and care:
 Genuineness (congruence)
 Unconditional positive regard (also called non-possessive
warmth or acceptance)
 Empathy
o This climate will give members the trust needed to lower their
guard and make use of the resources they have within
themselves for positive growth and change, foundational for
positive therapeutic outcomes
o Group facilitators must not diminish the power of members
o Emphasis placed on listening & understanding rather than on
techniques & strategies
 Genuineness (or congruence)
o Facilitator should become involved in the group as a person,
expressing themselves congruently with their inner experiences
o Genuine therapists don’t pretend to be interested when they
aren’t, don’t fake attention/understanding, do not say what they
mean, do not adopt behaviors designed to win approval
o Therapists must have high level of self-awareness, self-
acceptance, and self-trust.
o Therapists act naturally themselves as a way to relate to
members in the group, however they remain cognizant of
appropriate self-disclosure
 Appropriate self-disclosure: validate a client’s reality,
normalize experiences, strengthen the alliance, or present
alternative ways of thinking/acting
 Unconditional Positive Regard and Acceptance
o An acceptance of and caring for group members
o Leaders should be positive, nonjudgmental, accepting towards
client to make therapeutic change more likely
o Affirm clients’ self-worth, valuing & accepting experiences
without judgment
  Can lead members to become more open to & involved in
therapy
o Acceptance not to be confused with approval of certain negative
behaviors
o Attitude of non-possessive caring and warmth
 Expressed through gestures, eye contact, tone of voice,
and facial expression
 Can be sensed by clients, promotes development
o Rare for a group facilitator to be able to provide this for every
member on a consistent basis
o Idea of developing an attitude of acceptance of the group as a
whole
o Group leaders should have accepting attitudes towards
themselves as well as clients
 For group leaders, this feeling occurs on a graded
continuum
 Empathy
o Empathic understanding of members’ internal and subjective
frame of reference, capacity to see the world of another by
assuming the internal frame of reference of that person
o Shown when leaders can accurately sense feelings & personal
meanings members experience
 Facilitator must also be able to communicate this
understanding effectively to group members
o Critical factor in being an effective therapist
o One of the main functions is to foster client self-exploration
o Dissolves alienation by helping the person receiving empathy
feel more connected to others
o Ability to display empathy depends on personal development of
facilitator
o Accurate Empathy: a way for facilitators to hear the meanings
expressed by the members of their group that often lie at the
edge of their awareness
o Helps clients
 Pay attention to and value their experiences
 Process their experience both cognitively and bodily
 View old experiences in new ways that promote shifts in
perceptions of the self and one’s view of the world
  Increase their confidence in their perceptions and
judgment and their ability to make sound decisions and
take action
o Empathic understanding essential to foster the climate of
acceptance and trust necessary for the success of the group
o As group leader, remain open to own emotions, allow ourselves
to be touched by emotions of others, willing to reexperience
certain difficult events

Barriers to Effective Therapy

 Lack of attending and empathy

o Asking closed questions/preoccupied with problem solving rather
than understanding
o Not listening, preoccupied
o Beginning group counselors sometimes talk too much and listen
too little
 Absence of counselor self-disclosure
o Unreasonable and self-defeating expectation that some agencies
& institutions foster where group counselors should keep
themselves out of interactions with group members while still
somehow being expected to change behavior of the members
 Lack of positive regard, warmth, and acceptance
o Prejudice, stereotypes
o Can make client change difficult
o For more sensitive topics like murder or child abuse, a group
leader that is able to set their own reactions aside away to
benefit members is necessary during the course of that group
 Lack of belief in the therapeutic process
o When group leaders are only leading a group because they’re
required to do so or who question the effectiveness of group
therapy
o Groups should foster a climate of enthusiasm, motivation, and
faith in the group process
 Group leaders must examine how some of their own
attitudes/behaviors could be barriers to the progress of a group
Role and Functions of the Group Leader

 “way of being” rather than a “way of doing” for this theoretical

approach
 Primary function of the facilitator is to create an accepting and healing
climate in the group
 Facilitators use themselves as instruments of change in a group
 Therapist attitude & behavior are powerful determinants of group
atmosphere and how communication will unfold among group
members
 Trust in the group process & believe it can move forward without their
directive intervention
 Listen carefully to each member
 Create safe environment as best they can
 Attempt to be empathically understanding and accepting towards all
individuals in the group; don’t push group to deeper level though
 Express here-and-now reactions
 Offer members feedback, challenge members on specific behaviors if
appropriate

 listening in an active and sensitive way, accepting, understanding, respecting,

reflecting, clarifying, summarizing, sharing personal experiences, responding,
encountering and engaging others in the group, going with the flow of the group
rather than trying to direct the way the group is going, and affirming a member’s
capacity for self-determination
 receptivity to experience, contact and engagement, a therapeutic alliance, authentic
dialogue, understanding the client’s experience, and hopefulness regarding the
client’s capacity for the relationship

Discussion

1. an aspect of expressive arts i would be interested in incorporating into

my groups is visual art or journal writing
2. shy students, students who have trouble expressing their feelings
and/or emotions