LECTURE 3

EDU 436

LEADERS AND GROUP COUNSELING

by

Abdul Latiff Sabri, Ph.D

Group Leader as a Person

The ability to establish solid relationships with others in the group is the MOST IMPORTANT TOOL a leader has in facilitating the group process.

As a leader, you bring your personal qualities, values and life experiences to the group.
To promote growth in others lives, you need to be committed to self-reflection and growth in your own life.

Successful groups cannot be personally guaranteed even if you are a seasoned group counselor because:
1. We all make mistakes and must be willing to learn from them Do not be harshly critical of yourself This imposes standards of perfection on others Stifles creativity in group members 2. We cannot control all variables in the group, personalities, attitudes, situations are beyond our control

Personal Characteristics of Effective Leaders

1. Courage One of the most important personal traits
of a successful group leader. Demonstrated through your willingness to:
(a) Be vulnerable at times, admitting mistakes and taking the same risks you expert group members to take (b) To confront others but to stay with them as they work through the conflict (c) To act on your beliefs and hunches (d) To be emotionally affected by others and to draw on you own experiences to identify with them (but with balance) (e) To examine your life (f) To be direct and honest with members in a caring and respectful way

2. Willingness to Model
(a) Model appropriate group behavior (b) Create group norms of openness, seriousness of purpose, acceptance of others, desirability of taking risks by modeling them

3.

Be Present
(a) Ability to be present with group members is very important (b) Presence involves being touched by others pain and joy (c) Balance this touch so as not to be emotionally overwhelmed (d) Maintain your boundaries do not over identify with clients (e) Spend time alone before group begins, blocking our distractions. Think about specific needs of group member

4. Goodwill, Genuineness and Caring

(a) Maintain a sincere interest in the welfare of those in your group (b) Caring involves, respecting, trusting and valuing people (c) Keep in mind the powerless people need to defend themselves from self-knowledge they do not want others to discover their vulnerabilities and may sabotage group to prevent exposure

(d) Prevent clients/students from putting leader on pedestal and belittling themselves (e) Leaders need to guard themselves from becoming infatuated with members perception that they are perfect (f) Get client to take credit from what they are doing to cause growth too

5. Stamina
(a) Be aware of own energy level and seek ways to replenish it (b) Maintain realistic expectations for group goals and accomplishments (c) Dont let problematic behaviors of group dropouts dampen enthusiasm (d) Do not depend on success of group to maintain your stamina (i) You may have a low energy group with negative attitude that you need to inflict with a positive attitude (ii) Do not blame self for others lack of motivation

6. Self Awareness
a)

b)

c)

d)

Understand your own identity, cultural perspective, goals, values, needs, motivations, strengths feelings and problems. You cannot bring about this kind of awareness in clients/students if you do not know yourself Unresolved problems will hinder good group work as a counselor You cannot help others risk self-discovery if you are unwilling to go there yourself

7. Sense of Humor
a) b) c) d) e)

f)

Develop the ability to laugh at yourself so others feel free to laugh at themselves. Laughter helps release the built up tension when things get psychologically heavy Must be used at the right time in the appropriate manner Do not allow humor to be used to avoid facing issues Remember that laughter is healing and good for the soul Group leaders can model a good sense of humor

8. Inventiveness
a) b)

c)
d)

You may have to be spontaneous and be open to fresh ideas Avoid monotonous routines that take the life out of a group Be willing to utilize group experiments not only to get group participation, but instill life into group Be open to including a co-leader that may have fresh ideas

9. Personal Dedication and Commitment

A good counselor must: a) Believe in the ideals of group work b) Maintain a vision for how groups can empower people c) Be willing to ride out the difficult times in the group d) Stay focused and on track e) Maintain humility f) Be open to feedback for improvement g) Be willing to explore ones self and build on strengths h) Stay abreast of changes in the field, through reading, seminars, etc.

Group Leader as a Professional Leadership Skills

1.

2.

Active Listening Attending to verbal and non verbal aspects of communication without judging or evaluating Aims to encourage selfdisclosure and exploration. Restating Saying in slightly different words what a participant has said to clarify its meaning Aims to determine if the leader has understood correctly the clients statement; to provide support and clarification

3. Clarification Grasping the essence of a

message at both the feeling and the thinking levels; simplifying client statements by focusing on the core of the message. This is to help clients sort out conflicting and confused feelings and thoughts; to arrive at a meaningful understanding of what is being communicated.

4. Summarizing Pulling together the important elements of an interaction or session aims to avoid fragmentation and give direction to a session; to provide for continuity and meaning. 5. Questioning Asking open-ended questions that lead to self-exploration of the what and how of behavior. This is to elicit further discussion; to get information; to stimulate thinking; to increase clarity and focus; to provide for further self-exploration.

6. Interpreting Offering possible explanations for certain behaviors, feelings, and thoughts To encourage deeper self- exploration; to provide a new perspective for considering and understanding ones behavior. 7. Confronting Challenging members to look at discrepancies between their words and actions or body and verbal messages; pointing to conflicting information or messages To encourage honest self-investigation; to promote full use of potentials; to bring about awareness of self-contradictions

8. Reflecting Feelings Communicating

understanding of the content of feelings To let members know that they are heard and understood beyond the level of words. 9. Supporting Providing encouragement and reinforcement To create an atmosphere that encourages members to continue desired behaviors; to provide help when clients are facing difficult struggles; to create trust.

10. Empathizing Identifying with clients by assuming their frames of reference To foster trust in the therapeutic relationship; to communicate understanding; to encourage deeper levels of self-exploration. 11. Facilitating Opening up clear and direct communication within the group, helping members assume increasing responsibility for the groups direction To promote effective communication among members their own goals in the group.

12. Initiating Promoting group participation and introducing new directions in the group To prevent needless group floundering; to increase the pace of group process. 13. Goal Setting Planning specific goals for the group process and helping participants define concrete and meaningful goals To give direction to the groups activities; to help members select and clarify their goals

14. Evaluating Appraising the ongoing group process and the individual and group dynamics To promote better self-awareness and understanding of group movement and direction. 15. Giving Feedback Expressing concrete and honest reactions based on observation of members behaviors To offer an external view of how the person appears to others; to increase the clients self-awareness

16. Suggesting Offering advice and information, direction, and ideas for new behavior To help members develop alternative courses of thinking and action. 17. Protecting Safeguarding members from unnecessary psychological risks in the group To warn members of possible risks in group participation; to reduce these risks

18. Disclosing Oneself Revealing ones reactions to here-and-now events in the group To facilitate deeper levels of group interaction; to create trust; to model ways of revealing oneself to others 19. Modeling Demonstrating desired behavior through actions To provide examples of desirable behavior; to inspire members to fully develop their potential

20.

21.

22.

Linking Connecting the work that members do to common themes in the group To promote member-to member interactions; to encourage the development of cohesion Blocking Intervening to stop counter productive group behavior To protect members; to enhance the flow of group process Terminating Preparing the group to close a session or end its existence To help members assimilate, integrate, and apply ingroup learning to everyday life

Group Leadership Styles

1.

2.

Intrapersonally Oriented dealing with group members in a one-to-one manner; individual counseling; focus is on intrapsychic concerns, or the conflicts and dynamics that exist within the individual. Interpersonally Oriented focus on the interactions among the members and the relationships that are formed in the group; emphasizes the here and now. (Shapiro, 1978)