Group Reflective Essay

Observing a group was a worthwhile experience for I not only witnessed the concepts explained in the textbook, but also gained additional insight that stretches the scope of what will be covered in class. This assignment was the perfect opportunity to observe a counseling approach that I have little understanding of, in this case auditing a group that focused on intervention. Thus, I wanted to experience a group session that focused on helping individuals overcome a particular maladaptive behavior. I eventually had the opportunity to attend a sexual offender treatment group at Provident, a counseling agency that incorporates a preventative component to their groups.
Purpose and Goal of the Group
I observed a 90-minute group this past Thursday in which its purpose was to prevent relapse of committing sexual offenses. The group consisted of two women facilitators and eight male members. The group is usually run by one leader, but a co-facilitator was required for this session because the principal leader had to leave early. Thus, the co-leader took a standby role …show more content…
Due to the nature of the group, the group needed to be very directive. In other words, as soon as a member would drift off from the homework, the leader would bring the focus back to the task at hand. However, the primary leader was very assertive while her colleague was compassionate and more understanding. Both leaders used the basic counseling skill of confrontation, but the outcome differed greatly. Once the primary leader acknowledged a member's contradiction, it was said in such a way that could be perceived as judgmental which resulted in a defensive reaction from the group. However, once the other leader restated the confrontation in a much lighter tone, it was useful because the members were able to process the discrepancy rather than be preoccupied with saving the one