My Reactions to the Group Process
In this group session, I was one of the members, and the class instructor was the group leader. The leader began the session with a moment of quiet, in which I closed my eyes and centered myself in the moment. She then asked if there was any unfinished business. A group member said he had something to address, and began to speak about a conversation that happened in the previous week’s session between himself, a female member, and myself. In that session, the female member had been speaking about the lack of room in her life for any more friends, and the male member asked, “Are you from Seattle?” The female member responded that, no, she was not from Seattle. To me, she seemed defensive, and I commented that …show more content…
28). Two conditions are necessary to foster this type of experience: a safe and supportive group climate, where raw emotion can be expressed, and “sufficient engagement and honest feedback to permit effective reality testing” (p. 28). According to the authors, my experience will be corrective when I express my strong negative feelings, and nothing catastrophic happens. Then, with group member’s feedback, I can engage in reality testing: Is my expression of anger directed toward the appropriate object? Is the intensity of my expression disproportionate to the situation? Is my habitual avoidance of expressing anger irrational? My improved awareness of how I avoid expressing negative feelings has helped me to feel more congruent in my daily …show more content…
30). Our group leader continually asks us to reflect on our own experiences in the here and now of the group session, and, through this self-reflection, I am becoming increasingly aware of my interpersonal patterns. The leader modeled self-reflection when a group member expressed disappointment in learning that the group would continue as a role-play, and not as a process group—a disappointment other members of the group shared. The group leader stated honestly that she was a little hurt, demonstrating congruence, but in an egalitarian spirit, agreed to continue as a process group. Corey, Corey, & Corey (2014) suggested that group leaders reveal enough of themselves that group members have “a sense of who you are as a person” (p. 30). In this instance, the group leader showed the group she was a human being, but did not focus on herself or attempt to control the group, but instead created an atmosphere of safety for the group members to express themselves
In this group session, I was one of the members, and the class instructor was the group leader. The leader began the session with a moment of quiet, in which I closed my eyes and centered myself in the moment. She then asked if there was any unfinished business. A group member said he had something to address, and began to speak about a conversation that happened in the previous week’s session between himself, a female member, and myself. In that session, the female member had been speaking about the lack of room in her life for any more friends, and the male member asked, “Are you from Seattle?” The female member responded that, no, she was not from Seattle. To me, she seemed defensive, and I commented that …show more content…
28). Two conditions are necessary to foster this type of experience: a safe and supportive group climate, where raw emotion can be expressed, and “sufficient engagement and honest feedback to permit effective reality testing” (p. 28). According to the authors, my experience will be corrective when I express my strong negative feelings, and nothing catastrophic happens. Then, with group member’s feedback, I can engage in reality testing: Is my expression of anger directed toward the appropriate object? Is the intensity of my expression disproportionate to the situation? Is my habitual avoidance of expressing anger irrational? My improved awareness of how I avoid expressing negative feelings has helped me to feel more congruent in my daily …show more content…
30). Our group leader continually asks us to reflect on our own experiences in the here and now of the group session, and, through this self-reflection, I am becoming increasingly aware of my interpersonal patterns. The leader modeled self-reflection when a group member expressed disappointment in learning that the group would continue as a role-play, and not as a process group—a disappointment other members of the group shared. The group leader stated honestly that she was a little hurt, demonstrating congruence, but in an egalitarian spirit, agreed to continue as a process group. Corey, Corey, & Corey (2014) suggested that group leaders reveal enough of themselves that group members have “a sense of who you are as a person” (p. 30). In this instance, the group leader showed the group she was a human being, but did not focus on herself or attempt to control the group, but instead created an atmosphere of safety for the group members to express themselves