Throughout the working stage of a therapy group, leaders should be able to model compassionate confrontation, disclose their reactions to group interactions, support members’ risk-taking, link members, explore common themes, and promote group cohesion (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2014, p. 297). As a new group leader, I struggled to balance the performance of these tasks, while also staying out of the group’s way. In this paper, I describe the critical moment when, with the help of a group member and the instructor, I was able to decentralize myself in the group, relinquish my anxiety, and restrain my desire to control the pace of the discourse. To protect member confidentiality, I use aliases in the vignettes that follow.
A Critical Moment
A group member, Alice, began the session by relating that she had been thinking all week about another member, Harry’s, previous disclosure from the week before, when he had that he did not seem to have a role in the group, or that his role was to be invisible. I asked Alice to say more about her feelings, and she stated that Harry’s disclosure “broke her heart.” I encouraged Harry to respond, and then asked if anyone else in the group wanted to respond, at which point others began to discuss their individual roles in the group.
I continued to interact with various members until one member, …show more content…
I intend to let go of my personal agenda and become a “guide by the side,” rather than a “sage on the stage” (A. B. Blake, personal communication, January 6, 2016). Successful group leaders are able to facilitate the therapeutic process; they provide a safe and inclusive environment for members to self-disclose and explore urgent issues and interpersonal patterns (Corey, Corey, & Corey, as cited in Blake, 2016a). In the future, I hope to improve my facilitation of the therapeutic process in groups by becoming more attuned to the rhythm and pacing of group
A Critical Moment
A group member, Alice, began the session by relating that she had been thinking all week about another member, Harry’s, previous disclosure from the week before, when he had that he did not seem to have a role in the group, or that his role was to be invisible. I asked Alice to say more about her feelings, and she stated that Harry’s disclosure “broke her heart.” I encouraged Harry to respond, and then asked if anyone else in the group wanted to respond, at which point others began to discuss their individual roles in the group.
I continued to interact with various members until one member, …show more content…
I intend to let go of my personal agenda and become a “guide by the side,” rather than a “sage on the stage” (A. B. Blake, personal communication, January 6, 2016). Successful group leaders are able to facilitate the therapeutic process; they provide a safe and inclusive environment for members to self-disclose and explore urgent issues and interpersonal patterns (Corey, Corey, & Corey, as cited in Blake, 2016a). In the future, I hope to improve my facilitation of the therapeutic process in groups by becoming more attuned to the rhythm and pacing of group