Group Members

Brief Personal Reflection

I would like to start from expressing my gratitude to organizers of this course since it has been rather informative, exiting, and definitely unforgettable. During all this time, many topics were introduced to me. I regard the idea and goals of group therapy as well as its advantages from another perspective. I realize that patients of group therapy are able to try new patterns of communication inside of the safe and confidential environment a therapist creates. In addition, they can decide on their own when and about what they wish to speak. Furthermore, they benefit from the meetings because they can hear the thoughts and get to know the views of other participants of the therapy. Moreover, I understood that the thought of group therapy being less effective than individual one was just a myth. It may perfectly serve in case the counselor decides it is the best way for treatment, and it is the point an individual needs indeed. Eventually, I learned that individuals being involved in group therapy enjoy being a part of a gentle society that politely points at their problems and advises on what they can do in their particular situations.

Concerning the points that amused me the most while being a potential group counselor, I should say that there have been a lot of them. Firstly, I have learned the types of counselors that the patients really need. Secondly, when choosing group counseling for a patient, the counselor should decide whether the former could collaborate with the other members of the group. I was also advised to join the American Group Psychotherapy Association since it is a well-known reliable organization, and it could contribute to my personal development as well as increase my patient list. In addition, the group leader should always remember that he is should not be the center of attention. He should keep the group lively and engaged in the conversation. Moreover, a leader should always bear in mind the differing personalities of the members in the group and try to figure out a theme that will be interesting, familiar, and common to everyone.

I have dreamt of being a therapist for time out of mind. I have always been inclined to psychology; and now, thanks to this course, I know the ways to strengthen the skills I have acquired and experience I still need to enrich. First and foremost, since I am too much talkative, I will try to calm myself, become more attentive to people, and learn to listen to what they share with me. In addition, I should always bear in my mind that I am in charge of establishing clear and consistent boundaries, determining the time for start and over, and introducing the speaking rules. In addition, a good counselor should adjust him or herself to the group and its members in every situation and try to balance it. Moreover, as a professional, I will have to be familiar with laws and regulations concerning some ethnical issues, which are often a subject for conversation.

In addition, I should acquire certain skills, which enable me to teach the members of the group trust each other and relax while discussing problematic issues. A good therapist should not stretch his luck and weight by use of humor because of the timid condition some patients can have. Finally, in order to be a profound specialist, I have to control my own emotions and be extremely confident because during the conversations, I will operate with the certain and uncertain. This job does not assume using previously created formulas but rather revealing self-knowledge, clarity of the thoughts, and attentiveness to each case particularly. Furthermore, I should learn how to admit my mistake if any and apologize for it instead of pretending to be extremely perfect.

In my opinion, I am quite good at encouraging all group members to participate in conversations, monitoring and identification of group events, empathizing with the members of the group, helping them to integrate and apply what they know, demonstrating ethical and professional standards of group practice, and keeping the group lively. I am still not very confident and a little bit afraid of asking openly the ethnical ended questions in the group, confrontation of members behavior, maintenance of the therapeutic environment, etc. However, thanks to this course, I am familiar with my problems, and I know where I could find necessary information and what requirements to follow.

In my future, I would like to opt out to be a counselor of support groups regarding individuals with special needs as well as those who need support, comfort, and connectedness. It requires high attentiveness, deep knowledge and understanding of problems the members are suffering. On the other hand, it seems to be much more variable and interesting since a person cannot resemble the previous one being encountered. In addition, I would like to be involved in counseling guidance, a psychoeducational group which assists the members in coping with some transitional changes that occur in their lives and its outcomes. Finally, I would like to deal with psychotherapy groups focusing on reconstruction of personality or remediation of deep psychological problems.

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• http://www.counseling.org/resources/library/ERIC%20Digests/94-02.pdf
• http://cmhc.utexas.edu/clearinghouse/files/PT103.pdf
• http://www.pcp-net.org/journal/pctp08/truneckova08.pdf

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