Leading Groups

1) What are the advantages of leading groups?
Phase 1
Group leaders have the advantage to educate the group on the topic they will discuss. After that the leaders will ask questions that may be a concern. Throughout the discussion, the leaders will have the ability to intervene when the topic is going off topic. As a result, there is more interaction within the group. The group will be able to voice their concerns and learn from others in the group.
Phase 2
In my previous paragraph, I thought more about the leader’s aspect and not really what the members will get out of the group. According to Jacobs, Schimmel, Masson & Harvill, 2012, one of the advantages of leading groups is to have the members experience commonality. If the members feel

like they belong, they will talk more. They will also see that they are not the only ones going through the problem (p.3). Also, groups make people more aware of their problem and what they are going through. This really stood out to me because people never know they have a problem until someone else address it. The more people interact, the more they will realize how serious it is. And the group is the perfect way for people can change because of the support that is given from the group.

2) What kinds of groups are there?
Phase 1
There are multiple groups such as, drug and alcohol addiction groups, book clubs, groups that help people with mental illness. There are also groups that help plan engagements. In addition, there are teen pregnancy groups and a group that helps first time mothers adjusts to having a new born. There can also be groups that deal with self esteem issues; where they are there to help them grow as a person.
Phase 2
The groups that are mentioned in Group Counseling by Jacob etc at., 2012, are discussion groups, task groups, education groups, support groups, growth groups, and counseling and therapy groups. The groups that I mentioned above are examples of some of these groups in detail. While, I was reading I did not know there were so many groups that can be made to help people.
3) What happens in groups?
Phase 1
In groups people are able to voice their opinion on how they feel about the question the leader asked. They can express their opinion through past experiences, experiences they are going through right at that moment. They can even bring up situations that happen to other people, so other people in the group can understand where they are coming from. The people in the group may disagree and it may lead to arguments and fights.
Phase 2
I will not change my answer that I wrote above.

However, I did read something that was interesting. According to Jacob etc al., in the group members can experience “emotions, human behaviors, and attitudes such as confrontation, rigidity, fear, anger, doubt and jealously” during their discussion. With these different feelings being exposed in the group, it educates each individual to learn how to cope with their feelings and to deal with people who are trying to cope with their own feelings (p.5). I have also learned that group feedback is powerful than one person because “the suggestions, reactions and perceptions of others can be valuable” for a person who is getting information from a group

(p.4).

4) How do I prepare for leading my groups?
Phase 1
To prepare for a group meeting I would create multiple questions to engage the group. I would also think of ice breakers to get people comfortable with each other. In addition, I would find an environment where it is not a lot going on to avoid any distraction. I would have some light refreshments when I provide a break.
Phase 2
In Group Counseling by Jacob et al,2012., the leader have to first understand the “group dynamics, group process, group leadership group and group develop” and also knowledge of what will be discuss in the group (p.28). I would not change my answer in Phase 1 because I think after all of these situations are understood than the next step will be to come up with what I have above. The one thing I did not know while I was reading chapter 1 is a person can get the agency charged for ethic violation if they are not trained to lead a group (p.28).

5) What do I do if nobody talks?
Phase 1
If no one talks after five minutes, I would elaborate on the questions to make sure the members of the group understand the question I am asking. Usually, when people do not talk, they do not know what the question is asking or they are afraid to answer the question wrong because there are other people listening. If they still do not answer the question, I would ask another question and then go back to the question later on in the group discussion.
Phase 2
In Group counseling by Jacob etc al, 2012., they did not mention a situation where no one did not talk. However, they did mention in an example, where one person did not speak. The leader asked the person how they felt about what one of the members said and eventually the member did talk. I think the leader’s approach to get the one person to talk was a good because some people are not as brave as others to talk immediately (p. 17).
6) What should I do if someone talks too much?
Phase 1
If a person is talking too much, I would politely ask the person to let other people talk and express their feelings. It is important to get other peoples input because everyone has different perspectives. In fact some people may have been through the situation and are willingly to talk about it and how they got through the situation.
Phase 2
I would not change anything I have mentioned above because in one scenario in the group counseling book by Jacob etc al, 2012., I read the leader kindly stopped one member from talking because the leader was focusing on one person issue to get the whole group involved with the discussion (p.

14). Sometimes when the person talks too much he or she go off topic and the leader has to guide the person back to the question asked. For example, in one scenario the mother goal was to get her child back. In the meeting the leader had to direct the mother back to the issue because she started mentioning visitation policy (p.

10).

7) What leadership style should I use?
Phase 1
The leadership style a person should use is the controlling method. He/she should always be asking questions, so people in the group can go in to detail about each question. In the group the leaders should do less talking and have people come up with ideas themselves and if it’s a good idea tell them. It’s not about the leader talking all the time because at the end of the day a person should walk out of the group with more information they came in with, with many different viewpoints.
Phase 2
According to Jacobs, Schimmel, Masson, & Harvill, 2012, there is and direct and indirect approach to leading a group. The indirect approach is similar to what I addressed in Phase 1. The leader should talk less about how to solve problems and rely on the members of the group to contribute to the solutions to help one another. Also, they address a leader can also use interpersonal versus intrapersonal styles. The difference between the interpersonal and intrapersonal styles is that the interpersonal deals with interactions between the members and the groups as a whole. However, the intrapersonal deals with the concern of each individual in the group (p.22-23). I learned in a group discussion a leader has to know which one to use to have a productive meeting.