Objective Paper For Saba Adullah Only

Goals And Guidelines For A Group

A disclosure statement must be sent and verbally explained to all members. The disclosure statement states the qualifications of the leader and coleader, theoretical orientation, role expectations of both members and leaders, potential risks, benefits, goals for the group, confidentiality, limitations to confidentiality, and any other rights/responsibilities of members and leaders (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2018). The most important guideline for the possible group members will be to attend an individual pre-group screening meeting. In the meeting, the leader and coleader will assess if the group is suitable for the candidate. The purpose of the pre-screening is to ensure the safety of the group members and to see if the members will benefit from the group.

Goals for a group would consist of members confronting their concerns and setting goal to reach to help with that concern. The members would gain insight from exploring the source of their concerns, create new behaviors from working through their concerns in a group, and learn to create goals that would allow them to cope with their concerns in a healthy way on their own.

The ground rules for the group will be created in the form of a contract before the group starts. However, the potential group members will be able to agree and/or change the group contract together. Examples of group rules would consist of the members being on time and attending the whole group session, unless notified in advance that one cannot attend the entire group meeting. Other examples would include no usage of cell phones while the group is in session, each member signing agreements to not discuss anything anyone says outside of the group, etc.

Stages Of Group Characteristics and Procedures

According to the textbook, the four stages of group consist of the initial, transitional, working, and the final stage (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2018). The initial stage of the group is composed of group members stating their fears, hesitations, and curiosities about being in the group. However, members getting acquainted and establishing goal are also seen at the initial stage. The leader and coleader of the group will assist the members with getting acquainted, expressing their fears, and curiosities by splitting the group members into small sub-groups. My expectations during the initial stage consist of the members wanting to get acquainted, learn about the group process, have an idea of a goal they would like to reach, and participate in the smaller activities. s (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2018).

During the transitional stage of the group, the leader and coleader will continue to assist the members with building trust, identifying negative feelings, clarifying goals, and assist with reframing any resistance among the group members. The techniques used to assist with clarifying goals, identifying negative feelings, and reframing any resistance are asking clarifying questions and inviting the member or members to explore those thoughts/feelings. My expectations during the transitional stage consist of the members being clear on their goals, working to build trust, and exploring the fears from the initial stage (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2018).

The working stage for the group will be more of the members deepening their exploration of what the source of their concerns and working through any conflicting or incongruencies with their words, actions, etc. The group leaders’ role is to assist with caring confrontation and use skills to assist the members to successfully work through any issues. The techniques used during the working stage consist of role-playing, being asked the miracle question, etc. My expectations of the group at this stage would be for the members to work through their concerns, develop new ways to cope with their concerns, strive toward their goals, and correct any incongruencies within themselves.

The final stage of group consists of the group members working through any unfinished business, applying their new knowledge of reducing concerns, preparing for termination, learning how to deal with setbacks, reflecting on what was learned throughout the group experience. The role of the group leaders is to ensure that everyone is safe and prepare the members for termination. My expectation of the group at this stage is for members to process feelings of termination, reflect on what was learned and how they would apply their knowledge into their daily life, and check to see if any goals were met.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical concerns are a major factor in any type of counseling setting. There are many ethical concerns that will need to be addressed to ensure that any violations of Codes of Ethics are not taking place. To be in compliance with ethics, one must abide by a set of rules. Rules that a counselor must abide by are guidelines that protect the counselor and individuals that are receiving any form of counseling. A counselor must also follow the rules to be in compliance with legal, cultural, and ethical issues. Ethical guidelines are in place to ensure the professional counselor’s conduct is indeed professional (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2018). Cultural concerns consist of the orientation, values, beliefs, and ethnicity of a person (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2018). Legal concerns are explained as a set of rules that the state, federal, and local government enforces (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2018). The possible issues of ethics that will be addressed during the proposed group are both confidentiality and cultural differences. Confidentiality is one of the greatest ethical concerns with the group, because confidentiality promotes a safe environment for the individuals in the group.