Social Work Practice With Groups

Group Therapy

© 2021 Walden University, LLC

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Group Therapy Program Transcript

Introduction: Warning: The following scenario discusses abuse and violence and can be emotionally triggering. The scenario lasts 5-7 minutes. If you need to exit the scenario, please stop at any time.

This is the first group therapy session in a weekly series that you’ll be leading.

The group is comprised of participants who have all been court mandated to attend anger management therapy.

Click the “Continue” button.

The Participants:

Hover over the participants to learn their names. Click to get to know more about them. After you have reviewed them all, ask everyone to please take a seat. TREY – Caucasian Male in his mid-30’s: Trey’s here because he started a bar fight. Click RETURN TO PARTICIPANTS.

• ALI – Caucasian Female in her late 20’s. Ali’s here because of a road rage- related incident. Click RETURN TO PARTICIPANTS.

• ROD – African-American Male in his early 30’s. Rod’s here because he got in a fight with his son’s soccer coach at a game. Click RETURN TO PARTICIPANTS.

• MARCUS – Latino Male in his mid 30’s. Marcus is here because he got into a physical altercation with his mother. Click RETURN TO PARTICIPANTS.

• LAURA – Caucasian Female in her early 40’s. Laura’s here because of a dispute she had with a neighbor. Click RETURN TO PARTICIPANTS.

Click the “Continue” button.

Group Therapy

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Start the Session

[Ali, Marcus, and Laura are seated as Trey and Rod move from the back of the room to take their seats. Laura is applying lipstick.]

You introduce yourself to the group.

How do you formally begin the session?

• Outline the rules for the group. o Rule creation is more successful when they’re created by the group rather

than dictated by the leader. Click the “Enlist the group to create rules together” button.

• Enlist the group to create the rules together. o Yes; rule creation is more successful when created by the group rather

than dictate Click the “Continue” button.

ALI: [Immediately] I do. No interrupting.

[The group half-heartedly nods in agreement.]

TREY: Be respectful.

ALI: Oh, and always make sure to use "I" statements, like "I feel," you know?

TREY: Yeah, but swearing should be allowed, though, right?

ALI: Absolutely, but you also need to make sure to really listen to other people. Sometimes it can be really boring hearing other people talk about their problems. But you need to make sure to offer real thoughts and ideas and not zone out, you know?

What’s happening in the group right now?

• The group is doing a great job of brainstorming rules. o Some group members are doing a good job, but it’s important to make

sure everyone’s voices are heard. Click the “Step in and encourage others to speak” button.

Group Therapy

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• A few group members are dominating the brainstorm. o Right; it’s important for you to step in and make sure everyone’s voices

are being heard. Click the “Step in and encourage others to speak” button.

TREY: [Laughing] Give the others a chance to add their rules. It's not my fault they're all so quiet. [Yelling and motions his arms to other participants] If y'all want to talk, well, freaking talk then.

[Few seconds of silence}

ROD: Well, I like those rules. I think we should think about adding another one about not being on our phones but being present.

LAURA: Whatever.

MARCUS: [Quietly] Sounds fine.

Getting Buy-in

Reiterate the rules everyone suggested and confirm the group agrees to follow them.

• Click the “Does everyone agree to follow the group rules” button.

TREY: Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it. We agree. [Shouting] Basically, don't be an asshole! [Laughs heartily.]

[Rod, Marcus, and Ali laugh. Laura is annoyed.]

Continuing the Session

Ask everyone to introduce themselves, share why they’re here and what they want to get out of the experience.

• Click the “Continue” button.

ALLY: Hi. I'm Ally. N--

TREY: [Interrupts] Yeah, I'll start. I'm Trey. And it's kind of weird that I'm here, because I'm actually not really an angry person. Just because you smash a beer bottle over some dude's head in a bar doesn't mean you've got anger issues. If anything, I've probably got drinking issues, [LAUGHS] right?

Group Therapy

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[The other participants sit in silence and do not respond.]

How Do You Respond to Trey?

• Thank him for sharing. o Trey interrupted Ali, who was getting ready to share first. Remind Trey

that interrupting is not allowed. Click the “Inform that he interrupted Ali” button.

• Ignore that he interrupted Ali. o While it’s tempting to ignore this minor infraction, it sets the tone for the

group. Remind Trey that interrupting is not allowed. Click the “Inform that he interrupted Ali” button.

• Inform him that he interrupted Ali.

Trey Responds

TREY: Oh, come on, I didn't interrupt her. She barely said two words. [Half-heartedly] Fine. Sorry, Ali.

ALI: [Shrugs shoulders] It's OK. [Sits forward in her seat]. Hi. I'm Ali. And I am honestly the least angry person you will ever meet. I'm actually a very happy person, except when I am driving. [Giggles, thinking this is endearing.] Um…anyway, I lost my patience in traffic a couple of weeks ago and had an altercation with this crazy person. But wasn't my finest moment and I would like to learn to do better.

[Few seconds of silence]

ROD: Hi. I'm Rod. I punched my son's soccer coach. You know, I've been in groups like this before—therapy, I mean. And I found it helpful. It's just it can be hard for me to remember everything when I'm in the heat of the moment. So... ugh…yeah, I guess I had a backslide.

TREY: Fighting your kid's soccer coach? Yeah, I'd say! That's brutal, man.

How Do You Respond to Trey? • Don’t acknowledge Trey’s outburst.

o It’s important not to ignore this kind of outburst. Remind Trey that one of the rules is to be respectful.

Click the “Tell Trey he needs to be respectful” button.

• Tell Trey he needs to be respectful. o Correct; remind Trey that one of the rules was to be respectful. He hasn’t

been doing this. Click the “Continue” button.

Group Therapy

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Don’t Let the Session Derail

TREY: [Toward you] What's your problem? It's like you've had it out for me ever since I walked in the door. [Laughs} Fine. Then I'll just sit here quietly. I don't want to say anything disrespectful. [Crosses his arms contemptuously]

Don’t let Trey acting out derail you. Invite Marcus to introduce himself.

• Click the “Continue” button.

MARCUS: Well, I'm Marcus. [Clears throat] I need to finish up 40 hours of this to complete my court order. And that's why I'm here.

How Do You Continue with Marcus?

Marcus didn’t share much about himself or why he is here.

• Don’t push him; he’s not ready to open up yet. o It’s a good time to encourage Marcus to share more, if he’s comfortable.

Click the “Gently ask him to share a bit more” button.

• Gently ask him to share a bit more. o Correct; it’s a good time to encourage Marcus to share more, if he’s

comfortable. Click the “Continue” button.

Group Dynamics

MARCUS: Yeah, not a big talker. But I'm here because I shoved my mom.

ALI: Whoa, you hurt your mom? That's like, really bad.

TREY: [Laughs] Oh, come on, he just shoved someone, no big deal. [To Marcus] You definitely shouldn't be here, man.

MARCUS: I just want to be a better son, figured maybe this will help.

LAURA: [Under her breath] It won't.

ALI: [Looks up at the ceiling and then to Laura] OK, what's with the attitude? We just got here. Could you make an effort, please?

[Laura sighs at looks straight ahead.]

Group Therapy

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What’s Happening Right Now?

• Laura’s attitude is problematic. o Both Laura and Ali are creating a judgmental environment. It’s time for

you to intervene. Click the “Ask Laura and Ali how they can best support Marcus

right now” button.

• Ali’s attitude is problematic o Both Laura and Ali are creating a judgmental environment. It’s time for

you to intervene. Click the “Ask Laura and Ali how they can best support Marcus

right now” button.

Supporting Marcus

ALI: Probably just by listening.

LAURA: Yeah. Sorry, Marcus.

MARCUS: That's cool.

How Do You Proceed?

• Finish group introductions. o Correct. Laura didn’t introduce herself yet. Make sure to finish

introductions before further exploring individual issues. Click the “Continue” button.

• Let Marcus talk more since he was interrupted. o You’re very close to finishing introductions. Make sure Laura has a

chance to introduce herself before further exploring individual issues. Click the “Continue” button.

Finishing Introductions

LAURA: Okay…um. Hi, I'm Laura. I also think it's BS that I have to be here. [Eye rolling] I have a crazy neighbor who called the cops on me for smoking outside my own freaking house. I confronted him about it. He called me white trash, so I may or may not have gently shoved him and said some choice words.

Group Therapy

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Now it's like whatever. I just think it's hilarious that I'm the one that's here even though it's him who has obvious anger issues. I never would have gotten in a fight with him if he wasn't such a wacko. So, he made me do it!

How Do You Respond?

• Tell Laura that another person can’t “make” you do anything. o When leading a group therapy session, it’s good for other members to

chime in with thoughts and advice first. “Click the “Continue” button.

• Give the group a second to jump in and advise. o Correct. When leading a group therapy session, it’s good for other

members to chime in with thoughts and advice first. “Click the “Continue” button.

Participant Input

ROB: [To Laura] No one can make you do something.

LAURA: Yeah, they can. If they're being a complete nut job and they get all up in your face, it's, like, not your fault if you do something extreme.

TREY: [Laughs in agreement] Amen to that.

Now how do you proceed?

• Move on from this topic and ask someone else to share. o Stick with Laura a bit longer; your role is to challenge your clients to take

responsibility for their actions and learn. Click the “Encourage Laura to think differently” button.

• Keep encouraging Laura to think differently. o Correct; your role is to encourage your clients to take responsibility for

their actions and learn. Click the “Continue” button.

Sticking with Laura

LAURA: Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I control how I react to people of situations. But how? How do I let some asshole disrespect me and just stay chill?

Group Therapy

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How Do You Proceed?

• Give Laura and the group. Tips on how to deal with this. o Instead of giving Laura tips and tactics, give the group time to make

suggestions. This is one of the key benefits of group therapy. Click the “Ask the group what they think” button.

• Ask the group what they think. o Correct; give the group time to make suggestions rather than jumping in

yourself. This is one of the key benefits of group therapy. Click the “Continue” button.

Group Contribution

ROB: Well, sometimes what works for me is just take a deep breath. I mean, it sounds cheesy, but I've learned that if I count to 10 in my head and just breathe, it gives me a second to think. Because if I react immediately, I'm going to regret it.

TREY: I usually just say what I feel. And if someone's feelings get hurt in the process, [LAUGHS] that's their problem.

ALI: [Sarcastically] Wow, Trey, thank you. That was really helpful.

TREY: What's your deal?

ALI: What's my deal?

TREY: Yeah.

ALI: My deal is you've been dominating this conversation for the whole entire time. Maybe if you'd let someone, like anybody else, talk for a freaking second. You know, I am so sick of listening to dudes just talk and talk and talk.

[Trey laughs]

How Do You React?

• Tell Laura to calm down. o LAURA: Calm down? Calm down? Why don't you tell all these other

people to calm down, OK? I thought you were supposed to be helping us, not judging us. You know what? Screw this. [Laura gets out of her chair to leave the session.]

Laura’s lost trust in you and this process. The only way to try and get back on track is to express understanding and ask to start over.

Group Therapy

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• Click the “Apologize and express understanding” button.

• Ask Laura how interacting with Trey makes her feel. o LAURA: I don't know. Maybe it's because every man in my entire life won't

shut the hell up. They're always talking so much shit. You know like “Laura, do this. Laura, do that. No, you're doing it wrong. Do it this way.” I can't get two freaking words in unless I'm screaming. It's maddening.

Asking the participants how they feel about something is a good way to get them to try to articulate complimented emotions.

• Click the “Continue” button.

LAURA: [Takes a deep breath] OK, can someone else go or something? I just need a second.

Ask the rest of the group who wants to share next.

• Click the “Continue” button.

MALE SPEAKER: I—I guess I'll go next.

[Fade to black]

Conclusion

You’ve completed the exercise

• Click the “Start over” button if you’d like to participate in the interactive experience again.