Help Needed

L.M.

Group therapeutic refers to a form of psychotherapy involving one or more therapist who works with various groups of people at the same time. Group therapeutic consists of individuals who are under going through the same experiences in life. Some are at the beginning while other are in the final stages of recovery and healing hence act as a source of motivation to those who are at first stages. Group therapeutic services are offered in private therapeutic practices, mental health clinics as well as community health centers. There are various therapeutic principles which guide group therapeutic. These include: installation of hope to patients. when one sees others, who are recovering or even coping, they get hope especially if the individual was at the beginning stage. The principle of universality, when an individual is in a group of people undergoing through the same situation, they tend to take the experiences as being universal since they are affecting everyone in the group. Imparting information, group members are of great help to each other especially when they share information concerning their experiences in the group. The members in the group act as a source of support as well as advice to each other hence mutual benefit for both members is achieved.

References

Lovett, L, & Lovett, J. (2004). Group therapeutic factors on alcohol in-patient unit. the british journal of psychiatry,159-370.

J.R.

The therapeutic factors include: the exchange of experiences through peer support, therapeutic alliance, group cohesion and support, empathy, feeling understood, learning by observation and identification with other families, experiencing communality, gaining, insight and hope, and self-disclosure, Rowaert, S., Vandevelde, S., Audenaert, K., & Lemmens, G. (2018).

As leader of a group I would be looking to see how people use others example and make them relatable to their own experience, how the group exchanges their experiences, or participants beginning to feel like family. In the video Mr. Field suggested that group members should steer from giving advice because it makes people dependent on advice. In the researched context the group members where family members of mentally ill members. The participants of the latter were feeling isolated and the study proved beneficial with great results. A group leader can help facilitate the group session by working through issues that may arise and by providing topics of discussion that are relevant to the psychoeducational groups progress.

Rowaert, S., Vandevelde, S., Audenaert, K., & Lemmens, G. (2018). Family Support Groups for Family Members of Mentally Ill Offenders: Therapeutic Factors. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 39(2), 186–199. https://doi.org/10.1002/anzf.1296