Clinical child psychology and psychiatry

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Group Observation, Participation, and reflections (Part A & Part B) Magdhi Shah
Yorkville University

Part – A

The videos are related to the textbook ‘Group Counselling: strategies and skills and impact

If the leader feels that some members might be going away from the topic or the purpose of the group, the use of cut off or interruption can be used by the leader to get the group back on track, and the member can be assured that they could talk individually after the session regarding the secondary topics. Another important skill to have is to be self-aware of your role in the group as a leader. Are you only ‘facilitating’ or ‘leading’ your group? The video encourages the counsellor to be an active leader and be the person who is responsible and oversees the group. It is important for the group counsellor or leader to be able to read the energy in the group at every moment. Is the group motivated, are there any members who are getting bored or frustrated? It is the leader’s job to identify these emotions and feelings of the group members and ensure that the energy of the group remains motivated and energetic. This can be done by ‘We can take a few minutes break’ or ‘Let’s do a quick breathing exercise’ […]

Maintaing the energy of the group could even include trying different things in different sessions, the members might start to get to accustomed or even disinterested if each session is just the same and follows a particular routine. Trying activities that include dyads, triads could be one effective way of doing this. These were some of the more complex skills of a leader, however,

Group Observation, Participation, and reflections (Part A & Part B)
I was an observer for Group A (Mindfulness and Self-care for rising counsellors during a pandemic) co-facilitated by Frances Bucknor and Pamela Chin as well as, Group C (Mindful Stress Management for Graduate Student) co-facilitated by Amanda D’Avanzo, Janaina Spady and Lydia Kienge. The sessions were 60 min long on zoom for the duration of three days November 1,2, and 3.

What worked well in each group.

What could be different.

Both groups were conducted in a professional and orderly manner; they appeared to have a well-thought-out strategy and were able to carry it out. There was a chance in group A of making the group session more practical or interactive. Definitions and informative literature could be shared via the discussion board or by email for us to read prior to the meeting. Instead, the session may be more focused on everyone's sharing and interaction. According to Jacobs et al., 2016, starting the session with a brief opening statement and following up with activities can help the member of the group from settling into “listening” frame of mind.

An experience in one of the group sessions of Group A (Mindfulness and Self-Care for rising counsellors during a pandemic) stayed with me and I felt like I might want to incorporate this activity in future group sessions. The activity was a ‘Progressive Muscle Relaxation’ a type of mindfulness/meditative activity where the co-facilitator instructed everyone to be comfortable and we could switch off our cameras. She instructed us through a body and mind meditation and muscle relaxation which helped us to activate mindfulness as a group. The advantages and positive effects of mindfulness activities have been proven to be effective in adult and younger populations. Further, studies have shown an improvement in the mods of members who undergo mindfulness activities in clinical settings (Sams et al., 2018). Therefore, it can be considered that the use of mindfulness activities within group counselling settings can also improve the attention and motivation of the group members.

I observed that these attributes were present among the group members after doing this activity. Everybody expressed feeling calm and happy, showing a positive shift in mood. It was also discussed in the group how we each, like to do our own personal mindfulness activities.

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References

Knight, M., Pultinas, D., Collins, S., Selig, C., Freeman, D. C.,
Strimatitis, C., & Silver, R. R.

(2014). Teaching