Group Leadership Skills: Interpersonal Process in Group Counseling and Therapy - Softcover

Part One: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW. 1. Theories and Assumptions. 2. On Becoming a Group Leader. Part Two: BASIC LEADERSHIP SKILLS: GETTING THE GROUP TO WORK. 3. Creating a Group from Scratch: Program Planning and Member Preparation. 4. Leading the First Session. 5. Facilitating, Opening, and Closing: The Foundation of Group Skills. 6. Working on the Agendas: The Basic Framework of a Group Session. 7. Working with Tension and Conflict. Part Three: ADVANCED LEADERSHIP SKILLS: GETTING THE GROUP TO UNCHARTED WATER. 8. Taking More Risks in Communication: Toward Greater Group Closeness. 9. The Hot-Seat Method: The Knee-Jerk Experience. 10. The Method of Stirring-the-Pot: Stimulating Group Affect. 11. The Skills of Termination: Completing the Circle. Part Four: OTHER CONSIDERATIONS. 12. Reflective Writing: Adding Therapeutic Means. 13. Professionalism: Professional Standards and Best Practice. 14. Further Development of the Group Leader. Appendix A: Sample of a Group Proposal: Personal-Growth Group for Adolescents in Sudden Transition. Appendix B: Orientation Handouts. References. Index.

Trainees in group counseling and therapy often struggle to integrate an array of theories and concepts into practice, but to no avail. This group counseling textbook helps counselor/therapist trainees bring together the concepts of group work with the reality of working with complex group phenomena. It provides a productive, growth-promoting experience for learning group leadership. As students read and apply the material in Chen and Rybak' s book, they will build the repertoire of knowledge, skills and intervention techniques that they'll need as they embark on the restorative and rewarding--yet often complex and challenging--process of becoming a group practitioner. The book's five conceptual bases--interpersonal processes, experiential learning, the power of the here and now, process-focused leadership, and self as the instrument--set out the principles for successful leadership and meaningful client change. The practical methods discussed within this effective, coherent framework help readers learn how to bring about therapeutic change for group members within a brief time period. This time-sensitive feature of the framework is especially precious as "cost containment" becomes a health care thrust in our era.