How to Create and Sustain Groups that Thrive

Therapist's Workbook and Planning Guide

Ann Steiner, Ph.D.

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780429514852
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Psychotherapy
• Index: Psychology

How to Create and Sustain Groups That Thrive is an accessible manual for group leaders of all kinds, from psychotherapy groups to discussion groups.

This thoroughly updated third edition of the author's popular group psychotherapy guide provides a wealth of tools for starting and maintaining groups, including sample group agreements, a screening and preparation system, and an innovative collaborative goal setting system. The book also discusses the importance of online 'netiquette' as well as an overview of diversity and inclusion concepts in group work, offering a range of modifiable leadership and facilitation interventions that can be tailored to meet the needs of specific groups.

Specifically designed to help both seasoned group therapists and clinicians who find themselves leading groups, How to Create and Sustain Groups That Thrive is an easy-to-use, fully practical resource for a variety of mental health professionals.

1
The World of Groups

Do you believe the myth that some people are born leaders? I bet that most of the teachers and other leaders you found the most helpful had to study both their subject matter and how to teach effectively. As you read this book, think about teachers and group leaders that have inspired you. The likelihood is that they demonstrated some of the following characteristics: respect for their group members, and students, and a willingness to enforce limits, or boundaries, to make the group a comfortable place to learn, work, and connect.

I have written this book to help leaders be more skillful at running a wide range of groups. You will see that understanding your leadership style and your group’s needs are key.

Have you ever been in a group? Most people’s first response to that question is “no.” As a group leader and trainer, I can say that we have all been in groups at one time or the other. Our first group experiences happen with the family we are born into. Other group experiences include school classes, religious or spiritual communities, work teams, etc. What follows is an example of a psychoeducational group and the benefits a group experience offers.

The Power of One Group

As a former smoker, I know how difficult it is to quit. When my doctor told me that I had to quit, I knew I couldn’t do it on my own and looked for a group. The Quit-Smoking Class I found made me even more of a fan of groups. It was run like a psychoeducational group, limited to fourteen members. There was a designated teacher, no screening, and the only prerequisite was that members had to want to quit smoking. We didn’t need to believe that we could quit and we had all attempted and failed to quit on our own. As we sat in a semicircle around desks, the teacher started each meeting with a lecture. Sometimes this included interesting facts about addiction and techniques for managing stress without smoking. Half an hour at the end of each session was set aside to discuss our experiences. As in other types of groups, we introduced ourselves and talked about the problem that had brought us to this group. Sharing what we had learned about ourselves and the role smoking played in our lives helped us feel less alone. We left feeling more supported and understood.

For example, one early homework assignment was to write down our triggers. Figuring out what emotions we were feeling or reactions we were having that made us want to reach for a cigarette was difficult. When we came back to group, the leader helped us talk about what we had noticed about our smoking patterns and hear that others were having similar experiences. Knowing that there were other people who truly understood what it was like to give up smoking and that once a week I could grumble and groan, without people rolling their eyes, was a gift.

The teacher, Ms. Carpenter, was a slender, healthy-looking aerobics instructor who shared a few short stories about being like us, unable to give up cigarettes on her own. As a leader, she set a tone of safety and respect for the different challenges we faced. One key factor to the success of the group was the teacher’s tone of acceptance. Her non-judgmental attitude helped us feel comfortable being honest and talking openly about our struggles.

The introductory sessions built up both our motivation to quit and our understanding of our smoking triggers. Motivation-building techniques and coping strategies helped us all be ready to quit on the same day—after four weekly sessions. During the following sessions, we griped and grumbled about how hard it was to be around other smokers. Time was built into the schedule for us to talk about how we were doing, the challenges we were having with co-workers or family members who still smoked, etc. In short, we also supported each other.

Why do I tell you this story? Because I know that I was not the only one in that group who couldn’t have given up cigarettes without the group’s support, understanding, and encouragement. Having a safe place to talk about our challenges and celebrate small victories together made change possible. Groups work!

Why Did this Group Work?

The leader’s job was significantly easier since group members all wanted to participate, and had a shared, clear goal. In addition, the leader had three key leadership attributes:

• Willingness and ability to take on the responsibilities and challenges of leadership
• Understanding of group members' differing needs as well as common goals/objectives
• Ability and willingness to keep the group on track with its goals/objectives.

What Leadership Skills Made this Group So Successful?

First, the way the leader introduced the class structure, goals, and format inspired confidence. As a leader, Ms. Carpenter earned our respect. She was consistent, kept to the planned structure, and guided members to stay on task, while still being responsive to the group. These qualities built the group members’ confidence in their ability to work together.

Ms. Carpenter also embodied another quality of a good leader: understanding and empathy for the challenges members faced. In this case, the leader knew that none of the members believed they could quit smoking. Yet everyone wanted to become a non-smoker. Having a shared goal or objective is another key ingredient of successful working groups.

Emotional safety is a blend of trust, openness, and the freedom to be vulnerable without fear of being attacked or harmed emotionally.

By being respectful of member’s questions and comments, the leader created a culture of trust, respect, collaboration, and comfort. In short, she fostered a culture of emotional safety. Emotional safety is a blend of trust, openness, and the freedom to be vulnerable without fear of emotional attack or harm. Minimum levels of emotional safety are essential ingredients of effective groups and communities. I will be referring to the experience of emotional safety throughout the book.

Second, following the educational section, each meeting had time set aside for questions, discussion, and personal sharing. The leader modeled, and subtly demonstrated, helpful ways that group members could share their stories, by sharing her own personal anecdotes that clarified or reinforced key teaching points. She listened attentively to each member, encouraged members when they were discouraged, and helped the group see that we were all dealing with similar challenges. The leader directed everything to the group’s purpose—in this case, quitting smoking—the obstacles and tools for managing the difficulties, and ways to honor progress. She fostered cohesion and support among members by listening carefully and respectfully to each member. She encouraged participants to do the same. In short, this skillful group leader set the stage for the trust, sharing, and camaraderie that helped members work together and accomplish their goals.

Top Three Tasks For Leaders

There are three essential tasks for leading effective and productive groups:

1. Protect the emotional safety of your group. If members don’t feel a minimum amount of emotional safety, they won’t feel free to participate and contribute. For example, plan to start and stop on time. This simple-sounding plan helps build trust, effectiveness, and safe boundaries.
2. Help the group develop and follow through on written or verbal group agreements. Group agreements are a major tool for facilitating the smooth functioning of groups. Agreements help by spelling out what members can expect of each other, and acceptable behavior. Chapter Five goes into detail about this important tool. Having group agreements is like preventive maintenance for your car: changing the oil helps prevent problems and keeps the engine running smoothly.
3. Make wise decisions about who to include or add to your group. This requires you to figure out if your group is likely to be a good match for the people who want to join. It is important to make an active decision about whether the person is appropriate for your group, should be referred to another group, or should be politely directed away from your group for the sake of the existing members. Familiarize yourself with local groups and resources available so you can make recommendations.

Effective groups start and stop on time.

Group psychotherapists, para-professional and lay group leaders should be familiar with local resources for medical and emotional emergencies. Potential members may be in crisis or in need of professional help.

Staff members in agencies and institutional settings, as will be discussed later in this chapter, often have no say as to who is in their group. Their task becomes one of doing whatever they can to bring the best out of each member. The next chapter covers the basics of group design. Here is an overview of the different kinds of groups.

Open Versus Closed Groups

What is an Open Group?

Open groups accept new members during the life of the group. Leadership may change or rotate throughout the life of the group. Examples include most twelve-step groups, revolving door, or Donald Brown, M.D.’s “T-Bag” groups, in which members flow through so that each meeting may have different members. Drop-in groups are good examples of open groups. The key feature is that the leaders usually remain the same; group members do not need to commit to come back—yet are welcome to return whenever they wish.

What is a Closed Group?

In these groups, the membership remains stable/closed until a member leaves or a new cycle begins. Members are expected to make a commitment to attend regularly. For example, membership in most psychoeducational or time-limited therapy groups is considered closed, until the next cycle.

Closed groups offer the advantage of continuity and the benefit of knowing that each member has agreed to continue in the group, which allows for greater trust, creativity, and risk-taking. Note: While many groups fall nicely into the categories of open or closed, for many groups, the goal is for the boundaries to be clear and enforced. In reality, many volunteer organizations and self-help groups, while preferring that all members attend every meeting, allow members to come when they can. Instructors of classes and workshops usually expect that participants will do their best to be at each meeting and will let the leader know if they cannot attend. Their expectation is that the class will be ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Introduction
• 1 The World of Groups
• 2 Interest Groups
• 3 Self-Help Groups
• 4 Overview of Different Groups: From Support Groups to Psychotherapy Groups
• 5 How to Plan a Group: The Nuts and Bolts
• 6 Screening, Selection, Preparation, and Planning
• 7 Sample Screening Forms
• 8 Group/Life History Questionnaire
• 9 Group Guidelines/Group Agreements
• 10 Sample Online Group Agreements
• 11 Marketing Your Group
• 12 Understanding and Dealing with Difficult Situations in Groups
• 13 Saying Goodbye Matters
• 14 A Word About The Therapist's Professional Will
• 15 Closing
• Endnotes
• References
• Appendix: Resources
• Index