Group Therapy Is an Effective Method, Essay Example

Group therapy is an effective method in repairing the relationships of couples. In this session, seven individuals who were experiencing difficulty in their relationships met with me to discuss the problems they had been having. The goal of this session was to identify the problems that each individual had been having and to demonstrate a feeling of support from the other members. Ultimately, the session was successful and each group member eventually felt comfortable in expressing themselves to the group.

Each member of the group came into the session with unique relationship problems. Some individuals had just broken up with their significant others and expressed the devastation they had felt as a consequence while others were not involved in relationships and believed that it would be difficult for them to achieve this kind of closeness with another. One of the major strengths of this session was for both of these groups of people to recognize the support that they had within the room. Even though these individuals had just met that day, they were able to connect with one another greatly, and this is the first step they needed to gather their strength to move on and accomplish their relationship goals. A second strength of this session is that the group felt a connection and was therefore willing to discuss their relationship issues freely. This is useful because there was little need for conversation prompting by the facilitators and the group was able to take their conversation in whichever direction they felt to be the most advantageous to them.

Although every member of the group participated in the discussion, some did less than others. Therefore, an important weakness of this session is the fact that more discussion occurred between some individuals and little was heard from others. As a consequence, the individuals who were willing to speak were able to gain more from the therapy session and retrieve the support they needed. The others did not share a lot of information about their situation past what was expected from them, so there was a lesser opportunity for the other group members to feel a connection in what was said. Therefore, the group was able to understand the source of the relationship difficulties from some individuals to a greater extent than others. In future sessions, it would be helpful to prompt the individuals who are not speaking during moments of silence in order to allow them a chance to be heard. In doing so, it is likely that these individuals will become more comfortable with this process and therefore more willing to contribute to the conversation on their own.

There are several areas of growth I believe I can achieve and should work on in order to improve my efficacy during group sessions. While this session was beneficial to the group because they were able to recognize the problems they had been experiencing, future sessions will also help aim towards reasonable solutions to these problems. In addition, I will research strategies that can be used to improve my outcomes and determine a way to quantitatively and qualitatively determine the progress of each individual in the group. It is important to track this progress overtime because their progress will help determine alterations I should make in future sessions to ensure that everyone in the group is able to benefit from the discussion.

Ultimately, this was a valuable experience because it allowed me the opportunity to assess the issues that each member of the group had been having and observe the discussion in a manner that allowed me to determine their varying degrees of success. I observed that the individuals who felt most comfortable talking in the group would be most likely to benefit from the group therapy and that it is necessary to engage those who speak less so that they may gain the same benefit. Even though each individual attended the group session with a unique problem, it was encouraging that they were able to connect with one another. Overall, I believe that group therapy is a useful method for this purpose and should be used more frequently in situations in which people do not think they have the support they need to cope with their relationship problems.