Social Media Group Participation, Essay Example

For this assignment, a chat room session was attended. The chatroom topic was the issue of anxiety disorders among adolescents and young adults.

Kind of Group

The name of the group was SMART Recovery. The group is classified as a support group (Smart Recovery, 2020). The SIG comprised of individuals with an interest in one or more aspects of social anxiety. The group comprised of individuals with anxiety disorders and a leader or moderator. The focus of the group was to help individuals with social anxiety disorders.

Use of Theory

The group’s arguments are founded on theoretical underpinnings in human behavior. One of the predominant evidence of this was the strong background knowledge of human behavior theories by the forum’s leaders (Jacobs, Schimmel, Masson, & Harvill, 2018). Not only did they mention these theories but they also provide applications and real-world examples.

Multicultural Attention

Multicultural attention was integral to the structure and membership of the group. The group’s membership reflected the ethnic diversity that characterizes the United States as over 10 different ethnic classifications were represented in the forum. The forum leaders represented this diversity and ensured the discussions reflected that diversity (Jacobs, Schimmel, Masson, & Harvill, 2018). One of the key elements discussed in the group was the multicultural elements that influence social anxiety disorders. Additionally, the forum leaders took into consideration the differences in age and gender in the discussions. Gender sensitivity was encouraged in the discussions.

Group Leadership Style

The group leader employed a leadership style that would drive the process of problem-solving undertaken by group members. The group leader employed an active and reasonably directive leadership style. This leadership style was evidenced by the leader developing the rules for discussion and encouraging the development of ideas from all group members without any individual dominating the process (Jacobs, Schimmel, Masson, & Harvill, 2018). As such, the leader actively facilitated the discussion process and made directives that helped advance the discussion.

Ethical and Legal Considerations

The group also made some ethical and legal considerations, which were expressed by the group leader upon commencement. The most significant ethical consideration was the requirement for privacy, confidentiality, and security in an online environment as per the American Group Psychology Association (AGPA) ethical codes. Expressly stating the ethical codes that guide the discussion was vital to creating an ideal environment to create knowledge  (Jacobs, Schimmel, Masson, & Harvill, 2018).

Potential Group Problems

While the group was defined by a useful structure and leadership style, two potential problems characterized it. First, there was a tendency of jumping from one topic to another topic. This was attributed to the discussion taking place in an online environment. The online environment also produced challenges with some contributors dominating the discussion. Online environments inherently favor individuals with fast typing and short response times. The leaders attempted to compensate this by pressuring other silent users to contribute to the discussion, which was a problem or those who were forced to speak.

Stage of Group

According to Jacobs, Schimmel, Masson, and Harvill (2018) groups go through three stages of development, i.e., 1) beginning, 2) middle/working, and 3) ending/closing. The group can be classified as middle-stage because of the several instances of the creation of knowledge from the interaction of different ideologies and individual experiences (both personal and professional). A clash of cultures was evident among several group members, which highlighted the process of comparing and contrasting ideologies. However, the group leader efficiently moderated the discussion and attempted to create a balance between achieving group goals and positive group dynamics.

References

Jacobs, E. E., Schimmel, C. J., Masson, R. L., & Harvill, R. L. (2018). Group counseling: strategies and skills. Cengage learning.

Lee, M. R. (2016). Leading Virtual Project Teams : Adapting Leadership Theories and Communications Techniques to 21st Century Organizations. Auerbach Publications.

Smart Recovery. (2020, September). Self Mnaagement and Recovery Training. Retrieved from https://www.smartrecovery.org/