Group Counseling Therapy

Part 1. Rationale for Group Counseling

As Corey notes (2000, p. 3), professional interest in psychotherapy structured around group dynamics has been growing for some time, although the precise shape that a group may take is often a function of "the needs of a diverse clientele." That means the facilitator/therapist has a great deal of discretion in shaping a group. That in turn means that there is a significant degree of responsibility in the choices a therapist might make.

Wherever more than two persons come together, irrespective of whether they are in a psychotherapeutic structure, there exists the potential for differences of opinion and personality conflict. In the psychotherapy structure, it falls to the therapist/facilitator, who ipso facto functions as the leader of the group, to see that any differences can be resolved in ways that will inure to the psychological benefit of group participants. Inevitably, this presents a challenge to any professional who organizes and runs a therapy group, for as Corey points out (p. 54), anxiety in various degrees is likely to be a component of the group encounter process. Additionally, there are risks associated with lea

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hrough personal psychological issues, whether in individual or group therapy, has implications for that person's ability to integrate productively in the community--whether the local town or the global village. Corey (2000, p. 190) refers to the concept of Gemeinschaftsgefuhl, which denotes social interest and community feeling, or a sense of social connectedness, elaborated in individual psychology. At a time when diversity and difference are watchwords of some commentators and social advocates, other advocates regard advocacy filtered through a screen of multiculturalism as socially pernicious. In other words, there is a persistence, particularly in the academy, of what have been called by Bell and others the culture wars (Bell, 1992). Thus the cornerstone of my philosophy of group counseling relates to the project of helping people finding their way through issues in a way that seeks connectedness rather than estrangement, confluence rather than fragmentation (Corey, 2000, p. 311f) at the personal and social level alike. In order to embark upon this general counseling strategy, it is useful to be aware of theoretical approaches that inform this perspective. Adlerian therapy theory is noteworthy for the fact that in its earlies
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Approximate Word count = 2560
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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