This research examines group counseling therapy. The research will set forth a rationale for group counseling and then discuss a personal philosophy of group counseling, comparing and contrasting it with Adlerian, existential, person-centered, and rational-emotive-behavior theories of the therapeutic experience.
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 leader interventions that are too forceful on one hand or too diffident on the other.
As Corey points out, the group leader, like each individual group client, brings his or her personality and background, as well as training and a predisposition to a given treatment theory or set of theories, to the group-counseling process. In that regard, Corey strongly advises the group counselor "to develop a leadership style that is your own and that expresses your uniq...