er members may be directed to challenge the monopolizer. Feedback from other members about the monopolizerÆs social interaction skills will also remind the member of one of the goals of therapy.
The type of difficult client that poses the biggest challenge to me is the ôearly provocateurö client, (Doxsee and Kivlighan 1994, 622). Early provocateurs are defined as individuals who are: readily able to express hostility, seek and fear intimacy, have greater verbal spontaneity than other group members, and are more often put on the defensive than other members, (Doxsee et al. 1994, 622). I think such clients represent a significant challenge to group cohesion and goal achievement. By using the techniques of joining and linking, I think such a client would respond to the group in a more positive manner and be less put off by fear in the course of doing the work of growth.
Structured activities or exercises are ôplanned activities that have been used previously to help group members become more awareö but can also be structured activities undertaken for a particular reason or goal, (Gladding 2003, 495). Group exercises can be extremely important for achieving positive group outcomes. There are a number of benefits associated with such structured activities including the generation of discussion and participation, increased focus or awareness on an issue or topic, promotion of experiential learning, and increased comfort level among members of the group (Gladding 2003). Cohesion, insight and movement are often characteristic benefits of properly implemented group exercises. However, poorly timed or unclearly defined exercises may have negative outcomes for the group as well as the ethical concerns about some exercises that induce anxiety or cause harm.
One of the skills of successful group leaders is dealing with silence. Silence primarily equates to the absence of verbal and nonverbal communication. However, such a ...