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IN
COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY
EDITED BY
E. M. HASSAN, Ph.D.
S. E. OLADIPO, Ph.D.
J. W. OWOYELE
© Department of Counselling Psychology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, electronic
or mechanical including photocopy, recording or any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher
ISBN 978-065-980-3
Published by:
Department of Counselling Psychology,
College of Applied Education and Vocational Technology,
Tai Solarin University of Education,
Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode.
Printed by:
Silverprint Communications
237, Oba Adeboye Road, P.O. Box 186, Ijebu-lgbo, Ogun State
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface……………………………………………………………………. v
Foreword…………………………………………………………………. vi
Notes on Contributors…………………………………………………… vii
1. Behaviour Modification
Prof. Sotonade, O. A. T. ………………………………………… 1
2. Techniques of Counselling
Ewumi, A. M. …………………………………………………….. 17
3. Adolescence Psychology
Dr Oluwatimilehin, J.T.B. ………………………………………. 27
4. Introduction to Physiological Psychology
Adegbenga A. Onabamiro ……………………………………. 51
5. Educational Psychology: An Introduction
Owolabi Gabriel, M.A. ………………………………………….. 78
6. Human Resources Management and Counselling
Dr Akinsanya Omolade Oluwatoyin …………………………… 94
7. Introduction to Guidance and Counselling
Dr Shobola, A. A ……………………………………………… 105
8. Group Counselling
Dr Ajufo, B.L. ………………………………………………….. 132
9. Conflicts in School System
Adebanjo, M.A. ……………………………………………..….. 143
10. School Administration and the Guidance Counsellor
Dr Ijaduola, K.O. ……………………………………………….. 151
11. Introduction to Organisational Psychology
Okubanjo, A.O. …………………………………………………. 160
12. Educational Guidance and Counselling
Owoyele, J. W. …………………………………………………… 185
13. Multicultural Counselling
Dr Hassan, E.M. ………………………………………………… 199
14. Addiction: What it is and how to Overcome it
Dr Oladipo, S. E. ………………………………………………… 210
15. Theories of Counselling
Dr Odeleye, D. A. ……………………………………………… 224
16. Group Dynamics
Dr Owodunni, A. A. …………………………………………….. 233
17. Sex Education and Marital Guidance
Adebiyi, F. A. …………………………………………………. 241
18. Language Disorders: Counselling Interventions to Facilitate the Study
of English as a Second Language
Oluwole Akinbote ……………………………………………… 263
19. Scope, Nature and Uses of Psychological Tests
Adejumo, G.O. …………………………………………………. 273
20. Inferential Statistics in Educational
Dr Seyin, Adejoke ………………………………………………. 289
21. Teaching Listening as a Receptive Language Skill: a pre-requisite
Knowledge for Counsellors with English as a Teaching Subjects in
Secondary Schools
Eweniyi, I. T. …………………………………………………… 319
22. Personality and Social Development
Dr Pitan, O.O. …………………………………………………… 327
23. Introduction to Special Education
Oyeyemi, O.F. …………………………………………………… 336
24. Essential Elements in Learning Disabilities
Toyobo, O.M. …………………………………………………… 365
25. Emotion: Effect on Learning
Oke, O.R. ………………………………………………………… 382
PREFACE
Editors
Eunice Modupe Hassan (Ph.D)
Samuel Ekundayo Oladipo (Ph.D)
Jimoh Wale Owovele
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION/COURSE OBJECTIVE
Groups provide the structure on which communities and the larger society are
built. This is because people are born into a group, grow as part of a group,
develop through a group, create as a member of a group and in death leave the
group. Group counselling therefore is used to help members meet their personal
needs, solve problems of interpersonal relationships and accomplish their goals.
In this chapter, efforts are made to discuss group counselling in its totality.
Thus, at the end of the chapter, readers should be able to:
1. Define group work.
2. Identify and list types of groups.
3. Describe and explain the stages of group counseling.
4. Discuss the differences between individual counseling and group counselling.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
The group movement can be traced to the pioneering work of J.L. Morreno
and Kurt Lewin in the 1920s and 1930s (Bonner, l959). They were highly
interested in group activities. Lewin's field theory provided an important
theoretical foundation for group work and Monvim developed a unique approach
to group counselling called Psycho-drama.
Initially, group counselling was met with skepticism in the professional
community, some perceived the new technique as a radical, unorthodox procedure
that would undermine confidentiality. In addition, it conflicted with the basic
definition of counselling concerning counsellors working with individual clients.
Gradually, group counselling became popular. It gained respectability after
the Second World War. In 1946, the National Training Laboratory (NTL) was
founded in Bethel, Maine (Baruth and Robinson, 1987) and soon became a major
training institute for group work. The institute focused on how to use group
dynamics to promote personal growth and interpersonal functioning.
Group counselling continues to gain popularity because of its advantage in
developed countries particularly in America and Canada. According to Home
(1996), group counselling is incorporating current paradigm shifts such as the
solution-focused brief counselling perspective.
132
WHAT IS GROUP WORK?
The term “group” is defined as a number of persons classified together
because of common characteristics, similarities, interests, or interpersonal
activities. It is always difficult to provide an acceptable definition of what group
work is all about because of contributions of many professions to the knowledge
of group work. Toseland and Rivas (1984) defined it as “Goal-directed activity
with small groups of people aimed at meeting socio-emotional needs and
accomplishing tasks. This activity is directed to individual members of a group
and to the group as a whole within a system of service delivery”.
Classification of Groups
Groups could be broadly conceptualized as either formed or natural. Natural
groups are those that come together into a spontaneous manner on the basis of
naturally occurring events, interpersonal attraction, or the mutuality perceived
needs of members. They often lack formal sponsorship. Natural groups include
family groups, peer groups, friendship networks, street gangs and cliques. ()n the
other hand, formed groups are those that come together through some outside
influence or intervention. They have sponsorship and convened for a particular
purpose. The types of group that will be discussed below could be collectively
referred to as formed groups.
Task Group: Task group as the name implies is usually formed in response to a
particular need and to address a specific task or problem. Task group is usually
given a lime limit to complete its assigned task.
Marathon Group: Members meet for continuous session extending over long
period of hours. During the sessions, members explore and share their views,
experience, aspirations and goals in life. By confronting and challenging yet
accepting each other members strive to develop open authentic, self-responsible
behaviour.
Encounter Group: The word ‘encounter’ simply means to experience through
interaction. Group encounter therefore means a kind of interaction aimed at
personal growth, development of interpersonal communication and relationship
through expanding awareness, exploration of intrapsychic and interpersonal
issues, release of dysfunctional inhibitions and exploration of feelings.
Psychodrama Group: Members act out each other's problems in various ways in
order to clarify and understand particular internal or external role conflicts. Group
members engage in role-playing or psychodramatic exercises so that members
can acts out feared emotions. Members can benefit by watching another group
member act out a feeling of anger or depression.
T-Group: T-group stands for training group. It is designated to facilitate
behavioural changes and to improve and enhance interpersonal relationship skill
through interacting with others. Attention is usually focused on self-disclosure
132
and feedback, here and now interaction patterns and behavioural styles of
members. The leader determines the direction of group according to perceived
members' needs.
Sensitivity Training Group: This is a generic term that originally referred to the
small-group training conducted for youths. Primary locus is on members' intra-
personal and interpersonal behaviours.
Guidance Group: This refers to any part of a guidance programme that is
conducted with groups of students rather than with an individual student. Group
guidance is organised to prevent problems. In other words it is preventive in
nature. The group members are concerned with acquiring information, becoming
oriented to new problems, planning and implementing activities and collecting
data for educational and vocational decisions.
In adult settings, group guidance occurs in many forms and may relate to
issues like coping with stress, aged, retrenchments, mid life career change, etc.
Group Counselling
In group counselling one counsellor is involved in a relationship with a
number of counselees at the same time. Group counselling is usually concerned
with developmental problems and situational concerns of members. It is designed
to help resolve interpersonal conflict and promote greater self-awareness and
insight. The vehicle for accomplishing this goal is tin- discussion of personal
concerns at an affective level. Members of this group arc basically 'normal'
individuals with varying degrees of concern. A counsellor or therapist (with
extensive training in group procedures) provides leadership. Group counselling
can be both remedial and preventive.
Garda (1978) distinguished group counselling horn group guidance in the
following ways:
i. Group counselling is suitable for individuals who are having temporal or
continuing problems whereas group guidance is suitable in the schools on a
regular basis as a personal educational measure.
ii. Group counselling is more direct than group guidance in attempting to
modify attitudes and behaviours. For instance, group counselling empahsises
the effective involvement of its participants, whereas group guidance
concentrate more on the cognitive and intellectual functioning of its
members.
iii. Group counselling is conducted in a small intimate setting for preventive and
remedial purposes whereas group guidance is conducted for preventive
purposes.
Kankam and Onivehu (2000) point out the following as the similarities and
differences of individual and group counselling:
Similarities
1. Both techniques aim at helping the counsellees achieve self-integration, self-
direction and responsibility.
2. In both techniques, the counsellor presents an accepting and enabling
134
environment for the clients to express themselves in such a way that their
defences are reduced.
3. Both approaches provide for privacy and confidentiality of relationship.
Differences
i. Clients in group counselling can function both as helpers and helpees
whereas clients in individual counselling can only maintain the role of
helpees.
ii. Individual counselling is a one-to-one, face-to-face relationship marked by
rapport between the counsellor and the counsellee. In group counselling on
other hand there is the physical proximity of other members with similar
concerns, fears and problems. The client may obtain solace from the
knowledge that he is not the only one with the problems and that there are
others who have similar problems.
iii. In group counselling, the counsellor's tasks are more complicated than in
individual counselling. The counsellor does not only have to follow sense
and appreciate what each member says but must also check how this affects
other members and their reactions.
135
with no termination date, and they allow new members to join at any time. closed
groups have a specific starting date and they do not allow new member to join
after the first session.
Typically, groups in school setting usually last for the duration of the school
term or semester while groups in non-school setting could last long enough in
provide room for cohesion and productive work to take place.
The number of sessions associated with group work varies according to tin-
type of group, the needs of the group members and the theoretical orientation of
the group leader.
136
atmosphere) which will allow each individual to develop insight into himself and
to achieve healthier personal adjustment.
Group counselling is essentially preventive in nature, hoping to prevent
problems from growing to the point where the individual needs special help to
cope with them. Group counselling as contrasted with individual counseling
provides immediate opportunities to try out ways of relating to individuals and is
an excellent way of providing the experience of intimacy with others. Counsellees
may get their peers’ reactions and suggestions concerning alternate ways of
behaving with others. Immediate firsthand opportunity is present to test others’
perceptions of oneself in relation to others.
The group leader is not to be held accountable for that which occurs in a
group experience. This is because each group member is responsible for his or her
own behaviour. The leader can only serve as a facilitator with growth and change
being a responsibility of the group members.
Group counselling appears to develop members' insights into their problems
and feelings and helps them to arrive at some understanding of the causes of their
concerns. Members talk about themselves. Each one learns to express himself in
actions, feelings and attitudes. Members learn that they can interact and discuss
with one another and that the group will help each person draw out his feelings.
Group counselling may provide situations for more adequate problem-solving
activities. In groups, collective judgement can be focused on common problems,
critical issues can b examined, opinions and judgements can be compared and
new ideas and information not always available in individual situations can be
applied.
Members of counselling groups may accept ideas and suggestions proposed
by fellow students which they might reject if proposed by adults. Reinforcement
provided by other participants often make decisions more likely to be viewed as
commitment rather than acquiescence to an authority figure.
Reference is frequently made about the efficiency of group counselling in
terms of time and money. However, a more meaningful criterion would be a
measure of the extent to which group counselling achieve its goals. It seems to be
more readily accepted by students in that, since it occurs within a peer group, it is
not as “different” or as threatening to them as individual counselling.
In dealing with several students simultaneously, group counselling spreads the
effect of the counsellor and at the same time preserves his effectiveness. A
climate of mutual trust develops out of mutual freedom to express real feelings –
positive and negative. Each member moves towards greater acceptance of in his
total being – emotional, intellectual, physical and potential.
Sitting Arrangement
In group counselling, the counsellor is the facilitator directing ideas, clarifying
issues, summarising and interpreting issues. The sitting position of the counselor
137
should be such that he/she would see all the clients. In a situation where students
are brought together from various schools, they should have name tag. This will
enhance knowing their identity.
138
working with groups. He must convey feelings of acceptance, warmth and
understanding. He must be aware of his own needs and limitations and try not to
let them interfere with the counselling situation.
A counsellor's role in group counselling involves selecting or helping to select
the group members, helping to develop an environment into which they feel safe
and accepted, and helping to establish the structure and procedure for the group.
As the group proceeds, he must give full attention to the members and their
interaction, allowing each to express himself as he wishes. He must define his
responsibility and that of the members. He must seek to communicate confidence
in each member's ability to solve his problems. As the counsellor works, he helps
define the working relationship, displays consistency, and sets an example in
accepting and helping others.
He must be aware of all kinds of influences the group may exert both
positively and negatively. He must able to guide these influences so that they may
be used to the greatest benefit. He must summarise what has been happening in
the group over several sessions. The group counsellor or leader is concerned with
the nature of the whole group, and pays attention to how the group operates, not
just how individuals behave. The interventions of the leader or counsellor in a
group should go almost unnoticed by group members. The way the counsellor
demonstrates his skills has considerable effect on how the group functions. It is
important to mention here that the counsellor sets the emotional climate for the
group.
Group Resistance
Resistance is common during the initial and transition stages. During the
initial phase of a group, the members typically appear rather hesitant to get
involved. This stage is characterised by members' expressing fears and hesitations
as well as hopes and expectations. In some cases, the participants are highly
suspicious of the leader, fearing being manipulated. The participants may doubt
139
that counselling groups can be of any real value in helping them solve their
problems. Some clients will not believe that they have the freedom to talk about
personally significant mailers and they may sit back and wait, almost expecting to
listen to a lecture. Regardless of the type of group, some initial resistance is to be
expected in the early stage, even if people are eager to join in. What members do
talk about is likely to be less important than what they keep hidden inside them.
Because resistance often arises from (earful expectations, identifying and
discussion these fears at the early stage will benefit the whole group. The manner
in which the group counsellor or leader deals with these reactions determines the
degree of trust that can be established in the group.
During the transition stage, anxiety is high. The sources of this anxiety are
found within individuals and within the group itself. Participants are torn during
the transition phase between wanting to stay safe and wanting to risk getting
involved. Resistance needs to be respected, which means that the leader does not
chastise a reluctant member but explores the source of the resistance. Both leader
and members must understand the meaning of resistance. One of the key tasks of
leadership is for the leader to accurately appraise whether the source of resistance
is members' fears or his ineffective leadership.
Disadvantages
1. Individual counselling is safer for those clients who are excessively
withdrawn and who find it difficult to lower their defences. Group
counselling may prove too threatening for them.
2. Group counselling may be too confrontational for clients with very low self-
140
esteem and people with serious mental disorder who are deeply depressed.
This is become they may be unable to contribute.
3. Every person in a group may not automatically respect and value
contributions made by others. This may lead to destructive hostility or
scapegoating.
4. Clients who have special problems in relating to others may not do well in
group, such clients may first need to participate in individual counselling to
be able to utilize group counselling successfully.
5. Humour or intellectualization may be used persistently by some group
members. This can hinder the progress of the group.
6. Although confidentiality is discussed and agreed upon among group
members, it may be more difficult to safeguard and guarantee than it would
be in individual counselling.
7. Vulnerable clients may feel under pressure to disclose personal problems
before they are ready to do so.
SUMMARY
A unique feature of group counselling is that each member of the group
becomes a co-counsellor or co-facilitator who extends help to other members.
According to Mackenzie (1994) a wise leader stays out the group's way.
It is highly important for practising and would-be counsellors to have the
basic, knowledge of group work practice. This is because the counsellor's skills
and confidence are the keys to successful group counselling. He must convey
feelings of acceptance, warmth and understanding. He must beware of his own
needs and limitations and try not to let them interfere with the counselling situa-
tion.
Group counselling is not simply individual counselling applied to groups nor
is it merely an economical use of counsellor's time. It is relatively new way of
working to help people. It entails creating and fostering an effective working
group, the therapeutic agent of change in groups.
TUTORIAL QUESTIONS
1. What is group counselling?
2. What are the advantages of group counselling over individual counselling?
3. Describe and explain the stages or phases of group counselling.
4. With what justification would you recommend that a school counsellor
should practice group counselling.
REFERENCES
Baruth, I.G and Robinson, E. II. Ill (1987). An introduction to the counselling
profession. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bertcher. H. and Maple, E (1974). Elements and issues in group composition. In P
Glusser, R. Sarvi and R. Vinter (Eds.) Individual change through small
groups. New York: Free Press.
141
Bonner, H. (1959). Group dynamics. New York: Ronald Press.
Burlingame, G.M. and Fuhriman, A. (1990). Time-limited group therapy. The
Counselling Psychologist, 18(1), 93-118.
Corey, M.S and Corey, G. (1997). Groups: Process and practice (5th ed.) Pacific
Grore, CA: Brooks/Cole
Gazda, G.M. (1978). Group counselling: A development approach (2nd Ed.)
Boston. Allyn and Bacon.
Horne, A.M. (1996). The changing world of group work. Journal for Specialist in
Group Work, 21(1), 2-3.
Kankam, G. and Onivehu, A. (2000). Principles and practice of guidance and
counselling. Accra: Optimum Design and Publishing Services.
Mackenzie, K.R. (1994). The developing structure of the therapy group system. In
H. S. Bernard and K. R. Mackenzie (Eds.). Basics of Group Psychotherapy
(pp. 35-59). New York: Guildford Press.
Nystil, M.S. (1999). Introduction to counselling: An art and science perspective.
USA: Allyn & Bacon.
Scheidel, T and Crowell, L. (1979). Discussing and deciding: A desk book for
group leaders and members. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc.
Toseland, R.W. and Rivas, R.F. (1984). An introduction to group work practice.
New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.
Unger, R. (1989). Selection and composition criteria in group psychotherapy
Journal for Specialist in Group Work, 14(3), 151-157.
142