Analyzing Group Techniques Essay

Analyzing Group Techniques Essay

Management of substance abuse and addiction can be done effectively using individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy, and medication use. Group therapy involves about five to fifteen patients receiving therapy from one or more therapists in one session. Individuals in group therapy usually have no relationship outside the therapy sessions, which is the opposite of family therapy (Messina et al., 2021). This paper analyses a video about Interpersonal Group therapy for addiction by Tim Leighton and Devin Ashwood. The aim is to identify the technique of group therapy demonstrated in the video, explain what was done well by the therapist and anything I would do differently, give insight into how the therapist handles his group, and describe how I would lead my own group session.

There are various techniques for group therapy. The video by Leighton and Ashwood mainly uses the interpersonal process of group psychotherapy and interpersonal relapse prevention as the primary techniques. Interpersonal process group therapy is a method where a therapist leads and focuses on the interpersonal issues of individual group members in a less organized group. After psychotherapy, interpersonal group therapy aims to improve the patient’s mood and behavior. Relapse prevention is a technique that aims to reduce the likelihood of degeneration after terminating the problematic behavior such as addiction (Messina et al., 2021). Both group therapy techniques were well demonstrated and properly executed. This was done by developing cohesiveness and trustworthiness.

From the video, I noticed that the therapist directed the group discussion well as he helped the group illuminate the process. An example is when she would intentionally let things flow and only interrupt the group when necessary to clarify something. She asks Jimmy to elaborate on what was unique about the group that enabled him to share his experiences. A good therapist’s qualities include forming a working alliance, empathy, and genuineness (Moe and Thimm, 2020). The therapist is seen connecting the group members constantly and focuses their attention on how each individual’s experiences relate to each other.

The therapist wasn’t flawless, and I feel like he did not show empathy, especially towards Jimmy. Jimmy’s emotions escalated when he described how he used to steal his mother’s drugs. The therapist just asks him plainly to ‘go on.’ This was not empathetic, and I would have handled this situation differently. I would have been empathetic by telling the patient that everything was okay and he would be fine. Empathy makes the patient feel like they are cared for, and someone understands what they are going through. Empathy and the ability to relate to the feelings of patients battling addiction is the cornerstone of successful group therapy (Esagianet al., 2019).

The main insight gained from the therapist is that a therapist should avoid forcing patients to disclose things they are not comfortable enough to disclose. A therapist should let clients express what they are most comfortable with. I have understood that I can make clients disclose more information by showing them empathy. I can also share my own experiences and encourage other group members to participate more and interact more. This they can do by sharing their interpersonal experiences. The insight gained from watching this group session will help me effectively conduct group therapy.

Occasionally, group therapy may have a member or members who are challenging to deal with. If I were conducting a group therapy session with such a member, I would approach the situation by first trying to find out the reason for being in group therapy. I would want to know what they hope to learn and achieve by being in therapy. I would then proceed by identifying ways in which I can make the member more involved in a positive way. For example, if the member does not share easily or at all, I would help the member ease into sharing by focusing on a specific topic of discussion. They could then share their experiences on that topic. I would encourage the patient to relate a particular topic to their past experiences or share how that topic makes them feel. If a member were disruptive, I would tell them to respect other patients’ right to expression. I would politely request that they wait for their turn to speak. I would make sure that patients speak in turns or when directly asked to speak. To elicit participation from the group, I would intentionally seek out patients who have minimal contribution to the group. I would do this by asking direct questions to such patients.

Groups have various phases during their evolution. These are forming, storming, norming, performing, and the adjournment phase (Dietz, 2020). I anticipate finding different behaviors during each of these phases. I expect that members who are verbal will be most active in the frothing phase. The storming phase may be accompanied by some members who may give unsolicited comments, and some may compete for attention. In the norming stage, members may show cohesion. In the performing stage, members may relate with honesty and try to deal with difficult issues.

Group therapy has both its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that it reduces the feeling of isolation among patients. It also helps patients progress as they discover that other people also share their struggles. The key challenges in group therapy include privacy issues and disagreements among patients with different personalities (Rosendahl et al.,2021).

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References

Dietz L. J. (2020). Family-Based Interpersonal Psychotherapy: An Intervention for Preadolescent Depression. American Journal Of Psychotherapy, 73(1), 22–28. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20190028

Esagian, G., Esagian-Pouftsis, S., & Kaprinis, S. G. (2019). Empathy in psychiatry and psychotherapy. Psychiatriki – Quarterly Journal of the Hellenic Psychiatric Association, 30(2), 156–164. https://doi.org/10.22365/jpsych.2019.302.156

Messina, I., Calvo, V., Masaro, C., Ghedin, S., & Marogna, C. (2021). Interpersonal Emotion Regulation: From Research to Group Therapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 636919. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.636919

Moe, F. D., & Thimm, J. (2020). Personal therapy and the personal therapist. Nordic Psychology, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/19012276.2020.1762713

Rosendahl, J., Alldredge, C. T., Burlingame, G. M., & Strauss, B. (2021). Recent Developments in Group Psychotherapy Research. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 74(2), 52–59. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20200031

https://waldenu.kanopy.com/video/group-therapy-addictions-interpersonal-relap
The Assignment
In a 3- to 4-page paper, identify the video you selected and address the following:

What group therapy techniques were demonstrated? How well do you believe these techniques were demonstrated?
What evidence from the literature supports the techniques demonstrated?
What did you notice that the therapist did well?
Explain something that you would have handled differently.
What is an insight that you gained from watching the therapist handle the group therapy?
Now imagine you are leading your own group session. How would you go about handling a difficult situation with a disruptive group member? How would you elicit participation in your group? What would you anticipate finding in the different phases of group therapy? What do you see as the benefits and challenges of group therapy?
Support your reasoning with at least three peer-reviewed, evidence-based sources, and explain why each of your supporting sources is considered scholarly. Attach the PDFs of your sources.