Group Counseling: Strategies and Skills - Essay Example

“Group Counseling” It is advantageous for people to gather and work in shape of groups. Individuals, after accomplishing their goals by working in groups, make their impression by creatively discussing the reasons for their success (McClure, 1990). People are not able to survive alone. The use of groups starts with the start of their career either as a student or businessman. With the purpose of being effective, group leaders must be conscious of the authority and strength of groups. They must plan further on and they must be alert to the phase of progress of the group. Equipped with this information they can make use of suitable skills to facilitate their groups grow completely (Gladding, 1994). Pre-group planning is the first phase in the procedure of creating a group. A fundamental element in making a group is constructing aims in advance. Leaders arrange groups so that they would give way fruitful and practical results for contributors. The mainly significant considerations are those related with the objectives of the group, relationship between members, policies, occasions, positions, and self-motivation. Big-picture planning refers to approach an immense picture of the possible problems and division of work suitable to achieve the goal in a predetermined time period. The whole process of carrying out a particular objective must be divided in various sessions. These sessions are supposed to divide the efforts among the workers. The proper planning of these sessions decreases the possibility of errors and blunders. These sessions are further needed to be divided in phases. Each phase of session needs to be properly designed and arranged. For instance, in schools, the students who participate in sports teams proceed according to the pre-planned schedules. The administration firstly, determines its goals, and then the process of examining takes place in which all the matters associated with the goal are closely examined. The administration divides the whole process in to sessions i.e. practicing, home matches, individual records etc. These sessions are planned individually in order to reach the goal appropriately and to measure the performance of the group. The frequent mistakes that may occur while running a group are, choosing a wrong member as per his physical appearance, wrong time allocation, selecting a wrong member for a particular task, harsh and unforgiving behavior, overlooking some or any of the members’ performance and discrimination among the members. These mistakes may cause damage to the group and further to the aim of the group. To run a successful group the leader must acquire certain qualities. The leader must be a good listener and interpreter in order to get comments, responses and ideas from the members of the group. Reflection is the process of monitoring members’ success and progress during activities and after completion of activities it acts as a tool of checking performance of the members and setting another goal accordingly. Reflection enables the members to know what they have acquired so far and what further needs to be accomplished. The leader must give instructions to the members in a summarized speech. Not all members have the capability to understand extensive and tricky arguments. While giving a speech or instructions the leader must be well-prepared and must have complete knowledge about the subject. He must not be harsh in words and his tone should be influential and controlling. The proper use of voice is of great importance for the group members. A leader must not ignore any of the members and must keep a watch on each of the members while giving instructions. A group consists of different people related to different cultures and races. A leader must have knowledge about their cultures to aid them in facing things which are against their cultures. He must know and value their cultural and moral values. The leader must provide the members with a final decision after taking members’ suggestions in view. It means that although he is responsible to take decisions yet he must ask about members’ views and concepts. The techniques of carrying out a particular task and the aims and methods of the group must be kept confidential so that no other group would interfere in the personal group matters. The techniques if leaked out might be adopted by other competitive groups and hence would harm the group’s reputation and chances of its success. The testing of members’ is also of great importance. All the members of the group including leaders should be honest. If any of the members’ would be disloyal it would harm the whole group and all the efforts would end up in vain. Group members must understand each others’ problems. The helping techniques like training, guidance and campaigns motivate and polish the skills of group workers. These techniques encourage the group workers to learn new ways of enhancing their abilities and working speed. The use of exercising not only advances their skills but also give them support in maintaining and making progress in their performance. Practical illustrations of complex tasks and different exercises help them in understanding their task with excellence and intelligence. The leader’s presentation and performance towards work is the actual motivation for the members. The members adopt certain attitudes from the leader. A leader must always show his loyalty and hard work in order to achieve the goals. The seriousness and sincerity towards his goals creates a sense of responsibility in the members to complete their task flawlessly. Following all these aspects may lead to success. After completion of a task, the group must b prepared for the other task. The members should be appreciated for their success, in order to continue working with the same group. By researching and learning about the groups I have clearly understood the importance of grouping in carrying out a business, athletic or personal task. An individual may not be able to complete a task as there are a lot of requirements of a particular work to be done. To get the work done flawlessly and perfectly, a person needs to get help from others. When a number of people are gathered to form a group, they are clearly told about the motives of the group. Their aim is clearly defined and properly elaborated by the leader. The members of a group possess different qualities and skill. They are provided with the position which is best suitable according to their experience and expertise. A person who is good at planning things may not be good at financial matters. Therefore, grouping helps in completing a task using different people and their individual skills. An effective group leader is the one who organizes things, helps group workers, maintains peace among them, motivate them, encourage and appreciate their skills and always remembers his aim. An effective leader tries to maintain good and friendly relationship along with a professional control on the group workers. A person who is talkative and sharp would be given guidance according to his level of understanding; whereas, a person who is taciturn and shy must be provided with instructions in a different manner. A person who is talkative always ask queries if needed and a shy person waits for the other person to give instructions. A group leader must ask questions from the silent members in order to develop self-confidence in them. A group may have members who want to lead and give negative impression on matters. Such members must be given proper instructions and meaning of the group. They must be given an impression that all members are equal and they have to work with each other. There is no place for discriminators and disloyal people in the group. People who discriminate can find the right path not by verbal instructions but by practically illustrating examples. A leader must treat group workers in the same way despite of their different cultural and financial positions. In conclusion, group workers ay achieve goals flawlessly if provided with proper instructions and equal treatment. The use of groups helps to achieve the goals with effective results. The success of group does not depend on the leader alone but group members are also required to cooperate and work with loyalty. Bibliography: Jacobs, E. E., Harvill, R. L., & Masson, R. L. (1988). Group counseling: strategies and skills. Pacific Grove, Calif: Brooks/Cole Pub. Read More