Group Therapy Case Studies Assignment Essay

This week you will select ONE of the following cases and tell (or demonstrate) how you would respond. In addition, provide a brief justification for your response.

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Case Studies:

An Anxious Member. At the second meeting of a group, Phil expresses his anxiety and claims that he is thinking of not re­turning next week. He says, “It’s very difficult for me to speak up. I have always been a listener and I know we are expected to participate in here. It’s just that I am so scared of being rejected, so I guess I’ll just sit back and watch. It is so hard for me to be in here that I don’t think I’ll come back again next week.” What do you do or say? Why?Group Therapy Case Studies Assignment Essay
Coercion by Other Members. With the case of Phil, assume that several members quickly came in with statements such as “Phil, you’re not giving us a chance. We feel cheated, and if you don’t come back that will prove you are a coward! Whatever you do, don’t quit on yourself and on us.” Others follow by pressuring Phil to remain in the group. What interventions would you make to those attempting to coerce Phil to remain in the group? What might you want to ask Phil or say to him? Why?
Clarifying Goals. You are interested in helping members formulate personal goals early in the course of the group. As you listen to several members say what they want from the group, you are struck with how vague and global most of their goals are. Some of the statements you hear are:
“I’d like to get out of my head and more in touch with my feelings.”
“What I need to learn is how to communicate better.”
“I’d like to understand myself better.”
“People tell me that I’m too nice. I suppose I should work on assertiveness.”
“I’m in the group because I want feedback.”
“I’m confused and I need answers. I hope I’ll find them in here.”
Take each of the above statements and show how you might respond to each person. What are some ways you could help the members become more specific? What are some questions you might ask them? Why?Group Therapy Case Studies Assignment Essay

People’s lives are shaped by life’s experiences in groups or as individuals. It is undeniable that in life, people are not only born in groups but also join groups at one point in life. Similarly, peoples decisions, behavior, physical, social and mental health and self-image are often influenced by religious groups, family and cultural groups. Groups can not only support members during times of trouble and pain but also assist people to grow in ways which are creative and healthy. In other instances, groups can play a major role in supporting deviant behavioral patterns or even influence a person to act in a manner that is destructive and unhealthy.
Group therapy is a powerful approach in managing different mental health disorders including substance use disorders. This can be explained by the fact that groups help to reduce isolation and provides a platform where members can undoubtedly witness how others recover. Collectively, other members can easily be drawn into a recovery culture. This paper reviews the case of Phil, a member of a group who expressed his anxiety and explains how best he can be assisted to achieve his therapy goals. A description of how best personal goals can be clarified early enough in group settings will also be provided. Group Therapy Case Studies Assignment Essay
Case: An Anxious Member
What Do You Say?
It is okay to be anxious and to fear being rejected. It is one of the challenges that most people face in groups. In group settings, members are at times forced to share personal and sensitive information that can lead to self-doubts and a low self-esteem in the recovery process. The goodness in talking /opening up is that it cultivates a sense of self-worth and inner courage, which are essential for the recovery process (Foulkes, 2018).
Why?
The feeling of rejection in group settings is often part of the recovery process for most patients. What determines a client’s ability to recover is the approach used to address the fear or anxiety and the extent of social and psychological support received from friends, family and the counselor (Foulkes, 2018).
Rather than focusing on what he doesn’t want to do or feel, it would be helpful to ask Phil to center on what he wants to do and how he would want to feel through an indifferent, self-assured and relaxed approach. Therefore, the counselor should first give Phil time to express his anxiety, frustration and anger and get it all out. He should also be made to understand that if he can notice his self-criticism and likelihood to sink into shame whereby he considers himself a failure and accept his pains just as they are, he can progress to healing. According to Foulkes, (2018), individual suffering amongst group members usually intensifies when a person does not only feel hurt or grieved, but also thinks that there is something wrong in having the same feeling. It should also be made clear that, if Phil risks talking and opening up to group members for the fear of rejection, it shouldn’t be the end of his world. He should allow himself to feel loneliness, fear, sorrow, loss, anger or whichever feelings that may arise in the group therapy process (Eilenberg et al., 2016).
The counselor should consider asking Phil how his fear of rejection started and how important it would be to think differently about it. Secondly, Phil should then be asked to critically analyze how his thoughts and fear of rejection influence his behavior and how his behaviors influence his actions (Eilenberg et al., 2016). A possible alternative would therefore be to ask Phil change his actions until he really understands what is happening. He should look for signs of what works as compared to signs of what is wrongly happening. Group Therapy Case Studies Assignment Essay
Clarifying Goals
• “I’d like to get out of my head and more in touch with my feelings.”-. Can you use your imagination more constructively? Consider closing your eyes and utilize your imagination to rehearse acting and feeling totally differently in circumstances where you would normally feel insecure.
• “What I need to learn is how to communicate better”- Do you often communicate/talk with a specific aim/purpose? Communication forms part of everyday life in different settings and with different people. What is most important is to know when it is necessary to communicate, whom to communicate to and what to communicate about. This helps to promote a goal-oriented and focused communication (Foulkes, 2018).
• “I’d like to understand myself better”- Are you confident about yourself? Confidence demonstrates that you are sure and accurate about yourself and that you adequately understand yourself better. Building inner confidence is the key to understanding yourself better. Group Therapy Case Studies Assignment Essay
• “People tell me that I’m too nice. I suppose I should work on assertiveness”- What do you think about yourself? Your personal opinion of who you are is what matters most as that is what will also influence what other people think about you. Minding a lot about what others think about you can at times be frustrating and people’s views may tend to differ and this can easily result to fear of rejection, lack of courage and a low self-esteem(Eilenberg et al., 2016).
• “I’m in the group because I want feedback”- Am I ready and willing to be an active participant in the group? Group participation should not just be a matter of receiving feedback. In order for this to take place, it is mandatory that each member should actively participate. Therefore, you should also be ready to express your individual feelings, thoughts and avoid giving solutions to other members, unless when requested.
• “I’m confused and I need answers. I hope I’ll find them in here”-How do I want to gain by joining this group? It is not guaranteed that by joining a group, one will get the much needed answers (Eilenberg et al., 2016). The outcome may turn out to be totally different in other cases. Therefore, when joining a group it is important to have a specific aim and work towards achieving that aim in the group processes.

References
Eilenberg, T., Fink, P., Jensen, J. S., Rief, W., & Frostholm, L. (2016). Acceptance and commitment group therapy (ACT-G) for health anxiety: a randomized controlled trial. Psychological medicine, 46(1), 103-115.
Foulkes, S. H. (2018). Principles and practice of group therapy. In Foundations of Group Analysis for the Twenty-First Century (pp. 35-40). Routledge.

The therapeutic relationship in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been argued to play an essential role in positive outcomes in therapy. However, it is described as necessary and yet, secondary to technique, often receiving little attention in the training of CBT therapists. This case study explores a trainee psychologist’s experience of finding difficulty in feeling authentic and the application of CBT techniques with her client. This difficulty informed the research question; what is the value of the therapeutic relationship in CBT? A hermeneutic approach with a strong emphasis on phenomenology, is used to explore the therapeutic process and the therapeutic relationship that developed between therapist and client. Qualitative descriptions of 11 sessions are divided into themes, these are discussed in relation to what happened in therapy, and are then discussed further regarding discovery and process into the therapeutic relationship. Conclusions from this case study could possibly reveal the value of the therapeutic relationship when working from a CBT approach, and how it seemed to enable the client to achieve her goal in therapy. Group Therapy Case Studies Assignment Essay

Group Therapy Case Studies Assignment