Groups and Change

1
Groups and Change
Lewins law of change It is usually easier to
change individuals formed into a group than to
change any of them separately.
Image from Far Side
2
Issues
How can professional helpers use groups to
achieve therapeutic goals? How could a group of
similarly suffering people help each other? How
do groups work, therapeutically From what do
they derive their therapeutic powers?
3
What are Some of the Ways That Groups are Used to
Help Members Change?

• Individuals rely on groups to achieve personal
  and therapeutic change.
• Lewins law of change It is usually easier to
  change individuals formed into a group than to
  change any of them separately.
• Types of groups
• psychotherapy groups
• interpersonal learning groups
• self-help groups (mutual support groups)

4
What are Some of the Ways That Groups are Used to
Help Members Change?

• Group therapy
• Group psychoanalysis Freuds book Group
  Psychology and the Analysis of Ego
• gaining insight into problems
• interpretations and working through sibling and
  parental transference
• Gestalt group therapy
• emotional growth using experiments and
  role-playing methods
• psychodrama was developed by Moreno

5
What are Some of the Ways That Groups are Used to
Help Members Change?

• Group therapy (cont.)
• Interpersonal group psychotherapy
• Yaloms interactive group psychotherapy
• here-and-now focused
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy groups
• Learning theory principles
• Behavioral contracts, modeling, behavior
  rehearsal, feedback

6
What are Some of the Ways That Groups are Used to
Help Members Change?

• Interpersonal learning groups self-understanding
  and relationship enhancement
• Training groups, or T-groups
• Growth groups (sensitivity-training groups or
  encounter groups)
• Structured learning groups (workshops)

7
What are Some of the Ways That Groups are Used to
Help Members Change?

• Self-help groups
• Characteristics
• focus on a specific problem, such as alcohol,
  physical illness
• formed by nonprofessionals, self-governing
• egalitarian, supportive
• Example Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
• Online support groups

8
How Do Groups Promote Change?

• Curative factors (therapeutic factors) in groups
• Universality We all have problems
• Hope If others can change, so can I
• Upward social comparison
• Hope sense of efficacy and multiple pathways
• Vicarious learning I learn by watching others.
• Social learning theory

9
How Do Groups Promote Change?

• Curative factors (therapeutic factors) in groups
  (cont.)
• Interpersonal learning Im learning to get along
  better with people.
• Guidance Members give me good suggestions.
• Leadership and co-leadership
• Cohesion and support The group takes me in and
  sustains me.
• Group development and therapeutic interventions

10
How Do Groups Promote Change?

• Curative factors (therapeutic factors) in groups
  (cont.)
• Self-disclosure It feels better to share these
  secrets.
• Catharsis Ive gotten some anger off my chest.
• Altruism Helping others makes me feel more
  confident in myself.
• Insight Ive learned a lot about myself.

11
How Do Groups Promote Change?

• Members most value universality, interpersonal
  learning, cohesion/support, and insight
• Application to traumatic events
• Victims of negative events, such as floods,
  terrorism
• Interventions involve the curative factors,
  particularly hope, guidance, cohesion,
  opportunities for self-disclosure, and altruism.

12
How Effective are Groups in Bringing About
Change?

• Group approaches are as effective as individual
  methods
• Limitations
• Changes are often more perceptual than behavioral
• Premature termination
• Psychological casualty
• Group methods, despite their diversity, tend to
  be equally effective.