Discussion 03: Group Development & Therapeutic Factors
Please note: In order to successfully complete the program, you must respond to this post. Your comment/response should answer the questions/show that you completed the given activity (if any). Read the post carefully and implement the learning in the chat rooms. If you didn't participate in Discussion 02: Building a Group, then check here!
Welcome back, crew!! It is good to see you again to take another step to learn and progress! Keep going!!
We’ve been talking about group building in the last discussion. But, in order to stay on track is to develop the group you built and ensure the therapeutic factors are utilized effectively to maintain group support success.
There are two parts to this discussion:
- Group Development
- Therapeutic Factors
Group Development: It is identified that there are 4 stages of a group once built.
Each stage has its own needs and goals that must be addressed as the group progresses through each stage. The role of the group facilitator and group members also changes as the group progresses.
All groups are progressive and unique. You cannot compare the development of the Relationship Support Room with Depression Support or any other chat room. Some groups would experience and gain a lot and some may not. That’s why the success of a group depends on how the leader leads & supports the group and how the group members participate.
Second, therapeutic factors.
To develop the group, therapeutic factors play a significant role. Dr. Irvin D. Yalom conducted research and outlined the key therapeutic principles derived from it.
- Instills hope: The group contains members at different stages of their struggle or challenges. And, seeing people who are coping or recovering gives hope to those at the beginning of the process. It is a reminder to them that they are not alone and they can also progress by taking the required steps.
- Universality: Being part of a group of people who have the same experiences helps people see that what they are going through is universal and that they are not alone. They develop a sense of belonging and feeling of part of the community.
- Imparting information: They can help each other by sharing information, stories to develop a connection, and a healthy discussion.
- Altruism: They can share their strengths and help others in the group, which can boost self-esteem and confidence. It allows them to have the courage to take steps to progress.
- The corrective recapitulation of the primary family group: The group is a sort of family. Within the group, each member can explore how different experiences contributed to personality and behavioral changes. They can also learn to avoid behaviors that are destructive or unhelpful for them.
- Development of socialization techniques: The group setting is a great place to practice new behaviors. The setting is safe and supportive, allowing group members to experiment without the fear of failure. Develop a sense of accountability and celebrate small and big wins to boost confidence.
- Imitative behavior: Each individual can model the behavior of other members of the group or observe and imitate the behavior of the leader to develop the same qualities or skills in order to develop and grow.
- Interpersonal learning: By interacting regularly with other individuals of the group and receiving feedback from the group or the facilitator, members can become more self-aware and develop self-love and esteem as well.
- Group cohesiveness: As there is a common goal, members gain a sense of belonging and community feeling.
- Existential factors: While interacting with the group and gaining support and feedback. They also learn they are responsible for their own lives, actions, and choices. They could progress by taking charge of it and making better decisions.
A therapeutic factor is an element of a group that potentially benefits one or more individuals in the group. A reminder that all therapeutic factors mentioned in this discussion shouldn’t be assumed to have the same impact on all but it should investigate their impact on different members of the group. Overall, it is helpful and keys for effective group development.
Discussion: Share your experience of how you applied one of the Yalom Therapeutic Factors in the Group Support Room.
Activity: Respond to at least two of your fellow trainees' comments with thoughts on their share.
After fulfilling the requirements of this post, please check out the next discussion here! Ensure to implement the learning from these discussions in the chat rooms to build and support the group. You must take part in the brainstorming/activities given in all of these discussions to successfully complete the program.
Discussion: Share your experience applying one of the Yalom Therapeutic Factors in the Group Support Room.
I'm often responsible for some of the peer support discussions on the listener side of cups. We usually have a topic to discuss, such as "Professionalism", where we explore how to show professionalism in our roles. Because this is a topic, we can all share the goal that the subject will be focused on professionalism and afterwards could be used to hone in on the conversation. For example, if we were discussing professionalism in peer support, we might explore various chat scenarios and discuss how to approach a particular situation while ensuring professionalism. My answer is that I use group cohesiveness to ensure the conversation is honed in with a topic while working together as a community to achieve the same common goal.
@FrenchMarbles
That’s a great way to explain how the listener discussions function because even though everyone can be sharing their viewpoints, the whole group is there to achieve the goal of learning a new skill and applying it to actual chats or situations. So I probably also use group cohesiveness because what we’re all responding to is from the same topic and gaining general knowledge of it in our own way.
@FrenchMarbles
Thanks for sharing! I also use group cohesiveness a lot as it is very useful in de-escalating conflict or getting everyone on the same page.
@ASilentObserver
universality and instilling hope are two factors i've seen play out a lot, especially in the mogii room. there's a recurring pattern of someone coming in with a new understanding of themselves and sharing imposter fears and self-doubt about belonging in the community. and everyone else is like hey we've all felt that way (universality) and we've found a sense of belonging (hope) and we embrace you for who you are. it's beautiful to witness and be part of, and it's part of why community spaces like this are so important.
@cinnamoncocoa
Sounds like an amazing experience in the group where they embrace that sense of belonging which is important because many times part of the struggle itself is dealing with those experiences alone or thinking what’s happening isn’t normal. So those are very important factors that they seem to do a good job in and can feel inviting for anyone coming in and keep the group unified.
@ASilentObserver
In my discussion on coping skills, I instilled hope by holding space for people to discuss examples of positive self-talk.
@Fluffysheep8
this is great as instilling hope is the core in what we do here on 7cups. We should all hold space for each other on here and in our daily lives :)
@ASilentObserver
Discussion: Share your experience of how you applied one of the Yalom Therapeutic Factors in the Group Support Room.
One of the Therapeutic factors I used in the Geoup Support Room or when I host Listener Discussions is imparting information. When beginning the discussion I emphasize that for whoever is comfortable to participate that they can respond to any questions knowing there’s no right or wrong answer. I also encourage anyone to question or comment on others responses to learn more about what’s being shared afterwards I would put my own intake on the questions so it’ll feel more of a group effort and have them know every person has their own perception and view and that we’re open to gaining our understanding on the topic Since I have been doing my discussions this way by letting others share first and responding between my thoughts and reiterating what others say, I’ve received some feedback that the discussions have been helpful for them even though they’ve known the topic or attended before
@Mari228
I think imparting information is one of the more important ones as it is crucial for group development to know what is going on in the beginning and what people are comfortable with. It's always crucial to get and give as much information as possible so everyone is on the same page :)
@Mari228
That is a very interesting way to have a group discussion or hosting a group. What groups do you do it on or is it any group that you are hosting in?
@Mari228 I agree about that therapeutic factor of imparting information being very important among group discussions, since the participants will be able understand what the topic is about and whether they feel comfortable to participate in the discussion about the said topic. This is so that no one would feel left out, clueless or mistakenly offended throughout the discussion.
It's also nice that you let your participants share their thoughts first so you can not only share your thoughts after but also understand how they feel or think about the topic during discussion, that way the whole group can be on the same level of understanding and reflect their thoughts around it.
@ASilentObserver
I have used these therapeutic factors so many times I cannot really pinpoint exact times but the ones that stick out to me on 7cups are instilling hope and group cohesiveness. I have instilled hope a few times to get some of the members needing more support to open up more. Using group cohesiveness can be really good in de-escalating conflict by reminding members and listeners why we are all here
@Endure777
I agree it is hard to pinpoint just one thing if you see or use multiple ones.
@Endure777 After reading the list of all the therapeutic factors listed here, I can agree that it's possible one would see more than one of these factors involved throughout their participation or hosting in group discussions. But it's good to remember a few that are significantly effective throughout their experience.
@Endure777 great to hear about you engaging members and reducing conflict <3
Discussion: Share your experience of how you applied one of the Yalom Therapeutic Factors in the Group Support Room. I have seen a couple of the Yalom Therapeutic Factors in the Group Support Room however the one that resonates with me is the first one called Instills Hope. I chose Instills Hope because, in some of the Group Support Rooms, we see people uplifting others, especially in the Positivity group chat rooms. Sometimes people not only need to feel heard but sometimes they need some encouragement because maybe they are too hard on themselves and need someone to say you are doing the best you can breathe.
@blissfulTouch29 I admire your response about instilling hope! It's definitely nice to see members and listeners helping boost each others' spirits in group support chatrooms. That's one of the things I like about group support chatrooms on this platform. It gives a lot of opportunities for members to reach out and also help other people. 💙
@OakSerenity thank you
@ASilentObserver
Discussion: Share your experience of how you applied one of the Yalom Therapeutic Factors in the Group Support Room.
One of the Yalom Therapeutic Factors I can say that I've applied to my group discussions more would be Interpersonal Learning. As both participant and host in my experiences, it's incredibly helpful to interact with other members and listeners during discussions as well as getting feedback based on thoughts I've shared or whenever I answer questions within the discussion!
The positive thrill you get the moment you take courage to share your own thoughts is a great step in learning more about yourself and other people around you. Although it goes many ways how a discussion is led and how participants are interacting with each other, it also helps to be more self aware of what we say and feel when wanting to share our own thoughts and feedback to each other or even to the facilitator.
So far I've received positive feedback during my hosting experiences in SC and my first pop up discussion recently. I do my best to interact with users in SC before and after their shares, given the rules and construct of that group support room.
As for my pop up discussion I led last week, it was much more open where discussions would go beyond as members begin to freely share more about their interests and experiences based on the questions I've given to them. During this particular discussion, I was able to interact with them fully while still guiding the pop up discussion for newcomers. I really felt I learned a lot from getting to know these participants I've had and I'm really glad I was able to experience this opportunity.
Overall, I enjoy engaging in discussions with other people in group support chatrooms and reacting positively as others share their thoughts and express themselves during discussions.
@OakSerenity thanks for sharing oak! Receiving feedback is so important for development!
Something I used when hosting was imparting information. We were discussing personal stories of triggers etc. and how we can find interesting new ways to deal with them. It was nice to hear everyone's input and these times seem to be when people are the most engaged.
Oh wow!
That's so interesting!
Thank you so much for sharing that!
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@MaggieListens00
its amazing how much information you can get from a group of strangers. Thanks for this great insight. I love when listeners and members come together to solve problems :)
When I host a group whether it be for the member sharing circle or the dissociative disorder sub community. I always provide the guidelines to the room first hand when I enter so those that are entering see it. As well as make sure to engage with each person that enters the room so they feel welcomed in rather then, feel like they are intruding. I also ask each person, how they are feeling too. Guideline refreshers are always great too especially if the room is becoming more active. When it comes to conflicts, I had it accordingly with empathy for both sides and make sure each is heard.
I absolutely love your answer!
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@PhoenixButterfly97
That is amazing
Yalom Therapeutic Factors in the Group Support Room.
Being part of a group of people who have the same experiences helps
people see that what they are going through is universal and that they are not alone.
They develop a sense of belonging and feeling of part of the community.
My experience:
As I've been a Room Supporter for Trauma room, this has been one of the things
that has been helpful. They see that they're not alone, that they belong.
That they are not alone with their trauma and that they can share their stories
in a safe environment with people who understand how it feels to have trauma.
So they connect and bond and it's wonderful to see how everyone is supportive.
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@AnnaSilverberg
Interesting how I also chose universality as main factor for student support sub-com. I wonder if that's the case for other sub-coms as well with exception to newbie hub.
@AnnaSilverberg
You give great points about universality, as well, I like how you mention about safe space/environment!
@AnnaSilverberg
This is so true Anna. That common bond of not being alone, of having that common bond and finding support where you feel so alone and then finding there are others who get it. Thanks for sharing this.