Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 11 Groups for Children Prepared by: Nathaniel N. Ivers, Wake Forest University

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Roadmap Group Work with Children Types of Groups for Children Setting up Groups for Children Role of Leaders in Children’s Groups Strengths and Limitations of Children’s Groups

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Group Work with Children Children may benefit from groups as much if not more than other age groups Group work with children (children under age 14) requires a special knowledge of child development and group theory

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Types of Groups for Children Group Guidance for Elementary/Middle School Children Group Counseling Within the Schools Group Guidance and Counseling in Community Settings

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Group Guidance Common topics: Prevention and wellness (Villalba, 2007) Subject areas, such as personal or mental health or cooperation with peers Career development or self-exploration May revolve around activities, and may be called activity group guidance (Hillman & Reunion, 1978)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Group Counseling Within the Schools Provides the following: A structure for students to give and receive feedback from each other A place for students to practice new skills in a safe place An opportunity for students to communicate thoughts and feelings with one another and share common experiences (Falco & Bauman, 2014)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Group Counseling Within the Schools Usually takes one of three approaches in dealing with persons and problems: Crisis-Centered Problem-Centered Growth-Centered

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Groups in Community Settings Do not differ substantially from groups conducted within schools Community groups are usually more homogenous than groups within schools

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Setting Up Groups for Children Questions to answer before the group begins: What medium will be most used in group communication? What structure will be employed? What materials will be used in the group? How will group members be recruited and screened? How long will group sessions meet? How many children will be in the group? What will the gender mix be?

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Role of the Leader in Children’s Groups Teaching Facilitator (Guidance groups) Leaders of children’s guidance and psychoeducational groups influence what happens by the way they arrange the chairs (Myrick, 2011) Row formation Circle arrangement Semicircle arrangement Fishbowl Discussion teams

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Strengths of Group Guidance Allows counselors/group leaders to see a large number of students in a brief amount of time Allows counselors/group leaders to use inside (teachers) and outside (community personnel) resources to help children learn to help themselves Promotes security, comfort, peer interaction, and problem-solving (Myrick, 2011)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Limitations of Group Guidance May be too impersonal at times May prohibit general discussion or exploration of certain subjects May stereotype the counselor as a presenter of knowledge and inhibit counselor spontaneity (Myrick, 2011)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Strengths of Group Counseling More efficient than individual counseling More realistic than individual counseling Allows group members to share with one another and learn through peer modeling and feedback Promotes support, acceptance, relaxation, risk- taking, and resources for involved members May free counselor to make strategic intervention with members of the group (Myrick, 2011)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Weakness of Group Counseling Takes more time to develop trust and closeness More difficult to safeguard confidentiality More difficult to include all members actively in group discussions and activities More difficult to organize group counseling activities Requires leaders and members to be sensitive to topics that are inappropriate for the group Requires group members to be aware of and counteract nonproductive behaviors (Myrick, 2011)