Getting work done
Committees, treatment teams and planning groups. The leader focuses on goals, roles and group process so the group works well together.
Example: a school crisis-response team.
Lesson · Group counseling and group work
Group Counseling and Group Work
Groups heal in ways individual counseling cannot: members learn they are not alone, help one another and practice new ways of relating in real time. This lesson covers group types, stages, Yalom's therapeutic factors, leader skills, screening and ethics, and how to lead groups that are culturally responsive and safe for everyone.
4 group typesStages of development11 therapeutic factorsLeader skills practiceLesson plan20-question check
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Four types of groups
The Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) describes four types. Each has a different purpose, size, leader role and level of self-disclosure.
Teaching skills and information
Structured sessions that teach and practice skills. Often 8 to 12 sessions with a set curriculum.
Example: anger management, study skills, parenting or stress management.
Growth and problem solving
Members work on everyday concerns, relationships and personal growth, using the group's interaction as a tool for change.
Example: a college adjustment group or a grief support group.
Treating mental disorders
Longer-term groups that address more serious or long-standing problems, often led by clinicians with advanced training.
Example: a DBT skills group or a trauma recovery group.
Open or closed?
- Closed groups keep the same members from start to finish, which builds trust and works for a set curriculum.
- Open groups add members over time, which suits hospitals, recovery programs and drop-in support.
Size and length
- Adults: about 6 to 10 members, 60 to 120 minutes.
- Children: about 3 to 6 members, shorter sessions with more structure and activity.
- Adolescents: about 6 to 8 members, clear norms and engaging activities.
How groups develop
Stages of group development
Tuckman described forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. Corey uses four stages: initial, transition, working and final. Choose a stage to see what members feel and what the leader does.
Why groups work
Yalom's therapeutic factors
Irvin Yalom identified 11 therapeutic factors that explain how groups help people change. Tap each card for the meaning and an example.
Practice
Leader skills in action
Good leaders link members, block harm, draw out quiet members, cut off rambling, and comment on process. Read each moment and choose the best leader move.
Core leader skills
- Linking: connecting members who share a concern.
- Blocking: stopping harmful behavior such as gossip, scapegoating or breaking confidentiality.
- Drawing out: inviting quieter members in.
- Cutting off: respectfully redirecting long stories.
- Process comments: describing what is happening in the room.
- Modeling and feedback: showing and inviting specific, kind, behavior-based feedback.
Challenging moments
- A member who monopolizes
- Silence or resistance in early sessions
- Rescuing or advice-giving
- Conflict or scapegoating
- A member in crisis
- Subgroups or socializing outside the group
Doing it right
Screening, informed consent and ethics
Pre-group screening
Meet each prospective member to check that the group fits their goals, that they can benefit and that they will not harm the group. Explain the group's purpose, rules and limits.
Confidentiality has limits
The leader keeps confidentiality and explains its legal limits, but cannot guarantee that every member will. Discuss this openly in the first session and revisit it.
Freedom to leave
Members may leave the group. Encourage them to talk about the decision with the group and the leader, so everyone can learn from it.
Leader competence
Lead only the kinds of groups you are trained for. Use co-leadership and supervision, and plan for evaluation with clear goals and outcome measures.
See the ASGW Best Practice Guidelines and the ACA Code of Ethics (section A.9 on group work). More on confidentiality in the Counseling Law and Ethics lesson.
Culture and social justice
Leading culturally responsive groups
Groups are small societies. Power, privilege and bias show up in who talks, who is heard and whose norms are treated as normal. ASGW's Multicultural and Social Justice Competence Principles ask leaders to address these dynamics directly.
Name what is happening
When a member of color is interrupted or a comment stereotypes a group, the leader blocks it and invites the group to examine it, protecting the targeted member.
Honor collective strengths
Many cultures already heal in groups: talking circles, church and mosque groups, sister circles, family councils. Leaders can learn from and partner with these traditions.
Language and access
Offer groups in members' languages, at accessible times and places, with interpreters and accommodations. Avoid assuming that silence means resistance; it may reflect cultural norms.
Affinity groups
Groups for people who share an identity, such as Black students or LGBTQ+ youth, can reduce isolation and minority stress and build collective coping.
Watch and read
Videos and recent research
Short talks and peer-reviewed articles published in 2016 or later that support this lesson. Videos and article links need an internet connection.
Videos
What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happinessRobert Waldinger · TEDxBeaconStreet · 2015
Relationships protect health and happiness, the reason belonging in a group matters.
The power of vulnerabilityBrené Brown · TEDxHouston · 2010
Why connection requires the courage to be seen, the heart of group cohesion.
Everything you think you know about addiction is wrongJohann Hari · TEDGlobal London · 2015
Connection as an antidote to isolation, a discussion starter for recovery and support groups.
Peer-reviewed articles
- Burlingame, G. M., McClendon, D. T., & Yang, C. (2018). Cohesion in group therapy: A meta-analysis. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 384–398.Group cohesion is reliably linked to better client outcomes.https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000173
- Burlingame, G. M., Seebeck, J. D., Janis, R. A., Whitcomb, K. E., Barkowski, S., Rosendahl, J., & Strauss, B. (2016). Outcome differences between individual and group formats when identical and nonidentical treatments, patients, and doses are compared: A 25-year meta-analytic perspective. Psychotherapy, 53(4), 446–461.Group and individual formats produce similar outcomes for many problems.https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000090
- Rosendahl, J., Alldredge, C. T., Burlingame, G. M., & Strauss, B. (2021). Recent developments in group psychotherapy research. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 74(2), 52–59.Summarizes evidence for group treatment across disorders and what makes groups work.https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20200031
For instructors
Lesson plan preview: Leading groups that heal
A ready-to-teach lesson with a fishbowl role-play, a group proposal and a leader skills lab.
Quick check
Test your understanding
Twenty questions. Also practice with the Counselor Exam Prep group domain.
Sources
References
- Association for Specialists in Group Work. (2021). ASGW guiding principles for group work. ASGW.
- Burlingame, G. M., McClendon, D. T., & Yang, C. (2018). Cohesion in group therapy: A meta-analysis. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 384–398.
- Burlingame, G. M., Seebeck, J. D., Janis, R. A., Whitcomb, K. E., Barkowski, S., Rosendahl, J., & Strauss, B. (2016). Outcome differences between individual and group formats when identical and nonidentical treatments, patients, and doses are compared. Psychotherapy, 53(4), 446–461.
- Corey, G. (2016). Theory and practice of group counseling (9th ed.). Cengage.
- Moreno, J. L. (1946). Psychodrama (Vol. 1). Beacon House.
- Rosendahl, J., Alldredge, C. T., Burlingame, G. M., & Strauss, B. (2021). Recent developments in group psychotherapy research. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 74(2), 52–59.
- Singh, A. A., Merchant, N., Skudrzyk, B., & Ingene, D. (2012). Association for Specialists in Group Work: Multicultural and social justice competence principles for group workers. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 37(4), 312–325.
- Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages of small-group development revisited. Group & Organization Studies, 2(4), 419–427.
- Yalom, I. D., & Leszcz, M. (2020). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (6th ed.). Basic Books.
For education. Not a substitute for supervised training in group leadership.