Group Counseling FAQ
Group therapy, support, and education are offered by York College Counseling Services almost daily. Any student looking for help on a weekly basis can attend group. York College students report positive experiences and growth through group participation.What is Group?
Group Counseling provides an opportunity for small groups of students to meet on a weekly basis to share common concerns and experiences, as well as, learn new skills under the guidance of a group facilitator. Group members are expected to participate at their own paces. No one is forced to reveal information they are not comfortable with. All group members are expected to sign and uphold a confidentiality agreement. Group Counseling is not for everyone and sometimes starting in a new group is uncomfortable. Group facilitators work to allow for diversity in self-expression AND strive to create an environment that feels safe, respectful and inclusive.
What is a Confidentiality Agreement?
Within a group, the responsibility of maintaining confidentiality is shared among all participants in the group. In your initial meeting with the counselor, you will explore the meaning of not sharing specific information about what's said in group outside of group. This is maintaining confidentiality out of respect for each group member. Any questions or concerns about confidentiality can be brought up within a group meeting so that everyone can share in the responsibility of dealing with your concern. Confidentiality agreements do not preclude you from sharing with others the fact that you attend a group, as long as you do not violate other's privacy by identifying them as fellow group members without their permission.
Why is Group helpful?
When people attend groups, there is generally a sense of community generated that provides support and acceptance. Within this context, members are permitted to share with one another and to risk trying new interpersonal behaviors and social techniques. In a safe group setting, members are given the opportunity to express thoughts, feelings, give and receive feedback, and observe how others respond in different or similar ways to the same events or situations. The sharing, support, and opportunity to learn new interpersonal skills within a trusting environment form a basis for increased self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and increased ability to relate to others.
Do I have to talk?
While it is helpful for members to share their feelings and reactions in group, it's important to keep in mind that individual members are the only ones who determine how much to self-disclose in group. That is, you decide how much to share or not share. You will not be forced to reveal your deepest and innermost thoughts and feelings. You will be encouraged to explore comfort and trust within the group before sharing inner thoughts and feelings.
Irvin Yalom's Curative Factors of Group Treatment
- Instillation of Hope - faith that the treatment mode can and will be effective.
- Universality - demonstration that we are not alone in our misery or our "problems".
- Imparting of information - didactic instruction about mental health, mental illness, psychodynamics or whatever else might be the focal problem of the group. (Ex. OCOA, Alanon; learning about the disease process itself).
- Altruism - opportunity to rise out of oneself and help somebody else; the feeling of usefulness.
- Corrective recapitulation of primary family group - experiencing transference relationships growing out of primary family experiences providing the opportunity to relearn and clarify distortions.
- Development of socializing techniques - social learning or development of interpersonal skills.
- Imitative behavior - taking on the manner of group members who function more adequately.
- Catharsis - opportunity for expression of strong affect.
- Existential factors - recognition of the basic features of existence through sharing with others (e.g. ultimate aloneness, ultimate death, ultimate responsibility for our own actions).
- Direct Advice - receiving and giving suggestions for strategies for handling problems.
- Interpersonal learning - receiving feedback from others and experimenting with new ways of relating.