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Evaluations will be determined by the group leader with the process of evaluations they have chosen to use. Ethics and cultural issues have been taken into consideration when forming the group. Type of Group The group that is being formed will be a bereavement group. This specific bereavement group will be focused on working with individuals to process their individual grief and mourning, as well as provide support. Bereavement is a process that every individual must endure in their lifetime. To better understand grief, Underwood (2004) explains some elements of grief. Grief is a dynamic and a developing process.
The process of grief includes psychological, behavioral, social, and physical reactions to loss, and grief is involved with all types of losses, not just to losses related to death (p. 293). Bereavement also has five different stages of loss and grief, which are denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance stated by Axelrod (2006). All five stages take time and process to work through them. This group will allow individuals to express their emotions and mortality to the group. Bereavement is a process that many people cannot endure ithout support around them.
The bereavement group that is being formed will be used as another source of support that suffering individuals can come to find safety. For the group to be successful, hope will have to be instilled to the group members. Group Setting Finding a safe and natural environment will be necessary to have a successful group. According to Butina (2009), group therapy can take place in many different settings. Some of the settings are private practice offices, hospital clinics, community centers, school based programs and counseling centers (Settings for Therapy. Psych Central).
Depending on the loss of the individuals in group, it may be tough to find the perfect space for every member. For these reasons, a counseling center will be the setting of the bereavement group. An advantage of the counseling center setting reported by Butina (2009), is that they are mostly located in buildings designed specifically to deliver therapeutic services. They include thick sealed walls and large rooms vacant for group meetings (Settings for Therapy. Psych Central). Another advantage may be that other settings like hospitals, schools or community centers may trigger emotions due to the person they have recently lost.
Choosing a setting that seems neutral may not send negative triggers to group members, which will help members feel more safe and secure. Choosing an environment to run the group is crucial, but time is also an important factor of when groups will be run. This specific bereavement group will be run at 7:30 p. m. Population Description Screening for members of this bereavement group will be an essential piece to make sure that the group can be successful. Due to the fact that the group will be involved with bereavement which is a heavy subject, screening will be done by private sessions.
This specific bereavement group will want ndividuals that have the ability to learn, process, and gain support. For these reasons, individuals will be screened to make sure that group members will not have any other type of mental illness, besides their struggles with loss and grief. Other mental illnesses may get in the way of processing group members grief. This is also necessary because some counselors may not have the experience or training to effectively help someone with a mental illness and bereavement issues.
During the private screening assessments will be made to evaluate the group members to make sure who is appropriate for he group. Assessing for group members will take place by asking individuals questions about their recent loss and grieving processes at the moment. It is important to make sure that a person coming into this group has not recently lost someone in the past few weeks. Cook, White, & Ross-Russell (2002), reported that is necessary that people should wait eight to twelve weeks before trying group therapy.
The main reason is to make sure that there is enough information about a death (Bereavement support following). New information may be learned during the individual’s process if rushed into roup therapy. New information may deter a person’s perspective on their recent loss and have to re-process the death all over. Screening is important to group therapy because the purpose of screening potential group members reported by Corey & Corey (2010), is to prevent harm, as well as making sure an individual is appropriate for this specific group (p. 114).
For this bereavement group, members will include people who are from the age range of thirty to fifty years old. According to Undervvood (2004), there are development conceptions of death (p. 292). People in the age range of thirty o fifty will have a better emotional understanding and acceptance of death because it takes years to develop. Cultural aspects will be taken into consideration, but there are no limitations on who can join the group due to their culture background. According to Parkes (1 980), bereavement is not only a loss that comes from death.
Bereavement can also come from a loss of a home and even loss of a limb (p. 6). A bereavement group that has members with a loss of a limb or house will be a great source for support. Each member will be experiencing bereavement, but there may not be as uch of a connection between group members because people may value a loss of a limb compared to a loss of a house. For this specific group, bereavement will be focused on a loss of another individual. To keep the group focused on goals, it is important that each individual has a connection with other group members.
For this reason, sticking with grief and morning over a loved one or friend will draw stronger connections be?een group members. Goals of the Group “Underwood (2004), describes the model of grief and mourning by Kubler- Ross. Kubler Ross’s work reveals that many feelings are called up by loss and hese feelings must be acknowledged and processed. Ignoring them does not dismiss them; we simply store them and are often confronted with them at some time in the future. Acknowledging and talking about these feelings gives us the opportunity to understand them and put them in perspective.
When the pain of the loss feels unbearable, we may need some support in finding words for it or learning how to manage its magnitude so we can continue with the realities of daily life. Lastly, the resolution of the major work of grieving takes place when moving from the feelings of loss and longing that ccompany our awareness that the deceased is really gone from our lives to being able to hold the memory of that person in our hearts. The deceased becomes a part of our lives in a way that allows us to go on living without them (p. 293-94). The goals and interventions for this bereavement group will be formed to complete the model Kubler Ross formulated from the text above. The first goal that has to be established is making sure the group is a safe and secure space for each individual. This includes establishing trust between group members. Establishing trust within the group requires these kills: attending listening, understanding, empathy, genuineness, self- disclosure, and respect (Crone, personal communication, 2014). The group leader must portray these skills to the group.
Self-disclosure will be put into effect as soon as the group starts. Security is formed from trust, and trusting that the group will understand and respect one another will be a focus in the first few sessions. This will allow the group to form a bond so they can open up and process their emotions. Evaluating this goal will be observed by the group leader. It will be clear to see if members of the group have not formed rust with one another. Security and trust can also be evaluated by the group leader by checking In on the members of the group.
Learning how to manage the magnitude of lost friends and family is a goal of the group. This will allow the group leader to assess the coping mechanisms group members have been using to deal with their recent loss. If members are using dysfunctional coping mechanisms, bringing awareness to the member and group will be essential. Group members need recognition that poor coping skills only increase the feelings of grief and loss. The intervention would include some sycho-education on how to effectively cope may be needed if group members display poor coping skills.
Evaluations of coping skills can be used by giving out assignments to people with poor coping skills. Using a journal on how group members coped throughout the week when they Were not in group therapy. Checking in with the group member will also be an evaluation tool. The next invention will be to inform and process the different stages of grief. The stages are denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Each stage is unique, but each individual does not process the tages in order of denial and isolation, to anger, to bargaining, to depression and finally acceptance.
Each individual will process these stages, but the stages are meant to be a guide so group members will be aware of their grieving process stated by Axelrod (2006). The goal of this intervention will be bringing awareness and perspective that Kubler-Ross described in her model. Opening up and being aware of what stage a group member may be in can give great perspective. It will allow group members to evaluate how grief has affected their social, behavioral, psychological and physical self. nderwood 2004), reported that undoing of the psychosocial ties to the deceased person, and revisions of perceptions about life, roles, and development of a new identity will be necessary to talk about during this period of awareness (p. 293). This awareness also allows the counselor to validate and normalize the feelings group members will be encountering. Awareness and perspective of the stages of grief will also bring a sense of “universality’ described by Yalom. Yalom (2005), describes universality where group members see themselves as being unique, but soon perceive similarities between group members (p. ). Lastly, Underwood (2004), describes moving on by having the deceased become a part of our lives in a way that allows us to go on living without them (p. 293-94). The last goal is regaining an interest in life and feeling hopeful again. A part of this goal is using the concept “instillation Of hope” Yalom (2005), or the therapeutic factor that must take effect in groups described by (p. 4). This process involves wanting to change and to move on with your life. According to Carney (2006), personalized meaningful remembrance and ritual may facilitate this process (Grief, Healing and the One-to-Two Year Myth).
Describing to the group that change can happen, and that the group leader gives evidence on how people’s perspective and awareness has grown since the beginning of the group. Even though this is the last goal, the intervention of this goal starts from the first group because bringing awareness and perspective allows change. This is the last goal because it is the toughest to achieve. The only way to evaluate this goal would be to set up a group session after termination. The group could pick a date to meet after a few months of termination to determine if any change has happened to move forward with their life.
Frequency, Duration and Format The group will be formed by eight people. This allows the group to have a sense of connection by being able to give enough opportunity for each member to be involved. The frequency of this group would be once a week for ten weeks. This was determined by the population in the group. The adults in the group would be normally functioning people who are able to learn, process and gain support. An hour would be enough time to process enough information about such a heavy issue. The ten weeks will allow enough time to process the group member’s bereavement. Legal Concerns
Confidentiality is always a concern with counseling. A group leader must make sure that their group members are fully aware about confidentiality. Expressing these confidentiality issues at the screening and making sure to go over confidentiality at the beginning of the first group to ensure people are aware and allow members to gain trust. Making sure the group leader has signed informed consent and confidentiality is crucial to moving fonvard with group therapy. An issue that may come up with this bereavement group specifically is having two members knowing one another or knowing the ame deceased friend or loved one.
A group member personally knowing another group member can bring turmoil to the group. Turmoil of someone disclosing too much information about the person they know, or even an individual not wanting to express themselves because they do not want to express it in front of the person they know. Two people knowing the same deceased person can bring out certain perceptions about the deceased person. One person may see the deceased individual completely different from the other member. This can bring issues and a member may struggle to work on their grieving process. Another issue may be competence of the group leader.
Parkes (1980), study suggests that a counselor takes about a year to become proficient when working with bereavement (p. 6). The number one factor of counseling is to do no harm. Counselors need to understand their competency level when working with clients in therapy. The worst thing a counselor could do is not be proficient with the group they are leading. Parkes may be wrong that it takes a year to be proficient, but counselors working with clients in bereavement that deal with subjects of mortality need to be highly skilled. Diversity Concerns Diversity is always taken into consideration when working with individuals and groups.
When working with bereavement, diversity must be taken into consideration. Anyone of any culture can join this specific bereavement group. Some cultures have a better understanding of death due to their specific culture. Clements (2003), reports that Hindu’s believe that death is part of a cycle, while The Navajo people believe they journey into the next world when they pass (p. 23-25). These culture differences alone can bring tremendous perspective to the group, but these perspectives can also have a egative affect depending on the acculturation of the individual and group.