Process & Techniques

of Group, Family and

Community Counseling

Dr. Virupaksha
Faculty
Dept. of Social Work, Bangalore University
What is Counseling?
 Counselling is a process, organized in a series of
steps, which aims to help people to cope (deal
with or adapt to) better with situations they are
facing.

 This involves helping the individual to

understand their emotions and feelings and to
help them make positive choices and decisions.
 Counselling is an approach for assisting
people to reduce initial distress resulting
from a difficult situation, and to encourage
short and long-term adaptive functioning
(positive coping).
Fundamental Assumptions
1. Every individual in this world is capable
of taking responsibilities

2. Every individual has a right to choose

his/her own path, based on the principles
of democracy
Factors that Influence Change
 Physical Setting.

 Counseling can happen anywhere, but the

professional generally works in a place that
provides -
 Privacy,
 Confidentiality,
 Quiet and
 Certain comfort
 Process of Counseling
 The term counselling process implies continuous
change that takes place in promoting personality
changes in a desired direction. It aims in:
(1) Awareness on the part of the client,

(2) Behavioural change in a desired direction through

which the client can achieve his/her goals and

(3) Understanding his/her potentials, limitations and

how to utilize them best in achieving his/her goals.
Techniques of Counseling
1. Rapport Establishment
2. Observation
3. Reassurance
4. Aiding in problem identification
5. Prioritizing
6. Generating healthy alternative solutions
7. Dealing with thoughts, emotions & beliefs
8. Normalization (situation & routine)
9. Phased or graded implementation
10. Support enhancement
What is a Group?
 A group is a social unit of two or more
people who interact with each other
(McGrath&Kravitz 1982).

 Douglas (1993) sees a close connection

between groups as ‘instrument’ or
‘medium’ and ‘concepts of equality and
democracy’.
Objectives of Group Counseling
• Information Sharing
• Knowledge enhancing
• Skills training
• Social support
• To explore psychological and emotional
difficulties.
• To increase self-esteem
• To improve behavior and social relationships.
• To improve better social and occupational
functions.
 Advantages of Group Counseling
Group Counseling
• More number
• Time saving
• Cost effective
• Possible in all health care
set ups
• Most effective
• Less burn out for
counselor
 Individual Counseling
• Single member
• Time consuming
• Costly
• Almost impossible
• Sometimes less
effective
• Burn out for counselor
Role of Counselor
• Facilitator
• Controller
• Leader
• Advisor
• Teacher
• Participant observer
Points to be remembered
• Open group or Closed group
• Time and place
• Number of members
• Seat arrangements
• Position of the therapist
• Length of the group
Group Counseling Process
• Introducing himself and informing objective of
conducting group and setting the rules
• Allowing members to introduce to the group
• Sharing each member about situations they faced
and how they have handled.
• Observing group members
• Encouraging the group members who are not
participating actively
• Asking members to respond to each other
Therapeutic factors of Group Counseling
Universality Members recognize that other members share similar
feelings,
thoughts and problems
Altruism Members gain a boost to self concept through extending
help to other group members
Instillation of hope Watching others cope with and overcome similar
problems successfully instills hope and inspiration.
Imparting Education or advice provided by the counselor or group
information members
Corrective Group members start identifying with the group as their
recapitulation of family.
primary family
experience
Development of The group provides members with an environment that
socializing fosters adaptive and effective communication
techniques
Imitative behavior Group member’s model behaviors learnt in the group
from therapist and other group members. Over time,
members pick up these behaviors and incorporate them.
Cohesiveness Feelings of trust, belonging and togetherness
experienced by the group members
Existential factors Certain realities of life including loss, isolation, freedom
and death. This permits exploration of these fundamental
issues, and can help members develop an acceptance of
difficult realities.
Catharsis Members release of strong feelings about past or present
experiences
Interpersonal learning- Members gain personal insight about their interpersonal
input impact through feedback provided from other members

Interpersonal learning- Members provide an environment that allows members

Output to interact in a more adaptive manner
Family Counseling
Introduction
 Stephens(1963) defines family as ‘a social
arrangement, based on marriage and
marriage contract, including recognition of
rights and duties of parenthood, common
residence for husband, wife and children
and a reciprocal economic obligation
between husband and wife’
Areas that require family counseling
 Family structure and problems
 Families in crisis
 Families with disabled/ill individuals
 Families with marital problems
 Abuse and violence in families
Few observations on current trends in
families
 Rural men migrate to cities for better opportunities
leaving families mainly due to housing problems

 The single-parent families mostly comprise of widows.

These families face the major problems of financial
deprivation

 The migrant population and small nuclear families with

deficient social networks are vulnerable groups
 Problems of mental illness or disability are not
just individual problems but they are family
problems. These families have difficulties in
coping with the problem. When families have
limited resources, these problems add greater
strains.

 Marital problems have their roots in partners’

expectations of marriage and their personalities,
couples’ interpersonal compatibility and family
interference.
 Marital problems may lead to mental illness,
violence or disintegration of the family, and
have negative implications for the couples as
well as children.

 Family violence against women has its roots

in the husband’s superior status, his
personality traits, dowry demands and the
precipitating characteristics of wives.
Assessment and understanding
• Urban/ rural background
• Socio-economic background
• Ethnic background
Family Assessment
 Structure
 Leadership patterns
 Role structure
 Communication
 Reinforcement
 Cohesiveness
 Adaptive patterns
 Social Support system
 Family life cycle stages
Family structure
 Family structure includes the Boundaries and the Sub-systems
 Boundaries can be
1. Clear/Open
2. Diffuse or
3. Closed/Rigid

 Sub-systems are mainly three types

1. Marital Sub-system
2. Parent-child Sub-system
3. Sibling sub-system
Leadership pattern
1. Power Structure- gender/authority specific
- acceptance
- nominal, functional head

2. Decision Making
- who are the participants
- How is the implementation
- Types of Decision making
- Autocratic/ Democratic/ Authoritarian/
Chaotic
 Role structure and functioning
1. Multiplicity and Complementarities of roles

2. Role expectation and performance

3. Role Prescription-Description: Explicit/ implicit

4. Role conflict(strain) and allocation: diffusion & ambiguity

5. Role accountability & acceptance

6. Instrumental (provider) - Expressive (mediator, conciliator)

roles
 Communication
 Patterns and Channels of communication
Types
1. Direct communication
2. Indirect communication
3. Verbal communication
4. Nonverbal communication
5. Ambiguous/ paradoxical communication
6. Switchboard communication

 Noise level and equality of participation

 Reinforcement
 Processes adopted by the family members to
enhance socially approved behavior
1. Positive Reinforcement

2. Negative Reinforcement

3. Punishment Reinforcement
Cohesiveness
 Commitment & Intimacy- family rituals-
symbolic, ‘we’ feeling, activities (social,
emotional,personal)
Adaptive patterns
 Conflict resolution
1. Problem solving – How the problems are
solved by the family as a whole

2. Coping strategy – How the family as a

whole face difficult situations
Social support system
1. Primary Social Support
(immediate family)

2. Secondary Social Support

(relatives, friends, neighbours)

3. Tertiary Social Support

(hospitals, agencies, religious institutions..)
 Eight stages of the family life cycle
1. Married couple without children
2. Married couple with child 0-2 ½ years
3. Married couple with child 2 ½ - 6 years
4. Married couple with child 6-13 years
5. Married couple with child 13-20 years
6. Married couple with launching young adults
7. Middle aged couples (empty nest-
retirement)
8. Ageing family members (retirement- death)
Community Counseling
What is community counseling?

 Community counseling is a form of counseling

in which counselors work with families,
individuals, couples and also communities.

 Community-counseling is generally conducted

to prevent a problem and assist in setting
prevention programs in different communities.
 Community counseling is carried by the counselors
who are trained to work in different kinds of settings
like:
-Schools and hospitals
-Family services and mental health agencies
-Department of the veteran affairs
-Private industry and businesses
-Behavioral health agencies including the evaluation,
training and abuse programs.
-Insurance companies and private practices.
 Why community counseling works?
 Provides space for people to identify themselves as a
community

 Allows people of various tribes (ethnic groups), age,

and gender to think together

 Provides a place where every voice counts

 Creates space for community members to be

accountable to one another by mutual agreement
Qualities of a Counselor
Essential qualities of an effective
counsellor
1. Accepting the client as he/she is.
unconditionally as a person of self-worth
acceptance of clients gestures, postures..
2. Unconditional Positive regard
 Acceptance of the client’s experience
(feelings, fantasies, thoughts, and desires)

 Responding to the client as a worthy human

being more concretely
3. Respect and Warmth
 Clients should not feel insecure, frustrated or
inferior in front of counsellor.

 Respect and warmth must express through

non vernal behaviour such as open posture,
smile, and vocal qualities.

 The comments need to be congruent with the

body language.
4. Maintain healthy boundaries
know how to say no

5. Empathy

6. Self awareness

7. Abide by the code of ethics

 Counselling relationship
 Confidentiality and Privacy
 Professional responsibility..
8. An effective counsellor can identify
negative thinking patterns and encourages
client to build upon personal strengths

9. A good counsellor assists in making

positive changes in relationships with
others,
10. Counsellor teaches effective ways of
communicating
Care of Caregivers’ Burn out
– Tips for Counselors
Care of Caregivers’ Burn out
 Includes financial hardships, disruptions in
household functioning, restriction in social
activities, altered relationships,
psychological distress and crisis
Care for caregivers’ burnout - strategies
 Development & strengthening of support system
 Building Care-giving skills.
 Time for self -Interests outside the home.
 Awareness of legal rights.
 Learning new coping skills, becoming more
assertive, developing positive family
relationships.
 Professional support.
 Normalizing family routine
 Revising expectations
 Setting limits
 Selectively ignoring
 Reducing stress and isolation
 Identifying warning signs
 Enhancing social network
 Learn problem-solving skills
 Realistic expectations
Thank you