RE:SOCW6121: Group Leadership Skills Discussion 1 – Response to 2 students -(WK6)
RE:SOCW6121: Group Leadership Skills Discussion 1 – Response to 2 students -(WK6)
Respond to two colleagues who discussed a different leadership skill. Explain the importance of building these skills and how they relate to facilitating the group process. (be detaile din response use 2 APA referrals)
Response to Liam
The group leader in the “Levy” group session used leadership skills throughout the session to engage, assess, and act within the group. To facilitate discussion, she used attending skills, such as body language, “scanning” the group members, and eye contact (Toseland, 2017), to convey empathetic support to group members when she engaged them. She also used responding skills to support the group member discussing Jake’s alcoholism with him (Laureate Education, 2013), and to involve other group members in discussing how they cope with stress. To gather data, the group leader used both analyzing and identifying and describing skills (Toseland, 2017) to identify that Jake was drinking as a way to cope with returning to civilian life, and then to encourage Jake to share the events that trigger his drinking (Laureate Education, 2013). The group leader took action by supporting group members (Toseland, 2013) as they shared how they adjusted to civilian life. She supported the experience and feelings of the group member who confronted Jake about his drinking while also supporting Jake in recognizing that it may have felt easier to avoid adjusting to civilian life by drinking (Laureate education). Finally, the group leader took action using confrontation skills (Toseland, 2017) when speaking with Jake. She gently questioned him about how often he drank in order to get a feel for his reaction. Had the other group member not intervened, she likely would not have pursued that line of questioning, given that his defensive reaction indicated he may not be ready to address this behavior.
Instead of singling out Jake’s response when discussing the differences between civilian and military life, the group leader could have started by asking the group about that transition, then asked them about how they were dealing with the changes in lifestyle. By opening up the conversation to the group, then delving further with different members as they responded, Jake may not have been as initially defensive of the group leader’s questions. The other member of the group may have still chimed in and contributed to the discussion on drinking, but there may not have been a confrontation or, if there was, it may not have started as emotionally charged as it did in the video.
References:
Laureate Education. (Producer). (2013d). Levy (Episode 6) [Video file]. In Sessions. Baltimore, MD: Producer. Retrieved fromhttps://class.waldenu.edu
Toseland, R. W., & Rivas, R. F. (2017). An introduction to group work practice (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
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Response to Betty
In the Levy video, the group leader acknowledged the needs and emotions of the members present by identifying where they have been, and what they are experiencing as a result of the aftermath of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The social worker indicated that the goal of the group was to follow up on their adjustments to civilian life. When the topic of comparing the ways each member was able to cope with the events associated with the trauma they endured during the war, some members believed that the leader could not understand. However, the social worker showed empathy, respect for their emotions, and used attentive listening skills by allowing each member to voice their frustrations as they try to adjust to civilian life. When it comes to the functional classification of the leader’s skills it includes:
Facilitating Group Process – The worker involved the group members by asking the member how they dealt with the trauma. She responded to the member who stated that he was there because of his wife. She focused on the communication among the members instead of interjecting her thoughts on what they were feeling.
Data Gathering and assessment- The worker gathered the information by starting the meeting with questions on the members’ adjustment into civilian life. She identified their feelings and behaviors by stating “that’s a good point, sometimes we do things to avoid dealing with the unpleasant feelings, like adjusting to life back at home (Laureate Education, 2013). The feedback from the other members enabled the worker to synthesize their feelings.
Action – The worker was supportive of the member’s trauma, and how they were dealing with situations back home. She associated the member’s efforts with their adjustment in civilian life and their coping mechanism. Some on the members used alcohol and other used medications.
Another skill that the social worker in the case could have used during the group communicating about their experiences is to take the cues about the flashbacks and paraphrase what a member is saying (Toseland, 2017). Example, when Jake stated that he feels like he was going to blow up, but then realized that he is at home. The social worker could paraphrase, and say “Jake I hear you say you feel like someone is going to blow you up”) empathically, “what do you usually do when you feel like this?” Paraphrasing may allow other members to share their coping or adjustment skills. This strategy creates a cohesive environment for the other members to show support and understanding because they have been there (Westwood et al., 2010).
References
Laureate Education. (2013) Levy (Episode 6) [Video file]. In Session. Baltimore, MD: Producer.
Retrieved from:
Toseland, R. W., & Rivas, R. F. (2017). An introduction to group work practice (8th ed.). Boston,
MA: Pearson.
