Use the Pregroup Issues (Word)Links to an external site. template to address the following items about your new psychotherapeutic group:
Type of group
Topic or theme
Target population and age
How and why this group is relevant
Dates and times of meetings
Qualifications for the group leader
How and where the group will be advertised/announced
How participants will be selected and interviewed
Include the final screening sheet as an appendix to the group manual.
Ground rules
Informed consent procedures
Include the final informed consent form(s) as an appendix to the group manual.
Please provide information about each item in the space provided in the template; do not write a paper. Then use this document to help you write the beginning section of your manual; see Assignment 14.1: Group Manual.
you have decided to start a new psychotherapeutic group and need a manual. Instead of finding one, you are going to write your own! Decide on a focus for your new group, considering age, type of group work, mental health issues to be addressed, and so on. You can choose any type of group you want, be it process, self-help, psychoeducational, or any other.
Ideas for coming up with a group:
What’s missing in your community?
What kind of group do you wish you had as a parent or caregiver?
Ask your preceptor if they conduct group therapy and know of any group therapy needs in the community.
What kind of patients does your preceptor specialize in (such as eating disorders)?
What is something you are interested in that you could see yourself conducting a group in after graduation?
What vulnerable populations are in your community?
During the semester, you will develop a comprehensive manual detailing your development of this group. This is an opportunity to be creative while grounding your proposed group in the established research and literature on group work and your target population.
The manual should be functional and appropriate for eight, one-hour sessions. For this assignment, each stage will last for two sessions, although in practice, groups typically last longer, with the middle stages taking up a lot more time (and other groups are open-ended with individuals going through stages at different times). Information should be practical and written in an explicit manner so that others could facilitate the group.
Information on each session should be detailed. Explain how each session’s activities or process is relevant to the given stage of group formation and development. Create at least two tools for your members to complete at the beginning and at the end of your group to evaluate the effectiveness of the group experience. You can also create other tools and activities.
Assignments starting in Week 4 will help you develop your manual. These assignments include a series of prompts, questions, or directions about the group, types of therapy, issues that may come up, and materials to create. Please provide information about each item in the space provided in the template; do not write a paper.
Then use these documents and your instructor’s feedback to help you write this Group Manual. You must integrate feedback from your instructor on those assignments.
The manual must be your original work. Any submitted work that draws heavily on previously developed or published material will receive a failing grade. However, you can draw from such material to enhance your original idea; all such material must be referenced.
Samples
Please see Group Manual ExamplesLinks to an external site. for exemplars.
Elements
Your manual must include the following sections and elements.
Cover Page
Name
Name of your group
Title of the course
Date submitted
Introduction
Pregroup Issues
Type of group
Topic or theme
Target population and age
Relevance
Dates and times
Qualifications for the leader
How and where the group will be advertised
Selection and screening
Informed consent procedure
Ground rules
Initial Stage
Structure for each of the sessions
A descriiption of two tools for your group members to complete at the beginning and at the end of your group to evaluate the effectiveness of the group experience. You must develop these tools yourself.
Any other tools and resources used during these sessions
Transition Stage
Structure for each session
Any tools and resources used during these sessions
Working Stage
Structure for each session
Any tools and resources used during these sessions
Final Stage
Structure for each session
Any tools and resources used during these sessions
References
At least five current scholarly articles that support the rationale and structure of the group
Appendices including, but not limited to:
Screening sheet
Informed consent document(s)
Two tools for group members to complete at the beginning and at the end of your group to evaluate the effectiveness of the group experience