Group counseling, stages and leader skills

In a career counseling group, a member launches into a long story about his weekend that is pulling the group away from its focus. Which leader skill fits best?

1. Linking
   Linking connects members with related concerns; nothing in the weekend story ties him to other members' career work.
2. Cutting off
   Cutting off politely interrupts a member who rambles or drifts off topic and returns the group to its focus.
3. Reflecting feelings
   Reflecting his feelings about the weekend would invite more of the same story and keep the group off its career focus.
4. Drawing out
   Drawing out invites quiet members to participate; this member already has the floor and needs to be redirected.

A woman in a therapy group starts reacting to the male co-leader as she did to her critical father, and with the group's help she responds to him in a new way. Which of Yalom's therapeutic factors is MOST evident?

1. Corrective recapitulation of the family
   Yalom's corrective recapitulation of the primary family group happens when members relive old family patterns with leaders or members and then respond in a new way.
2. Universality among the members
   Universality is discovering that others share one's problems, which reduces isolation; it does not involve reliving a parent relationship.
3. Imitative behavior modeled on the leader
   Imitative behavior is learning by copying others' behavior; she is not modeling the co-leader but reworking a reaction from her family.
4. Instillation of hope from peers
   Hope comes from seeing others improve; the factor here is reworking a family pattern with the co-leader.

During Tuckman's norming stage of group development, members typically

1. challenge the leader and compete for control
   Challenging the leader and competing for influence mark storming, the stage before norming.
2. depend on the leader for structure
   Dependence on the leader for structure and direction marks forming, the first stage.
3. work productively on their goals
   Productive goal-directed work is performing, the stage that follows norming.
4. build cohesion and agree on shared norms
   In norming, conflicts from storming are resolved and members develop cohesion and agreed ways of working together.

In a counseling group, which member feedback is MOST likely to be useful to the person receiving it?

1. "When you laughed about the divorce, I felt confused."
   The I-statement about laughing at the divorce names one observed behavior and the speaker's own reaction, which gives the receiver something specific to consider.
2. "You are always hiding behind your jokes, every time."
   Labeling and overgeneralizing ('always') invites defensiveness and does not name a specific moment to look at.
3. "I think you're a really nice person to be around."
   Vague praise is pleasant but tells the person nothing about a behavior or its effect on others.
4. "Everyone here thinks you're avoiding your feelings."
   'Everyone here thinks' speaks for the whole group, puts the receiver on trial, and hides the speaker's own reaction.

In a panic disorder group, the leader explains how the fight-or-flight response produces a racing heart and dizziness. Which of Yalom's therapeutic factors is the leader using?

1. Universality
   Members may realize their symptoms are common, but that discovery is universality; the leader's action here is teaching.
2. Imparting information
   Imparting information includes the leader's didactic teaching, such as explaining how the fight-or-flight response produces panic symptoms.
3. Instillation of hope
   Hope comes from seeing that others improve or that treatment works; explaining physiology is information-giving.
4. Interpersonal learning
   Interpersonal learning comes from feedback and interaction among members, not from a leader's explanation.

According to Corey, how should a leader respond when a member openly challenges the leader's competence during the transition stage?

1. Remind the member of the leader's credentials and training
   Citing credentials is a defensive move that shuts down the challenge and teaches members that conflict is unsafe.
2. Stay nondefensive and explore the member's concern
   Corey treats challenges to the leader as a normal transition-stage event; staying nondefensive and exploring the concern models how to handle conflict and builds trust.
3. Redirect the group to the planned structured activity
   Redirecting to the planned activity avoids the conflict, which then tends to resurface indirectly.

According to Yalom, which prospective member is MOST likely to be a poor candidate for a heterogeneous outpatient interactional group?

1. A client currently in an acute psychotic episode
   Yalom lists acutely psychotic clients among poor candidates for heterogeneous interactional groups, since they cannot take part in the group's task and may be harmed or disrupt it.
2. A client with recurrent mild depression
   Mild depression is not a contraindication; many such clients benefit from the support and feedback of an interactional group.
3. A client seeking healthier relationships
   Wanting better relationships is exactly the kind of interpersonal goal an interactional group serves.

During a group session, a member says she has been thinking about ending her life. What should the leader do?

1. Invite the group to spend the rest of the session on her crisis
   Turning the whole group to her crisis can overwhelm her and the members and still leaves her risk unassessed.
2. Continue as planned and check in with her at the next weekly session
   Continuing as planned and waiting a week ignores a possible imminent risk; suicidal statements call for assessment the same day.
3. Acknowledge it and assess her risk individually before she leaves
   The leader acknowledges the disclosure respectfully and completes an individual risk assessment before the member leaves, then takes protective steps as needed.

A leader decides all of a group's topics and rules herself and expects members to comply. According to Lewin, which leadership style is this?

1. Autocratic
   In Lewin, Lippitt, and White's studies, autocratic leaders set all policies and activities without member input and expect compliance.
2. Democratic
   Democratic leaders involve members in setting topics and rules, which is the opposite of deciding everything alone.
3. Laissez-faire
   A laissez-faire leader gives almost no direction, leaving members to decide everything, the opposite of this leader.

According to Corey, what characterizes therapeutic confrontation in a counseling group?

1. Letting members vote on whose behavior to challenge
   Voting turns confrontation into a group verdict on one person, a setup for scapegoating rather than caring challenge.
2. Challenging defenses bluntly so members cannot deflect
   Blunt attacks on defenses, typical of some early encounter groups, tend to raise defensiveness and can harm members.
3. Challenging specific behaviors with care and respect
   Corey's caring confrontation invites a member to look at a specific behavior or discrepancy, offered respectfully with room to respond.

In a fishbowl arrangement, what are members of the outer circle typically asked to do?

1. Take turns replacing the leader of the inner circle
   Outer-circle members do not lead; the inner circle keeps its own leader while the outer circle watches.
2. Observe the inner circle and later give feedback
   In a fishbowl the inner circle interacts while the outer circle observes the process and then offers feedback, before the circles often switch.
3. Discuss a different topic in their own smaller circle
   A separate discussion would break the point of the format, which is for the outer circle to watch the inner circle's process closely.

A member keeps describing conflicts with coworkers who ignore him. Which leader response BEST moves the work into Yalom's here-and-now?

1. Ask for more detail about exactly what the coworkers said
   More detail about absent coworkers keeps the work in the there-and-then, where no one in the room can observe the pattern.
2. Offer practical advice for handling difficult coworkers
   Advice-giving is a low-value activity in Yalom's view and keeps the focus on people outside the group.
3. Ask how that same pattern might be showing up in this group
   Yalom moves members from there-and-then stories to the here-and-now, where the pattern can be seen and get feedback from members.

According to Corey, which concern is MOST typical of members during the initial stage of a group?

1. Whether they will be accepted or rejected
   Corey notes that initial-stage members are concerned with inclusion and trust: whether they will fit in and be accepted.
2. Whether to challenge the leader
   Challenging the leader is typical of the transition stage, once members feel safe enough to express conflict.
3. How to apply learning after the group ends
   Applying learning outside the group is a final-stage concern as members prepare to leave.

In its final session, members of a closed group express sadness, reminisce about early meetings, and some downplay how much the group mattered. According to Tuckman, which stage is this?

1. Performing
   Performing is productive work on goals before the ending; it is not marked by grief over separation.
2. Adjourning
   Adjourning, added by Tuckman and Jensen in 1977, is when a group completes its work and ends; sadness, reminiscing, and downplaying the loss are common.
3. Storming
   Storming involves conflict and challenges to the leader early in the group's life, not saying goodbye.

What is the main advantage of a closed group compared with an open group?

1. Members who drop out are easy to replace
   Easy replacement is an advantage of open groups; closed groups do not add members after they start.
2. Stable membership builds trust and cohesion
   A closed group keeps the same members from start to finish, which supports cohesion and trust.
3. Members can join whenever they need help
   Joining whenever help is needed describes an open group, which gains access at the cost of stability.
4. New members bring fresh perspectives
   Fresh perspectives from newcomers are an open-group advantage; a closed group has no newcomers.

In a task group, one member objects to every proposal. The leader later learns that he wants the project to fail so his own department keeps its budget, a goal he has never stated. What is this an example of?

1. Groupthink
   Groupthink is a cohesive group suppressing doubts to reach quick agreement; this member blocks agreement instead.
2. Social loafing
   Social loafing is reduced individual effort in a group; this member is actively working against the task.
3. Hidden agenda
   A hidden agenda is an unstated personal goal that conflicts with the group's task, such as wanting the project to fail to protect his budget.
4. Risky shift
   Risky shift is a group making riskier decisions than its members would alone, not one member opposing everything.