Group Counseling Proposal: Grief and Research Proposal

Notably, such groups are applicable in nonmedical atmosphere to help people not diagnosed with mental health issues. Given the significance of interpersonal and personal issues, the group leaders must work in unity with the clients to settle on the group sessions and its direction. Participants will be allowed to discuss their familial and interpersonal issues or stressors that they can determine that link to divorce and its effects. In the course of the procedure, participants will be inspired to be accountable for their own emotional and psychological development.

Leadership skills and verbal techniques will be employed to ensure that the group members are attentive and understand the concerns of each the group members. Group counseling with divorce families can be very practical, it can make therapy much affordable at a period when parents are strained financially. People require more structure in their group, such as weekly activities, which help them, handle the issues they are facing. Teenagers and adults react well to open discussion founded on the problems they are facing. The group leader should be prepared to listen to group members' complains of concerning their school, church, parents and everything else that revolve around their lives. The group leader should listen to the group and then assists them find solutions to their problems. The group should facilitate togetherness of the families represented in the group with the main aim of lessening the effects of divorce to the participants.

During this session, stress management, assertiveness training and consciousness-raising strategies are paramount. For the session to be successful videotaping, discussion topics and other structured exercises will help in realization of positive upshots. In this regard, materials such as posters, whiteboard, flip chart, printed manuals and handouts, CD player, Video recorder and writing materials are necessary. Most of the activities involved in this session will include listening, talking and sometimes acting.

Marketing and Screening

When setting up a divorce group, the group leader must be clear regarding the type of group, size and its purpose. If the group leader is not clear, the composition of the participants may be such that the group cannot be successful. Divorce recovery group should consist of people who are presently going through a divorce or are recently divorced and are very much grieving their loss. For this group, the group leader want to ensure that no member is in so much pain that he cannot fit in the group or he would not be ready for the group. The group will hold no more than eight members, four women and four males, aged between 18 and 25; given that all members must be given adequate time to share. Screening of participants is a crucial aspect and it involves a pre-group interview that ensures only qualified members with pertinent issues join the group (Corey, 2011). Every participant must meet with group coordinators during the very first week of the scheduled counseling. Screening of participants will guarantee maximum cohesion, safety and functioning of the all the group members. The criteria for identifying people, who do not fit in the group, include immaturity, emotional instability, egocentricity, aggressiveness, nervousness and unconcerned members (Simon, 2010).

Participants screening criteria will entails their projected goals, ethnicity, age, gender, functioning level and identifiable problem will be carried out prior to formation of the group. The pre-group screening and interview will facilitate evaluation of the suitability of each individual in the counseling session besides offering description of the temperament of the group, its principles and structure. The screening session will include participants from divorced families and those who have not recovered and adjusted following their parent's divorce.

The group coordinators will develop the interview to acquire an overall divorce history of the participants and an analysis of their understanding pertaining to the divorce, their familiar links, changes in their lives and symptoms of grief and stress linked to the divorce of their parents. The coordinators of the counseling session will develop pre-interview questions and towards the culmination of the interview, the interviewers will assess the guidelines of the group and request the selected participants whether they will be willing to dedicate themselves to the confidentiality, participation, punctuality, consistent attendance and the practicing conduct of the group. Screening helps is assessing how well a potential group member's requirements, goals and issues match group the goals besides assessing a person's interpersonal style and potential to be successful in the group (Simon, 2010). Screening gives a group leader a prospect to see if a potential member can follow the group's directions.

The screening questions will include:

1. What is your age and gender, and what do you do for a living

2. Are parents divorced?, and do you feel responsible or guilty of their divorce

3. Does it affect you that your parents no longer live together, and do you feel that your parents rely too much on you to offer them emotional support

4. Has anything changed since your parents' separation? This is about your social and educational life.

5. Do you hold previous experience with groups?

6. Why do you want to form part of this group?

7. What benefits do you want to achieve from the group?

8. How can you be helped by the group?

9. Do you believe that the group will help you handle your current situation?

Theory

This small counseling group is created to help in managing grief and recovery of participants following their parents divorce. In this regard, the group is remedial and interventive in temperament (Hafer, 1999). The group centers on solving the problems experienced by divorced families. This section will underline comprehensively the theories of counseling that the group leaders will employ. The group leader will capitalize on a combination of theoretical perspectives to group therapy in building up and executing the counseling group. Particularly, the group leaders will make reference to solution-focused theory (Metcalf, 2008). This theory centers on what the group members want to attain through the therapy as opposed to taking too much time on their problems. This perspective does not center on what has happened in the past, but rather centers on the future and present.

The group members will be asked to envisage how their future will become different when they learn to handle their problems. The divorce recovery group will be a short-term and closed group lasting for utmost twelve weeks. The group leader must hold thorough skills of grief counseling and not be afraid of the emotional pain, which the group members will exhibit. The group leader should as well be skilled with individual counseling. The group counseling will be directed on helping participants comprehend the practical adjustments required to heal from divorce and build up interpersonal, social and communication skills thereby facilitating the recovery of self-esteem and the development of new social network (Simon, 2010). Role-playing, directed reading, writing, nonverbal exercises, referral to other community and educational resources, decision-making exercises and problem-solving may be involved. The advantage of the group approach is that the participants obtain validation for their disturbing emotions and supportive prospects for mutual problem solving with peers who may eventually become friends. According Harway (2005), Group counseling is effective appendage to post-divorce psychotherapy.

Informed Consent Forms

Participants will be provided with informed consent forms detailing the information regarding the group type, its objectives, structure, typical interventions, leadership style and format. Both communication and written materials will be provided to the participants. The informed consent form will contain a summary of goals, interventions and topics, contact information. The informed consent will also include techniques and procedures that will be used during the counseling session, it will also detail potential risks, benefits of the counseling session, confidentiality limitations and other limitations.

Group Counseling on Grief and Divorce Recovery Informed Consent Form

We are pleased to inform you that we will be conducting group counseling on grief and divorce recovery. The aim of the group is to offer a solution-based approach to participants that will help them manage grief and recovery from the divorce. The group sessions will take 1.5 hours a week for twelve weeks only. The group shall hold up to nine members and their privacy shall be maintained at all costs. Everything discussed during the sessions shall stay put in the group, but information can be discussed outside the group for purpose of supervision. Your voluntary membership is kindly requested so that we may help each other overcome grief, recover from divorce and move on with life. Your personal details and your responses shall not be recorded in the questionnaires for privacy purpose. Your contribution is highly regarded, but you may choose the part you want to play in the group. You will not be coerced to answer any questions that you do not want to answer even after you sign the consent form. If you are willing to take part in the group counseling, please sign this form.

Please forward any reservations or questions to:

Dr

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