Groups are complex social systems present in virtually all contexts of our existence. The group behavior can be used as a tool with different purposes of intervention. We are social beings and people are part of groups that satisfy our primary needs (sense of belonging, identity …) and serve as a source of feedback on our behavior.
Groups as a tool for psychological intervention can be therapeutic (psychodrama, gestalt, transactional analysis, psychoanalysis, systemic family, cognitive-behavioral, bioenergetic …) or learning (discussion, tutoring, seminars …) in which A group coordinator or professional therapist directs a group activity directly with a specific therapeutic goal. The coordinator has the role of director. A third type of groups are the so-called expressive groups.
>> Related article: That they are NOT and that they are the techniques of group dynamics.
Unlike in the therapeutic and learning groups, in the expressive groups the activity coordinator takes on a facilitator profile of the same, fomenting the encounter between equal people. The expressive groups pretend that the emotional expression and of the own experiences are the axis of the activity in order to reach the objective of the intervention. The most common expressive groups are humanist meeting groups and self-help groups.
The greatest reference of this type of groups is the one that reflects Carl Rogers in his book On Encounter Groups published in the year 1970. In this work, Rogers explains how in the groups of humanist encounter the conception of the therapist like expert happens to a roll of Facilitator of a process based on the group’s own growth strength.
As Rogers puts it in his book “the facilitator of a group that meets intensively can develop a psychological climate of security, where freedom of expression is gradually generated and defensive attitudes are diminished.” In this way a climate is created that allows the expression of immediate feelings of the members of the group both towards themselves and towards the others. Emotional freedom is generated to express all kinds of feelings, whether positive, negative or neutral, providing a climate of mutual trust. The members of the group end up being accepted emotionally, physically and mentally as they are.
The best way to explain the functioning of the meeting groups is to formulate the 15 phases that follow each other throughout the group process:
They are based on exploring the affective territory of the people with the aim of exposing themselves to the other participants by risking to share personal things and talk about themselves with the other people that make up the group.
This method is used in psychology and coaching for the development of people, non-directive education, improvement of self-concept or training in personal and social values.
>> Related article: Psychodrama, a creative therapy.
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References:
Rogers, Carl. (1970). On Encounter Groups. New York: Harrow Books, Harper and Row, ISBN 0-06-087045-1
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en que fecha se publico este articulo?
En noviembre 2016 :)