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Groups for Adults: Types, Strengths, and Limitations

Learn about the various types of groups for adults, including counseling and psychotherapy groups, and their strengths and limitations. Discover how these groups can help individuals in different stages of adulthood.

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Groups for Adults: Types, Strengths, and Limitations

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  1. Chapter 13 Groups for Adults Prepared by: Nathaniel N. Ivers, Wake Forest University

  2. Roadmap • Adulthood • Setting up Groups for Adults • Types of Groups with Adults • Strengths and Limitations of Group Work with Adults

  3. Adulthood • Implies that a person has reached physical, mental, social, and emotional maturity • In reality, it is a multidimensional stage of growth often characterized by a certain unevenness and unpredictability (Santrock, 2013) • Conceptualized as the age period between 20 and 65 years. • Includes young adulthood (20 to 40 years) and midlife (40-65 years).

  4. Setting Up Groups for Adults • Coming up with a theme for the group • Identifying necessities or obligations • Making clear the purpose of the group

  5. Types of Groups for Adults • Probably more types of groups available and run for adults than for any other age or stage of the population • Work and task groups are a primary type of groups conducted for adults (Hulse-Killacky et al., 2001) • Counseling groups also are used with adults to explore personal issues of adulthood and to help with lifestyle transitions • Psychotherapy groups are employed for adults on inpatient and outpatient bases (Yalom & Leszcz, 2005)

  6. Groups for College Students • Formal and informal groups are found many places on campus. • Millennial students tend to use college counseling centers more frequently and for more severe problems than previous generations • Groups on college campuses for prevention and remediation

  7. Groups for College Students • Psychoeducational Groups • Self-esteem • Depression management • Career-awareness and self-exploration • Counseling groups • Helpful for excessively self-critical students (Phelps & Luke, 1995) • Psychotherapeutic Types of Groups • Helpful for adult children of alcoholics • Survivors of sexual abuse

  8. Groups for Adults in Midlife • Psychoeducational Groups • With the exception of task/work groups, these the most common • Geared toward learning and wellness • Counseling and Psychotherapeutic • Focused on making choices and changes • Common types of groups include grief/loss, career and job support, survivors of suicide, victims of abuse groups

  9. Groups for Men • Types of groups • Consciousness-raising (C-R) Group (Garfield, 2010) • Support and psychoeducational groups for single, custodial fathers • Groups can help men identify personal and general concerns of being male and ways to deal constructively with issues and problems they face • Can be difficult to get men to participate in groups

  10. Groups for Women • “Traced to the consciousness-raising groups of the 1960s and 1970s” (Horne, 1999, p. 232) • For certain issues, women do better in women-only treatment groups (Kauffman et al., 1995; Singh & Hofsess, 2011) • Chemical dependency • Empowerment

  11. Groups for Women • Rape survivors’ groups • Relationship groups • Eating disorders groups

  12. Groups for Couples and Families • Parent Education Groups • Couples and Family Group Therapy • Multiple-Family Group Therapy

  13. Groups for the Divorced and Widowed • Group related to the emotional impact of separation (Addington, 1992) • Groups related to the emotional response of separation • Parents Without Partners (PWP)

  14. Groups for Remarried Couples • Michael’s (2006) six-session group • Emphasizes the following bonds: • Developmental • Nurturing • Strengthening • Utilizes group problem-solving as well as couples-focused activities

  15. Groups for Adult Offenders • Offenders • “People involved in the criminal justice system” • “Includes both incarcerated and nonincarcerated offenders” (Morgan et al., 2014, p. 441) • Problematic areas: • Low level of trust • High levels of anger, frustration, and sense of deprivation

  16. Groups for Adult Offenders • Common groups • Groups for individuals found guilty for sexual offense • Grief counseling groups • Cognitive psychotherapeutic groups

  17. Life-Threatening Illnesses • Groups have been employed as a way of treating people with life-threatening diseases • Offer the following: • Education • Support • Release from stress and emotion that has built up

  18. Strengths of Adult Groups • Save money • Are effective • Help to alter nonproductive behavior • Motivate adults to work on concerns

  19. Limitations of Adult Groups • Challenges with scheduling • Difficulties associated with passive-aggressive behavior • Difficulties in Screening and assembling group members who have a common focus • Challenges associated with past beliefs and behavioral problems

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