Why is the first stage of the group process so important? I believe that the beginning stage in the group process is often the most difficult because members often seek direction about how to proceed but are hesitant about following any suggestions, as well as a place where judgments about group members past experiences are feared from happening again (Toseland & Rivas, 2009). Everyone’s experiences within the group setting have all been different; some people have had poor experiences and others very positive. In order for our group to be successful and have engaged clients in a positive helping fashion, we need to make an environment that everyone would be comfortable in as well as be able to keep the clients interested, fully engaged, and building trust. Throughout this process of co-facilitating this group I was able to use the knowledge and skills that I have learned in class which led to our ability to engage the group as well as my ability to run a group with a co-facilitator with the challenges that two different opinions can create. Furthermore, I am able to receive constructive feedback from class and group members and use the information to see what worked well, what did not and what I need to do for my continuing future practice.
In order to facilitate any group I need to have a foundational understanding of the importance of groups as well as the beginning stage. According to this new knowledge based from Toseland and Rivas (2009) I now understand why the beginning stage is the most important stage within the group facilitation. As the saying goes, people always remember a first impression. Likewise, I believe our group facilitation was interactive, accommodating, supportive and exciting because that is what is needed in order for group members to want to continue coming to the group and feel as if the group is there to allow the client to succeed. Within the first step of the beginning stage the introductions become very important and worth spending time on. This is where we collectively build mutual concerns, interests and experiences (Toseland & Rivas, 2009). During our group presentation I believe the time we spent through introductions encouraged members to discuss and find commonalities therefore, it helped members feel at ease with one another. I believe it also helped develop group cohesion and demonstrated to members that they are not alone with their problems and concerns, further building on trust and comfort which is vital for groups to continue and work. Even though it was difficult for the students to play the part of members in our group, I believe we were able to keep the group engaged and interested throughout the entire presentation. Through the introductions, purpose of the group, limits of confidentially, goal setting and group expectations, I demonstrated a knowledge and understanding of the beginning stage of the group process and my co-facilitator and I were able to be successful in providing our clients with the beginning stage of the group process.
Throughout the debriefing that took place after our presentation I was able to receive constructive feedback from class and group members and use the information to see what worked well, what did not and what I need to do for my continuing future practice. Firstly, it was very interesting after listening to everyone brainstorm what went well and what did not within our group. I was very happy when people gave us positive feed back like “good use of humour”, “good eye contact and body language” and “not intimidating”. However, when people commented on what we could have done better I felt targeted. After realizing that everyone is just trying to help I took an opportunity to use the constructive criticism and learn from my mistakes.
According to the feed back of my personal reflection, a lot of it was positive. Many people shared how our environment was very comfortable, friendly and funny. This was important to hear because there was a lot of emphasis in our readings that states having a good environment will increase the effectiveness and safety of the group. We also had feedback stating that giving personal examples and self-disclosures worked well within the setting and allowed group members to open up and realize others had similar experiences. I believe this to be true because it allowed me, as the facilitator, to increase the commonalities with the members therefore increasing the likelihood of members trusting our future teaching methods. We also had additional comments about how the group flowed naturally with the transitions that I had used throughout the presentation. Furthermore, group members commented at how well we built relations, trust and group cohesion as well as how asking for their expectations was empowering. I was very pleased with the positive feedback even though I had areas for improvement.
As this is a learning process, we also received constructive criticism to help our future practice. I believe one of the areas in which received the most learning opportunities was the lack of use of silence. As silence is a very important part of interviewing it is vital that I leave time for silence so clients have an opportunity to process their thoughts or sort out issues. I can also use silence within my own practice giving me time to collect my thoughts before my responses. In addition, one feedback form suggested that I did not interrupt group members when they were talking. After personal reflection I can see where I made this mistake and it was a very useful comment. What I can take from this experience is to slow down and instead of interrupting, I can use silence. Not only with this stop me from interrupting people but also allow time for collection of thought.
Clearly, this presentation was a success. We focused on the process of knowledge and skills as well as our ability to engage the group and build a cohesive environment. I believe that our presentation went really well and that I could not have done it without excellent teamwork. These transformable skills work better when you are co-facilitating a group with someone who blends well with my own opinions and expectations. We were able to come together and share ideas, thoughts and experiences in order to make our presentation a success as well as acknowledge personal mistakes and learning opportunities for future practice.
In order to facilitate any group I need to have a foundational understanding of the importance of groups as well as the beginning stage. According to this new knowledge based from Toseland and Rivas (2009) I now understand why the beginning stage is the most important stage within the group facilitation. As the saying goes, people always remember a first impression. Likewise, I believe our group facilitation was interactive, accommodating, supportive and exciting because that is what is needed in order for group members to want to continue coming to the group and feel as if the group is there to allow the client to succeed. Within the first step of the beginning stage the introductions become very important and worth spending time on. This is where we collectively build mutual concerns, interests and experiences (Toseland & Rivas, 2009). During our group presentation I believe the time we spent through introductions encouraged members to discuss and find commonalities therefore, it helped members feel at ease with one another. I believe it also helped develop group cohesion and demonstrated to members that they are not alone with their problems and concerns, further building on trust and comfort which is vital for groups to continue and work. Even though it was difficult for the students to play the part of members in our group, I believe we were able to keep the group engaged and interested throughout the entire presentation. Through the introductions, purpose of the group, limits of confidentially, goal setting and group expectations, I demonstrated a knowledge and understanding of the beginning stage of the group process and my co-facilitator and I were able to be successful in providing our clients with the beginning stage of the group process.
Throughout the debriefing that took place after our presentation I was able to receive constructive feedback from class and group members and use the information to see what worked well, what did not and what I need to do for my continuing future practice. Firstly, it was very interesting after listening to everyone brainstorm what went well and what did not within our group. I was very happy when people gave us positive feed back like “good use of humour”, “good eye contact and body language” and “not intimidating”. However, when people commented on what we could have done better I felt targeted. After realizing that everyone is just trying to help I took an opportunity to use the constructive criticism and learn from my mistakes.
According to the feed back of my personal reflection, a lot of it was positive. Many people shared how our environment was very comfortable, friendly and funny. This was important to hear because there was a lot of emphasis in our readings that states having a good environment will increase the effectiveness and safety of the group. We also had feedback stating that giving personal examples and self-disclosures worked well within the setting and allowed group members to open up and realize others had similar experiences. I believe this to be true because it allowed me, as the facilitator, to increase the commonalities with the members therefore increasing the likelihood of members trusting our future teaching methods. We also had additional comments about how the group flowed naturally with the transitions that I had used throughout the presentation. Furthermore, group members commented at how well we built relations, trust and group cohesion as well as how asking for their expectations was empowering. I was very pleased with the positive feedback even though I had areas for improvement.
As this is a learning process, we also received constructive criticism to help our future practice. I believe one of the areas in which received the most learning opportunities was the lack of use of silence. As silence is a very important part of interviewing it is vital that I leave time for silence so clients have an opportunity to process their thoughts or sort out issues. I can also use silence within my own practice giving me time to collect my thoughts before my responses. In addition, one feedback form suggested that I did not interrupt group members when they were talking. After personal reflection I can see where I made this mistake and it was a very useful comment. What I can take from this experience is to slow down and instead of interrupting, I can use silence. Not only with this stop me from interrupting people but also allow time for collection of thought.
Clearly, this presentation was a success. We focused on the process of knowledge and skills as well as our ability to engage the group and build a cohesive environment. I believe that our presentation went really well and that I could not have done it without excellent teamwork. These transformable skills work better when you are co-facilitating a group with someone who blends well with my own opinions and expectations. We were able to come together and share ideas, thoughts and experiences in order to make our presentation a success as well as acknowledge personal mistakes and learning opportunities for future practice.
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