Group Awareness Training Discussion

Group Awareness Training Discussion

Group Awareness Training Discussion

During the 1960s and 1970s, the human potential movement led many people to seek personal growth experiences. Often, their interest was expressed by participation in sensitivity training or encounter groups.

What is the difference between sensitivity groups and encounter groups? Sensitivity groups tend to be less confrontational than encounter groups. Participants in sensitivity groups take part in exercises that gently enlarge self-awareness and sensitivity to others. For example, in a “trust walk,” participants expand their confidence in others by allowing themselves to be led around while blindfolded.

Encounter groups are based on an honest expression of feelings, and intensely personal communication may take place. Typically, the emphasis is on tearing down defenses and false fronts. Because there is a danger of hostile confrontation, participation is safest when members are carefully screened and a trained leader guides the group. In business settings, psychologists still use the basic principles of sensitivity and encounter groups—truth, self- awareness, and self-determination—to improve employee relation- ships. Specially designed encounter groups for married couples are also widely held (Harway, 2004).

There has also been much public interest in various forms of large group awareness training. Large group awareness training refers to programs that claim to increase self-awareness and facilitate constructive personal change. The Garden Company, Lifespring, the Forum, the Hoffman Quadrinity Process, and similar commercial programs are examples. Like the smaller groups that preceded them, large-group training combines psychological exercises, confrontation, new viewpoints, and group dynamics to pro- mote personal change. Group Awareness Training Discussion.

Are sensitivity, encounter, and awareness groups really psycho- therapies? These experiences tend to be positive, but they produce only moderate benefits (Faith, Wong, & Carpenter, 1995). More- over, many of the claimed benefits may result simply from a kind of therapy placebo effect, in which improvement is based on a client’s belief that therapy will help. Positive expectations, a break in daily routine, and an excuse to act differently can have quite an impact. Also, less ambitious goals may be easier to attain. For example, one program succeeded in teaching stress-management techniques in a large group setting (Timmerman, Emmelkamp, & Sanderman, 1998). Because of their low cost and versatility, groups undoubtedly will continue to grow in popularity as tools for solving problems and improving lives (Corey, 2012).

Therapy at a Distance For better or worse, high-tech psychotherapy and counseling are rapidly becoming commonplace (Ormay, 2006). Today, psycho- logical services are available through radio, telephone, e-mail, Internet chat rooms, and videoconferencing (Maheu et al., 2004). What are the advantages and disadvantages of getting help at a distance? Group Awareness Training Discussion.

Media Psychologists By now you have probably heard a phone-in radio psychologist or watched one on television. On a typical program, participants describe problems arising from child abuse, loneliness, love affairs, phobias, sexual adjustment, or depression. The media psychologist then offers reassurance, advice, or suggestions for getting help. Such talk-radio and television programs may seem harmless, but they raise some important questions. For instance, is it reasonable to give advice without knowing anything about a person’s back- ground? Could the advice do harm? What good can a psychologist do in 3 minutes or even an hour?

In their own defense, media psychologists point out that listeners and viewers may learn solutions to their problems by hearing others talk. Many also stress that their work is educational, not therapeutic.

Media psychologists have been urged to educate without actually doing therapy. Some overstep this boundary, however. Do you think popular TV psychologist Dr. Phil sometimes goes too far?

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Sensitivity group

A group experience consisting of exercises designed to increase self-awareness and sensitivity to others.

Encounter group

A group experience that emphasizes intensely honest interchanges among participants regarding feelings and reactions to one another.

Large group awareness training

Any of a number of programs (many of them commercialized) that claim to increase self-awareness and facilitate constructive personal change.

Therapy placebo effect

Improvement caused not by the actual process of therapy but by a client’s expectation that therapy will help.

The well-known media psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw has even been awarded a President’s Citation from the American Psychological Association for his work in publicizing mental health issues (Meyers, 2006).

Nevertheless, the question arises: When does advice become therapy? The American Psychological Association urges media psychologists to discuss problems only of a general nature instead of actually counseling anyone. For example, if a caller complains about insomnia, the radio psychologist should talk about insomnia in general, not probe the caller’s personal life. A good guide for anyone tempted to call a radio psychologist or accept advice from a TV psychologist might be “let the consumer beware.”

Telephone and Internet Therapists

The same caution applies to commercial telephone and Internet therapists. A key feature of successful face-to-face therapy is the establishment of an effective therapeutic alliance, a continuing relationship between two people. In this regard, distance therapies are more or less limited by a lack of interpersonal cues, such as facial expressions and body language. For example, brief e-mail messages are no way to make a diagnosis. And forget about facial expressions or body language—not even tone of voice reaches the e-mail therapist. Typing emotional icons (called emoticons) like little smiley faces (k) or frowns (m) is a poor substitute for real human interaction. Group Awareness Training Discussion.

Of special concern is the fact that distance therapists may or may not be trained professionals (Bloom, 1998). And even if they are, questions exist about whether a psychologist licensed in one state can legally do therapy in another state via the telephone or the Internet.

Regardless, distance counseling and therapy services do have some advantages. For one thing, clients can more easily remain anonymous. (But beware that e-mail counseling may not be completely confidential and could be intercepted and misused.) Thus, a person who might hesitate to see a psychologist can seek help privately, on the phone or online. Likewise, people who live in rural areas can more easily work with psychologists living in large cities. And, compared with traditional office visits, distance therapies are less expensive.

Under the right circumstances, distance therapies can be successful (Day & Schneider, 2002). For example, in one study, telephone counseling helped improve success rates for smokers who wanted to quit (Rabius et al., 2004). Other studies have shown that depressed people benefit from telephone therapy (Mohr et al., 2005; Simon et al., 2004). Psychologists have also demonstrated success in providing therapy over the Internet, at least for certain types of problems (Carlbring et al., 2007; Chester & Glass, 2006; Klein, Richards, & Austin, 2006).

The Ever-Evolving Internet

The Internet continues to provide new communication tools that blend voice, text, graphics, and video. Widely available and inexpensive technologies, such as Skype, make it easy to create two-way audio-video links that allow a client and therapist to see one another on computer monitors and to talk via speakerphones. Doing therapy this way still lacks the close personal contact of face-to-face interaction. However, it does remove many of the objections to doing therapy at a distance. It’s very likely that distance services will continue to evolve (Riva & Wiederhold, 2006) and become a major source of mental health care in coming years (Schopp, Demiris, & Glueckauf, 2006).

Another interesting cost-saving measure is the idea that computer software may be able to treat some relatively minor problems (Craske et al., 2009). In one study, clients worked through ten computer-guided sessions that helped them identify a problem, form a plan of action, and work through carrying out the plan. Most were satisfied with the help they received ( Jacobs et al., 2001).

Implications As you can see, psychological services that rely on electronic communication may serve some useful purposes. However, the value of therapy offered by commercial telephone “counselors” and Internet “therapists” remains open to question. The very best advice given by media psychologists, telephone “counselors,” or Internet “therapists” may be, “If at all possible, you should consider discussing this problem with a psychologist or counselor in your own community.”

A Look Ahead In the Psychology in Action section that follows, we will return briefly to behavioral approaches. There you will find a number of useful techniques that you may be able to apply to your own behavior. You’ll also find a discussion of when to seek professional help and how to find it. Here’s your authors’ professional advice: This is information you won’t want to skip. Group Awareness Training Discussion.