Defining Group Interaction as a Type of School Practice
The article analyzes the activity of group counseling that is often conducted by contemporary educators in corroboration with psychology experts. Group counseling embraces various types of mass discussions and interventions, which create a positive environment in a classroom as well as targets some crucial problems. (Perusse, Goodnough, & Lee, 2009).
According to the article, the practice promotes personal growth and develops build valuable interactive skills in the students. The preference for group interaction may be interpreted through social contact being a human need, which must be satisfied so that the person felt integrated and connected to the outer world (Gladding, 2001).
Moreover, it is suggested that immature individuals often require some guidance and additional assistance both from the peers and mentors (Jacobs, Schimmel, Masson, & Harvill, 2015). Due to the article, the groups are subdivided in school climate, developmental, and remedial. Therefore, the respective types of counseling account for improving general relations between the participants of academic processes, they contribute to the development of personal skills of the students as well as serve as a type of interventional therapy.
Psychoeducation as a Type of Counseling
Since the emotional stability is still shaping in the age, which corresponds to school practices, group counseling is an effective form of psychoeducation.
The experience aims at controlling behavioral and mental patterns of the learners’ personal development both in groups and on the individual basis (Corey, 2015). According to the article, the practice is extremely beneficial for the learners since in the course of group interaction they help each other to cope with some personal traumas and learn from each others’ mistakes (Rubin & Cohen, 2007).
The Basis for Group Building
The authors of the reviewed article offer two ways, in which the school counseling groups may be formed. These are heterogeneous and homogeneous approaches.
The first type implies a congregation of people, who suffer from similar problems. The practice provides some diverse perspectives and views on a single issue, which assists in resolving particular disputes. The group of heterogeneous students gathers the individuals with different dilemmas. This type of counseling refers to the process of acquainting the learners with various forms of complications so that to show them the ways, in which one can avoid similar problems.
Counseling Skills: Academic Perspective
The article specifies the major skills, which should be adopted by school counselors so that the beneficial contribution to the learners’ development was sustained. Thus, it is claimed that a professional group mentor must be responsive to the needs of the participants. Specifically, he should select the materials and discussion content, which would comply with the students’ interests and problems.
Moreover, an expert should be well-acquainted with the information that is regarded in the course of group disputes so that to provide the learners with quality response and guidance. Finally, a mentor of a school group has to embrace creative activities, which would contribute to the personal growth of the individuals. For instance, it is recommended to employ artistic projects or collaborative models of work in the course of group gatherings (School counseling group ideas, 2014).
The Role of School Settings in Group Counseling
School settings often become the ultimate factors, which affect not only academic performance among the learners but their emotional stability and quality of counseling as well. Therefore, the authors of the article claim that it is significant for the mentors and professional psychologists to collaborate with the administration of the schools. Such practices preclude biases and misunderstandings at schools.
References
Corey, G. (2015). Theory and practice of group counseling. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Gladding, S. (2001). Effective group counseling. Greensboro: University of North Carolina.
Jacobs, E., Schimmel, C., Masson, R., & Harvill, R. (2015). Group counseling: Strategies and Skills. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Perusse, R., Goodnough, G., & Lee, V. (2009). Group counseling in the schools. Psychology in the Schools, 46(3), 225-238.
Rubin, H., & Cohen, H. (2007). Group counseling and remediation: A two-faceted intervention Approach to the problem of attrition in nursing education. The Journal of Educational Research, 67(5), 195-198.
School counseling group ideas. (2014). Web.