Opening
The opening of my demonstration will require future work, so I would award myself 3 points for this. It was relatively short and formal, despite my attempts to make the participants feel welcomed. The opening was consistent with the group’s purpose, and my use of tone and volume was appropriate for the setting; however, I think that I showed little evidence of self-reflection or self-correction. Also, I feel that it was rather formal and dry. For example, I listed the goals of the meeting instead of attempting to connect with the participants’ inner motivations for self-correction and help. However, I felt it was vital that I established the rules regarding confidentiality of information at the outset, as it ensured that my work with the group complied with all ethical standards (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2014). In order to establish good communications from early on, I could have said more about myself and the goals behind my work; this would also have had the benefit of emphasizing my interest in continuous professional development.
Body Language & ‘Non-Verbals’
I believe that my body language demonstrated openness and communicated empathy where appropriate, an essential component of successful group work (Corey et al., 2014). I think I managed to achieve a balance between being friendly and professional; however, sometimes, my non-verbal expressions did not demonstrate full engagement with the group. For instance, I failed to maintain sufficient eye contact with some participants while asking questions or clarifying information. Also, I do not feel that my non-verbal skills and body language reflected my self-awareness related to personal biases working with diverse groups. I would award myself 3 points and mark this as one of the areas to improve on in the future.
Effective Use of Silence
Effective use of silence, if used correctly, is a vital tool to facilitate group discussions and a client’s improvement. During the debate, I took note of the quieter members of the groups and consciously encouraged them to participate more in the talk. I found this to be an effective method of dealing with the silence of group members (Corey et al., 2014). As for my own use of silence, I believe that I was successful in making well-timed pauses and therefore deserve full marks for this section. For example, at the beginning of the discussion, I used silence to encourage one participant to begin his answer. Later on, I paused to enable other people to join the conversation, as well as to provide everyone time for further reflection about the most recent speaker.
Positive Regard & Empathy
As a group leader, it is essential to be participative and understanding of other members’ perspectives in order to facilitate the discussion and treatment of the topic (Corey et al., 2014). In general, I think I was quite efficient in this regard. Right from the beginning, I outlined the non-judgmental aspect of the discussion. I also demonstrated an understanding of the clients’ perspectives; moreover, I inspired other members of the group to share their views of the situation using a participative approach. For instance, when one of the participants commented on his family role, I encouraged other participants to express what they would feel in a similar situation. Such an approach encouraged greater participation and understanding across the group and was very much aligned to the NASW standards of guide practice. I would grade this section at level 5.
Questions
Corey et al. (2014) state that “questioning is often overused by many group leaders” (p. 39). Indeed, I asked quite a lot of questions; however, I do feel that the questions I used during the discussion were well-timed and appropriate. I aimed to ask thought-provoking questions to address the participants’ problems and facilitate inclusive debate. For example, I asked for more opinions on the points shared by the group members, which helped to garner a range of viewpoints, thus making the discussion deeper. I did not attempt to lead the participants to any specific conclusions by asking questions; instead, I used a mixture of questions to encourage the speakers to elaborate on the topic. As the discussion was relatively brief, I did not receive any conclusive information with which to select intervention methods, although I attempted to build my questions in such a way that would help ascertain all of the sufficient information from the participant. I would award myself four marks in this section.
Empathic Responses – Reflection of Feelings
The group leader’s presence is a crucial skill that requires both experience and knowledge (Corey et al., 2014). I feel this is a significant area for personal improvement, and I would grade my performance at 3 points. The discussion was relatively brief, and I concentrated on obtaining more information and maintaining communication across the group rather than providing empathetic responses. However, I did ask people about their feelings on a particular topic and monitored their expressions and speech closely so as not to miss the signs of an emotional reaction.
Paraphrasing – Reflection of Content
Interpretation of information is one of the essential skills needed in group work (Corey et al., 2014), and I feel that paraphrasing and clarifying are crucial tools to facilitate correct interpretation. As my primary focus was on the participants’ stories and viewpoints, I used paraphrasing throughout the discussion to gain a better understanding of the members’ accounts. I feel my use of paraphrasing was well-timed; applying the skill in practice showed my professionalism and allowed me to obtain more information about group members and their problems. Thus, paraphrasing allowed me to increase my interpretation of the members’ experiences and feelings while at the same time, avoiding suggesting answers. I would award myself five marks for this section.
Clarifying
Using clarification during the early stages of group meetings, according to Corey et al. (2014), helps to focus on the underlying issues rather than being carried away by the overall strand of discussion. Similarly to paraphrasing, I used clarification to develop my understanding of the client’s information and experiences. I believe that my use of this skill was efficient, as it allowed the participants to elaborate on their stories without being interrupted or distracted. However, I do not think that I addressed cultural diversity sufficiently through the use of clarification. I would grade this aspect as 4 out of 5.
Summarizing
Corey et al. (2014) suggest using summarizing at the beginning of the initial session to gather information. However, I used summarizing towards the end of the discussion, which is why it was not as effective. My summary of the debate was fragmented and dry; furthermore, it did not show an understanding of the overall trend of the discussion or the underlying social justice issues. I believe I scored 3 points in this section. In my future work, I would repeat the main topics of the discussion and indicate the direction of the next meeting in my summary.
Closing
Opening and closing are of equal importance to the success of group meetings (Corey et al., 2014). The conclusion of my session was warm and consistent with the group’s purpose; it was also used to briefly indicate further directions of work. I would award my closing 4 points. In order to make it even more efficient, I would include a short summary of the session, which would indicate the main areas for reflection in between the meetings.
References
Corey, M.S., Corey, G., & Corey, C. (2014). Groups: Process and practice (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thompson Brooks/Cole.