Highly Effective Group Work in Counselor Education and Supervison

Group work enhances the entire experience of students in counselor education programs. Most counselors identify as having social personalities, and thrive in settings where learning is shared and interactive. Counselors-in-training respond best when learning involves other students in a meaningful and thoughtful manner. Group work is highly utilized in the counseling profession because of its effectiveness and efficiency (Corey, 2016a). In many settings, it is the primary method of care. However, counselors may receive only one class in group work and many may not actually lead or co-lead group during practicum or internship since CACREP no longer requires group hours (CACREP, 2010). Therefore, a greater need exists for the use of and training in groups across the curriculum in counselor education programs. In addition, there is also a great need for specialized training in how to conduct supervision of trainees in groups. Although supervision of group work shares many common factors with supervision of individual counseling, there are also unique components. In particular, issues related to screening, confidentiality, and protecting group members from abuse from other clients present unique challenges (Corey, 2016a; Corey, 2016b). Group work also requires more preparation and materials compared to counseling individuals. The complexity of working with multiple individuals at the same time also creates issues of group process and dynamics (Shulman, 2011). Group supervision and supervision of group work are specialized areas (Thomas & Pender, 2008) that require advanced knowledge and training for supervisors and counselor educators beyond what is taught in a typical course for doctoral students in supervision. Supervisors of group work should be knowledgeable about group theory, process, dynamics, as well as legal and ethical issues and multicultural concerns. Multicultural competencies are especially important in group work (Singh, Merchant, Skudrzyk, & Ingene, 2012) because not only are the differences between group leader and members highlighted, but also the differences among group members. This extra dimension of cultural, racial, religious, and other influences needs to be addressed in training and supervision. When considering all these factors, group-work education and supervision can be viewed as a specialized area with a distinct set of knowledge and skills. This book is designed to help counselor educators and supervisors utilize group work as an educational and supervision tool, and to enhance group-work training. In this book, we will explore how to expand and integrate the use of group work throughout the curriculum and all phases of the program.