Group work can be an effective outlet for facilitating client empowerment at individual and systemic levels. This article outlines strategies for increasing attention to social justice issues in group work over the next decade within education, training, supervision, practice, and research. Drawing from historical perspectives, current literature,…

This digest focuses on group counseling and how counselors can learn to lead groups effectively. There is a natural tendency for people to gather in groups for mutually beneficial purposes. A section on beginning counseling groups stresses the importance of pregroup planning. A number of issues that can affect the effectiveness of groups are…

Advocates the use of metaphors within groups as a means of facilitating intrapersonal and interpersonal development. Defines borrowed and original metaphors and discusses the advantages of using them. Presents guidelines for counselors and a brief case example. (JAC)

This book focuses on the essential elements of leading effective groups in group counseling. Chapter 1 concentrates on the rationale behind using groups and their myths, advantages, and limitations. Chapter 2 discusses different types of groups, especially those that are therapeutic and task-oriented, and their theory and ethics. Chapter 3 delves…

Groups in high schools that use creative techniques help adolescents express their emotions appropriately, behave differently, and gain insight into themselves and others. This article looks at seven different creative arts media--music, movement, visual art, literature, drama, play, and humor--and offers examples of how they can be used in groups…

Describes the humanistic content and integrative nature of a course on imagery and metaphor in individual, group, and family counseling. (Author)

This paper focuses on two aspects inherent in working with families--fantasies and realities. A brief discussion of family life in the United States at the end of the 20th century is included at the outset with the intention of identifying who families are before making a diagnosis or intervention. The author encourages counselors to recognize the…

Although both poetry and music have been used as therapeutic tools in individual and group counseling, few counselors use the techniques in combination. Poetry therapists tend to follow either the strucutred approach of Leedy, in which poems are used as treatment, or the less structured approach of Lerner, in which poems are used as medium. Music,…

Creativity and the creative arts are important to the portrayal of human experiences through a myriad of forms, including visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and written expression. While these forms of creative expression vary within and across cultural groups, a unifying element embedded in creative works seems to prevail through a continuous search…