Although researchers speculate counselor-trainees who participate in personal growth groups as part of their course curriculum experience essential group processes and personal growth, there is a lack of empirical evidence supporting this claim. This quantitative study investigates counselor-trainee's perceptions of the therapeutic, developmental,…

The purpose of this study was to identify student growth factors during a semester long Master's level group counseling class. Results indicated that 12 growth factors accounted for 86% of the total number of critical incidents that participants reported as influencing their personal growth and awareness during the group experience. Two other…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare the effects of personal growth groups and psychoeducational groups on counselor education students' (n = 74) empathy and group leader self-efficacy. Additionally, we compared the degree to which participants in each group valued: (a) cohesion, (b) catharsis, and (c) insight. There were no…

Uses knowledge about group developmental stages as an aid in diagnosing group and individual status and movement, in planning the course of the group, and in aiding its progress. (Author/ABB)

The open time-extended group, run by multiple counselors, adds a facilitating dimension to the counseling function--a dimension that exemplifies the concepts of self-growth and self-actualization by first providing the atmosphere for the client and then by allowing him to progress at his own rate and to a depth which he determines. An open group…

The credibility of personal information selected by members of small groups to describe each other's characteristics and delivered to the members by the group leader without naming the source was studied. Positive feedback was rated by recipients as more credible, desirable, and as having more impact than negative feedback. (Author)

Differences on the Personal Orientation Inventory between 39 males and 40 females who participated in encounter groups and 40 males and 44 females who declined to participate in such groups were examined. (Author)

The basic critical issue of groups is how they can provide their participants with the opportunity for personal growth. The qualifications and training of leaders, the selection of members, the kind of interaction among members, and the carry-over from group experience to individual meaning must all be examined. (Author/JEL)

Describes the circle group, a highly structured approach used to explore a theme for problem solving, personal growth, and teaching a specific personal growth system. The circle group is recommended for people who are basically mentally healthy. It may include group chanting, sharing of concerns and feedback. (JAC)

This discussion entails some notions on the nature of creativity, the process of authentic risk-taking, and the person of the counselor in creating and taking risks. Technique is the impediment to creativity in counseling. The person who functions as an effective counselor functions from within, relying on the same resources from which flows…

Sufism is an ancient tradition of experiential human development. Sufi human development specialists utilize the group setting as a major study format. Comparison with group counseling might broaden perspectives on the possibilities and pitfalls of group process, and pinpoint several important issues relevant to group leadership. (Author)

Describes personal growth group processes from a Jungian perspective. Assumes a conceptual framework for personal growth groups that uses constructs from Jung's theory of the individuation process in the first half of life (approximately before age 40). A 3-stage theory, with 18 testable hypotheses is proposed. (JBJ)

Group counseling is defined. The values and individual goals of group counseling are discussed. The developmental self-concept approach is described in its three phases: phenomonological, analytical, and behavioristic. There is a brief description of group counseling skills and techniques. The steps in developing a group counseling program are…

This practicum describes a videotaped growth group/learning community experience designed and facilitated by a counselor as a practical application of Carl Rogers' theory on encounter groups. The goal was to increase students' interpersonal effectiveness. The purpose of the practicum was fourfold: (1) to form a learning community and videotape…

Gestalt therapy in groups is not limited to individual work in the presence of an audience. Describes several ways to involve gestalt groups interactionally. Interactions described focus on learning by doing and discovering, and are noninterpretive. (Author/EJT)