Running head: GROUP PAPER

1
Lizbeth Ramirez
Psychology 634
12.23.2014
Group Summary Paper

I did not particularly enjoy my experience leading groups at the high school and I hope
that one day I will lead few if any groups. I had a total of three groups who each had its own
difficulties. Part of the difficulty was due to mistrust in the group that led to a lack of sharing.
The mistrust was likely due to the fact that the kids did not know each other prior to group.
Another difficulty I had was setting the structure. For a long time I was not sure what I was
supposed to be doing to set up a structure since I am working with high school kids. A lot of
frustration resulted from my feeling of incompetence and the kids lack of participation. I did
however enjoy watching one of my three groups evolve from a group of uninterested deviant
high school kids who had no idea what the reason for our meetings was to a group of teens who
are beginning to understand that they have a lot more in common with each other than they had
initially thought. I think the group has become more cohesive as time has passed and we have
gotten to know each other in sessions. While my other two groups have disintegrated due to
excessive absences from some students and other kids choosing individual counseling, the
remaining group really started to come around. I was pleasantly surprised to hear they would like
to continue to meet after winter break.
This group was formed with kids who all have gotten into trouble at school at some point
in time and have been defiant with teachers in the past. Also all of them come from families with
divorced parents and most have suffered some kind of trauma. One of the members used to get
suspended often in middle school, another has been arrested for drug possession, another has
been suspended for smoking marijuana and another has been suspended often for being defiant

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toward teachers in various classrooms. Three of the four students are perceived as deviant
adolescents and teachers are very concerned about them and so they referred them for
counseling. The fourth student does not get in as much trouble in high school as in middle school
but one of the campus security guys was worried because of all the stories that were shared with
him and the fact that the student was caught engaging in inappropriate sexual activity and that
was the reason for the referral.
When we first started group I had no idea how to even start. I thought I had to do
something similar to what we did in Dr. Sanchez class but I found it extremely difficult to do
this with these kids because they were unmotivated to share. It did not help that I was not
confident in my role as leader. As the weeks went by I tried different things like playing games,
teaching psychoeducation lessons and icebreakers. None of these things worked all that well and
when I finally got feedback from you I was able to see what I could do differently. I knew there
was a lot of work for me to do but I had no clue where to begin. Once I showed my video in class
I got great feedback that I did my best to apply it the next time I met with the group. I met with
the group three times after initially showing my video and I saw gradual improvement in the
group.
When we first met, the kids in this group were very reluctant to share and because I was
very nervous I suggested we play one of the games I had brought (totinka and UNO). They all
picked UNO and we played that a few weeks in a row. I always attempted to get them to share
about what was going on with them and that usually was not successful and then we would move
on to a game. Because of what I learned in individual counseling I thought maybe it was okay to
just play games but eventually I tried some of the ice breaker activities in an effort to get to know
the kids better and establish trust. I always tried providing structure during sessions but I am not

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very assertive and more importantly I do not recall getting an idea of what the structure is
supposed to look like other than what we saw in Dr. Sanchez and like I said that is very difficult
to do with this group of kids. Once I got feedback from you on what that structure is supposed to
look I did my best to provide more structure for the kids. During that session the kids were able
to keep the structure during the first fifteen minutes. We first did highs and lows then sharing
how we were feeling. At this point the kids were sharing more surface level stuff and the activity
I had plannedwhich involved the kids getting in pairs and naming things they had in common
did not work out because one kid was missing so the activity flew by when I tried doing it as a
group. At this point the structure fell apart and the kids were just talking to each other and not
really in the format of group.
The next two times went better and I think it was partly due to me becoming comfortable
in the role as group leader but also I was getting practice setting the structure and being assertive.
I think that also, the kids are beginning to warm up to me and are even starting to enjoy going to
group. During the last session of the semester I had the students do highs and lows and rate how
they were feeling. During this last session they were a lot better about following the structure
without too much guidance and were a lot less reluctant to raise their hand and ask each other
questions about what they were sharing. Furthermore, they were all sharing things that were
slightly more personal than in previous sessions. I think this was attributed to having had more
sessions together which has likely helped create a sense of cohesiveness between the group
members but also I think the activity I planned for this session helped them open up a bit more. I
had them draw a number and the student who drew the lowest number had to talk for a minute
for a minute on a topic chosen by other group members. One member was assigned to talk about
childhood experiences and talked about being bullied which led to an interesting discussion. I

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asked the members if they would like to continue to meet and they all said yes and that was very
surprising for me. As I have said I have found this process very difficult and I assumed they were
not enjoying group therefore I expected them to want to end. Nevertheless, given how the last
session went, I am actually looking forward to meeting with them in a couple of weeks. I think
we will soon begin to do more work in the sessions. I think it helped that one of the more
reluctant members was missing during the last couple of sessions so we will see how the week
after break goes with the group but I think we have already made progress.
I do need to work on behavior management program for the group. Given they are older,
I am unsure of what would work for them as I cannot do a marble jar or at least I do not know
how I would do that. I know that some of the group members talked about having food for our
last session next semester so maybe I can do something around that. The students are generally
well behaved and there are some problem behaviors but mostly relate to the members getting off
topic and having side conversations. I have also had difficulty with them following the no
names rule. Sometimes they talk about others that are not in the group and I have tried to get
them to stop but to no avail. Nevertheless, I think overall this groups behavior is not all that bad
but I do need to get them to keep with the structure for longer. I tried to show them a video on
the brain and the effects of trauma but that did not capture their attention. I think it is much more
beneficial to do activities like would you rather or the one where they had to talk for a minute
because the students then are in a sense require to share information about themselves and these
can lead to some interesting discussions.
If I was able to do this again I would make sure I watched my videos right away and I
would ask a lot more questions to you in class. I think if I had watched my first session soon
after it took place I would have known to let you know that I had no clue what I was doing. I

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really benefited from your feedback and I would have come in handy earlier in the semester. If I
did this again that is what I would change; seeking out feedback. I think I would have liked to
have individual meetings for supervision because I benefited from that a lot during individual
practicum. The last few weeks of school were when I learned the most about group and where I
grew the most as a counselor. Mostly I learned what I need to work on and I think that with
practice I will improve on those things.
One thing I really need to work on is on being more assertive and I must become more
comfortable when redirecting students and implementing the rules. I think as I conduct more
groups I will improve on this. Next semester I will be co-leading groups with a woman who has
been leading groups for three years and I think watching her will really help me learn to be more
assertive when managing behavior. One thing I learned about myself is that I laugh when I feel
uncomfortable and I noticed I do this when I tell students to do something like put their phones
away or to remember to not talk over one another. Another thing I need to work on is realizing
that I cannot fix or rescue the kids I work with. One of the kids in my group got into trouble
for smoking marijuana during a week we had not met and I remember thinking I could have
prevented that and so that is something I must change. I think one of my strengths is being able
to remain calm regardless of what is shared in group. I typically do not make any judgmental
remarks and I think kids really like that they can tell me anything and I typically do not react in a
surprised way.
Overall this was not my favorite experience and I hope I will not lead many groups when
Im in the field. However this view could change as I will be getting more experience with group
next semester. I will resume leading the above mentioned group once the semester begins and I
will also co-lead a group or two at Oroville high school. I do look forward to seeing where my

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group goes and how much work we can do together. I am also excited about co-leading groups
with someone who is experienced and has been doing groups for years.