The support group that was being observed was an Alcohol Anonymous for 4 weeks. Each meeting always starts with various people reading the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, the group leader shared their downfalls with alcohol throughout the years and their struggle with sobriety. Different people shared their length of sobriety. There was one person that had over 13 years of sobriety and he shared his chip with everyone, it was like everyone was rubbing it for some sort of good “juju”. From there a donation cup went around the room and informing the group that there was also a QR code for Venmo to donate. After donations and a small coffee break, the lead oped the floor to anyone that wanted to share their “solutions” to maintaining sobriety and here are some of their suggestions: Showing up, trying new things, consistency, meetings, self-help books, one foot in front of the other, refrain from excuses, surrendering and changing your friend group. Before everyone starting sharing their solutions, I noticed some hesitation and awkward staring at the ceiling trying hard not to make eye contact with the group lead in fear of being called on. After about 45 seconds of no volunteers, everyone’s fear became a reality, the group lead started calling on people but I think they were “regulars”. Once the first few people shared, there was tons of engagement.
HSCO 511
SUPPORT GROUP PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
After attending four support/self-help group meetings, you will describe your observations of
group member and leader behaviors; group dynamics; and meeting content and processes. You will
reflect on how your experiences with the group compares to best practices and principles for group
counseling and support groups that you have learned about in this course. Your paper must
demonstrate critical thinking, literature-supported analysis, and personal application. Note that
completion of the Support Group Selection and Support Group Attendance Quizzes is required to
receive credit for the Support Group Paper Assignment.
INSTRUCTIONS
The paper must be 7–8 pages or about 2,500 words, not counting the title page, abstract, and
reference page. Integrate relevant ideas from all required course texts and two scholarly research
articles about group counseling in a substantial and meaningful way. Although you may use first
person in this paper, it must otherwise be in current APA format and include a title page, running
head, abstract, and a reference page. The paper must be submitted as a Word document and be
well written; well organized; and free of grammar, spelling, or other writing errors. In the paper’s
introductory paragraph, identify the group you attended and the number of participants at each
meeting. Then, address the following topics using these headings:
Meeting Content and Process
Give a concise description of the topics or themes of each meeting you attended and how the
content was incorporated. Discuss the appropriateness of the content and the effectiveness of
how it was processed. Provide specific details and examples from the meetings as needed, but do
not disclose confidential or identifiable information about group members.
Leadership Styles and Skills
Describe the leadership styles and skills that were used and discuss to what extent and in what
ways you think they were appropriate and effective. Describe specific challenges you observed
and how the leader(s) handled them.
Group Dynamics
Describe the atmosphere and dynamics of the group; what developmental stage it was in and
how you determined this; the level of participation; and how you observed and learned members
benefitted from this group. (You may find chapter 16 of the Forsyth text helpful for this section.)
Application and Conclusion
Reflect on your learning and the most significant takeaways from this experience. If you were
leading this group, what would you do differently? How did the meetings promote or contradict a
biblical view of persons? Were ethical guidelines for group counseling adhered to or violated?
End your paper with a concluding thought.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.