Running head: A GROUP FOR MEN
A Group for Men: Reflection of a Counselor’s Experience
David C. Maynard
Regent University
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A Group for Men: Reflection of a Counselor’s Experience
Group counseling has demonstrated the ability to be a force of healing in the
lives of its members. The potential is plethora and merits the group counselor’s full
attention, as the task is not small. However, controversy has abounded as scientists have
sought to understand group counseling. The various facets of a group—the counselor,
clients, and other variables—make it difficult to understand what makes it so effective.
The practice of group counseling, having spanned more than 100 years, is well
established (Coyne, 2010). While not professional in nature, Alcoholics Anonymous has
stood at the forefront of a group’s power since its founding in Akron, Ohio in 1935.
The effectiveness of group counseling, at a minimum, requires the counselor to
be conscientious of a number of factors. These factors will encapsulate what other
authors have written. First, information should be collected at the assessment for
professional counseling and then when considering group placement, screening for this
mode of treatment. At worse, without such familiarity and direction, harm could come
to the individual client and the group as a whole. At best, the group will not achieve its
purposes. This screening process should ask various questions, such as: (1.) What are the
purpose, goals, and/or objectives of this group, and is this consistent with the client’s
treatment plan? (2.) What are the interventions in this group and will this client be able
to participate in those interventions? (3.) Who else will be in this group and will this
combination enhance or detract from the group’s purpose, goals and/or objectives? Will
this group detract from the client’s treatment goals?
With good screening questions in place, it is possible to further construct the best
group experience. Keeping the purpose of group counseling in mind, the group leader
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may choose interventions that will enhance the experience for that particular client, and
the group as a whole, thus achieving his or her goals.
An important element of group counseling is that it provides what God intended:
community. The ability to join together with others moving in a similar direction is
powerful and life changing. It gives the client the assurance he or she is not alone and a
sense of belonging. Within such a context, other forms of healing may occur that would
not be possible in individual counseling. For example, men with unresolved identity
issues need other men to aid in the establishment of their identity. This concept comes
from Erikson’s developmental model and is supported by Jungian Psychotherapy.
Moore and Gillette (1990) begin their seminal work on Carl Jung’s archetypes by
discussing the missing intiated male in modern times. The authors describe the present
day as being one where ritual process was discredited in the Reformation and
Enlightment periods of history. They claim abusive and violent acts against men,
women, and self, passivity and weakness, can find resolution in ritualistic initiation. With
the passing of each session, I have observed in my clients an oscilation between abuse to
self and others, and passivity and weakness. This warrants further examination and I
came to believe the answer could be found in Moore and Gillette’s (1990) writings.
The abuse and cowering my clients experience will be directed at both themselves
and others. Observable behavior includes unhealthy eating habits, sexual liasons, quickly
relating to and then distancing oneself from others, to being antagonistic, and so forth.
Emotionally and psychologically, the client will ridicule and shame self and others, and
withhold forgiveness. They may cower in the form of participating in sexual activities
they do not want or shrinking from interacting with men in a healthy way.
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As a result of these observations, I deemed it necessary and appropriate to create
a group where these issues could be addressed and I could grow as a group counselor.
As the group counselor, I created a protocol—down to the minute—I thought would be
helpful in processing through the material and keeping us on track to achieve the group’s
stated goals. It was helpful in providing context and a general direction to guide our
discussion, but down to the minute proved difficult, especially as the weeks passed and
cohesion developed. The group really took on a life of its own, almost independent of
the protocol and me.
The purpose of the protocol was to ensure everyone in the group had the
opportunity to participate and understand the concept of the Jungian Warrior archetype.
The protocol concecept was originally intended for research purposes to ensure common
elements, though its use has been controversial in clinical settings. However, many
professionals agree that a manual providing direction, principles and suggested
interventions would be helpful, whereas rigid protocols like what I was creating may
result in a negative outcome (Lorentzen, 2012). With this knowledge, I am delighted I
followed my intution and permitted the group to flow where it needed, and focused on
providing structure.
The clients continued their dialogue and engagment of each other based on what
became, more or less, a discussion prompt from me. From there, they were able to work
on experiences they were having difficulty with, often with one another to the exclusion
of me. However, according to the Lorentzen (2012) study, my approach might would
have been better to provide a more structured group given the time limitation and
interventions intended.
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In my ill-fated protocol, written in conjunction with marriage and family therapist
Thaddeus Heffner, I intended to provide psychodrama interventions. Again, given the
time limitations, this was probably not a good idea given the time required to prepare the
client and group for one process. This process requires assisting the client with the
identification of the wounding, setting the scene and processing through. Oftentimes,
this process can take 30 minutes or more per person.
What is tragic is that the men in the group have significant bereavement and
childhood trauma and the use of such an intervention is on target (McVea, Gow, &
Lowe, 2011), time just does not permit. With the ability to look over my experience, I
now observe at least two of these men not ready, and questionable for a third, to
participate in the group I designed with psychodrama interventions. One is diagnosed
with Social Anxiety, another difficulty accessing his emotions and a questionable third
nearing the end of his treatment. The screening process I outline earlier in this paper
would have revealed the difficulties I encountered. For example, expecting someone
with Social Anxiety to emote before others is not reasonable, and potentially harmful. If
I would have had this knowledge before, I could have provided better treatment.
McVea, Gow, and Lowe (2011) clearly demonstrate the need for the client to be ready to
engage in the psychodrama intervention and as I reflect over this experience, rigidly
following the protocol would have been inappropriate and could have caused harm.
While I cite examples of questionable clients being a part of this group process,
for other clients, it was beneficial. A highly educated, mid-50s year old man began
individual counseling with me approximately 18 months ago after his son disclosed being
gay to him and his wife. The father found this news distressing due to the family’s belief
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system. At initial presentation, he was more cognitively-based than emotionally aware, a
result of his education and culture in my opinion. During the course of treatment, he
participated in other groups, interacted with other men experiencing same-sex attraction,
and heard the pain in their heart. With the guidance he received in individual counseling,
he became more emotionally aware, and was therefore able to participate in psychodrama
during this group experience. In one of the group sessions, he presented feeling angry
with his son, and was able to process through this with the aid of his peers. He walked
away feeling resolution and the other father in the group gained more perspective on
how to interact with his son. The other men in the group vicariously experienced a
father’s love, a love they acknowledge lacks in their life, even if only by perception.
From this experience and reflection, I observe the need for two important tasks
to ensure a great experience for everyone, if psychodrama is to be a part of the group
counseling process. First, better screening must occur, as I noted earlier. Which clients
are most suited for this type of intervention? A criteria would be helpful and is yet to be
found. Second, as I have written elsewhere, supervision is key and moreso when
psychodrama is employed. As I consider what could have occurred, the harm I could
have caused, I feel frightened. If I were unable to help bring what McVea, Gow, and
Lowe (2011) term integration, then the client could have been left traumatized.
Additionally, in considering the group members present and their avoidance of emotion,
it could have been an unsafe environment for those more willing to engage in
psychodrama, leading to further harm.
Why I believe group members unable to embrace emotion as harmful to those
embracing and expressing emotion is that they could have communicated through their
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own discomfort. The client in the center of the intervention could have heard what he
was doing is inappropriate and to be restrained. With the issues many of the men in this
group were experiencing, that would have been devastating. On some level, they look
for its release, and to know their experiences are acceptable.
Being in the role of group leader, my behavior has a direct bearing on the
outcomes as well. Pan and Lin (2004) found that leader behaviors specifically influenced
“altruism, cohesiveness, universality, information, imitative behaviors, selfunderstanding, instillation of hope” and others (p. 176). The authors’ conclusions were
the more positively the leader’s behavior is perceived, the better the therapeutic factors,
as previously listed. This gives weight to the notion of being well versed in interventions
intended and how I can improve the group counseling experience I provide in the future.
As I consider the termination stage of group counseling, I find that I provided a
good close. For example, Pan and Lin (2004) discuss asking members for any unfinished
business and to summarize what the members are taking away from the experience, as
well as saying goodbye. In dealing with unfinished business, one group member was
continuing to struggle in his ability to be appropriately assertive. He received a
tremendous blessing and affirmation from an older man that appears to have stunned
him.
I believe the termination phase went well and I had prepared the clients
adequately. In the two weeks leading up to the final session, I would mention the
number of sessions remaining, and provide a glimpse into how we would be proceeding.
If socializing outside of the group is any indication of cohesion and positive outcome,
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then I believe this has occurred. As it stands, in two weeks, the group will be getting
together at a members’ home.
In conclusion, I believe this experience has given me a valuable lesson on many
fronts. I wish to continue developing a group protocol for the other Jungian archetypes
and revision of this one. As I move forward, the upcoming protocols will strike a
balance between being structured, but not too much. Instead, it will focus on goals, not
interventions. Clarity on screening would be integral as well, given the sensitive nature
of this topic, and a desire to create the most therapeutic environment. Men and women
need such groups as this for men. Everyone stands to gain and benefit from the rewards
it has to offer.
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REFERENCES
Coyne, R. K. (2010). Introduction: Solidifying and advancing group counseling. In R. K.
Coyne (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of group counseling (pp. 3-16). New York: Oxford
University Press.
Lorentzen, S. (2012). Writing manuals for psychodynamic group treatments. Group
Analysis, 45(1), 28-45. DOI: 10.1177/0533316411411862
McVea, C. S., Gow, K., & Lowe, R. (2011). Corrective interpersonal experience in
psychodrama group therapy: A comprehensive process analysis of significant
therapeutic events. Psychotherapy Research, 21(4), 416-429.
Moore, R. & Gillette, D. (1990). King, warrior, magician, lover: Rediscovering the archetypes of the
mature masculine. New York: HarperCollins.
Pan, P. & Lin, C. W. (2004). Members’ perceptions of leader behaviors, group
experiences, and therapeutic facotrs in group counseling. Small Group Research,
35(2), 174-194.