Group Counseling Special Topic / Group Counseling Proposal

 Instructions for paper #1: Adolescent substance abuse group is the target group. Hypothetical Scenario: You have been hired as a clinical mental health counselor. Your agency asks you to do a needs assessment to determine which clinical population (defined by age, gender, clinical presenting issue, or other criteria) could best be served by the formation of a new counseling group. In speaking with fellow counselors and surveying clients, you see a clear need for a group that pertains to (enter your choice here). Your administrator first asks you to conduct a review of literature to ensure that evidence-based practices include group counseling for this particular specialty population. Tasks: Seek topic approval from your instructor to ensure that your topic is narrow enough. After conducting a review of the literature, address the following: • This paper has four content sections: o Provide a brief review of recent literature on the selected population or clinical issue (e.g., depression). o Analyze group theory, techniques, and interventions that are evidence-based recommendations for the selected population or clinical issue (e.g., effectiveness of group counseling with depression). Explain the need for a variety of techniques and interventions. o Identify and explain cultural and developmental considerations for the specific population that the group will include (e.g., Latina adolescents in group counseling). o Analyze ethical and legal considerations for group counseling especially relevant to the selected specific population or clinical issue (e.g., confidentiality with groups or ethical/legal issues working with minors). • The topic of this special topic paper will be the same population or clinical issue used in the group counseling proposal assignment in M6 Assignment 2 LASA. An article should be from Journal for Specialists in Group Work. Paper #2: Instructions In this assignment, you will build on the research conducted for the group counseling special topic paper. The purpose of this assignment is to design a developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive group for the specific clinical issue or population you selected in M4 Assignment 2 RA. Group counseling theories and techniques will provide the framework for the activities outlined in the group counseling proposal. In addition, ethical and legal considerations, including crisis management or suicidal or homicidal ideation, will be addressed in the proposal to promote a successful implementation of the group. Scenario: Your agency administrator has given you the green light to develop a new counseling group for the specified population or clinical issue. You have been asked to create a six-session group counseling proposal to work with the identified population to provide counseling or psychoeducation for a specific treatment issue. You may or may not be leading this group yourself. Thus, the group proposal needs to be detailed enough for a coworker to run the group without you. Instructions: Develop a proposal for a psychoeducation or counseling group that will run for six sessions (90 minutes per session with adults or 30–45 minutes with children). The proposal should include the following: • Describe the overall structure of the group. • The purpose and goals of the group (e.g., treatment issue, rationale for group). • The length, frequency, and duration of the group. • The cultural and developmental considerations in the rationale for the group. • Define eligibility criteria, recruitment strategies, and screening techniques. Include cultural and developmental considerations as related to participant recruitment. • Analyze and recommend group leadership appropriate for this proposed group. • Describe a leadership style and roles for the leader of group. • Give concrete examples of appropriate group intervention strategies, such as process comments, empathic responses, self-disclosure, feedback, confrontation, and pacing skills across the various stages of a group’s development. • Generate proposed group norms, process, and procedures.