Group Dynamics Paper

Group Dynamics and Process Shifts of CoDA Groups During this meeting I observed many group concepts such as dynamics, processes events, and therapeutic factors. During the meeting there were many processes shifts indicating when the group was engaged or disengaged. This group began in a disengaged manner, with group members coming in late and not being attentive when the 12 steps and traditions were being read. Looking at the group proxemics, the group members were sitting in a circle with about 4 empty seats between each member and increased the space more by leaning away from the center of the circle. While the steps and traditions were being read, group members were looking around and fidgeting and some were looking at their phones. The first main processes shift occurred when the group started reading the literature from the book. At this time, people volunteered to read and the group became more engaged. When the group moved to journaling their thoughts about the readings, half of the group remained engaged, while the other half went back to looking around and checking their phones showing individual process changes within the group. Another
main group process changed happened right after journaling, when people began to their personal experiences. I was able to recognize this process shift because every single member of the group was leaning in, looking at the person who was sharing, and nodding in agreement/support to what the person was saying. During the sharing time, when there was a silence it was quickly broken by the person who is in charge of the group. This member shared a total of four times to fill in silences and relieve the group tension. OTHER GROUP PROCESS MOMENTS

Yalom’s Therapeutic Factors in Action One universal therapeutic factor across all groups was the installation of hope.
In the meetings, installation of hope is embedded in the meeting structure both at the start and end of the meeting. At the beginning of each meeting, the group leaders asked the members to raise their hands to show how long they have been attending the group. Some members had been attending the various groups for over 10 years, and were awarded coins, but people also received coins for their first day of attendance signifying their first step. Also at the end of the CoDA group meetings, the members stood and held hands and give a message of hope in which they said ‘keep coming back. It works if you work it, so work it because you're worth it.’ These messages instill hope in members and clearly hint at the efficacy of the
group. Aside from the messages of hope that are present in the group weekly as part of the meeting structure, there are also many messages of hope that are communicated during the sharing portion of the meeting. When one member was welcoming a newer member he shared something to the effect of ‘this group saved me, they are my family, keep coming backs…it works.’ Another common therapeutic factor that I observed at each group meeting was universality. In the groups, many people shared that they loved the group because they felt a connection to others and no longer felt alone. Newer CoDA members especially commented on how hearing others who were similar to them give them strength to cope with their own lives. A third universal therapeutic factor I noted was catharsis. In each group there was no shortage of people who wanted to share during the open part of the meeting. For the CoDA meeting with five members, everyone shared at least one time and some people shared up to four times. I felt that these group members came to the smaller meeting because they each find catharsis especially helpful and the small group size allowed them to have more time and opportunities to share.