“The 5 Stages of Group Processing”
Submitted by: Dayna MacDonald
Submitted to: Megan Phillips
Submitted on: 2011-03-25
Class: GFCE
Student I.D.: 1018357313
The 5 Stages of Group Processing
In this essay I intend to define the 5 stages thru which a group progresses.
Stage 1 – Pre-group
In this stage what you put into the planning amounts to the groups success. Prior to the group meeting the group leader will have created a proposal for a group, allured members and handpicked members for the group.
Stage 2 – Initial Stage
The base stage of a group is a period of orientation and exploration, deciding the structure of the group, meeting one another and understanding the members’ expectations. At this time members realize how the group operates, express their goals, define and find their niche in the group. The “public image phase” bares with it a certain degree of anxiety and insecurity. Members are apprehensive because they are pushing limits and pondering the fate of acceptance of their peers. Members tend to have misconceptions, concerns, fears, anxieties and they should be allowed to express them. Therefore the leader needs to clarify such and when necessary demystify groups.
During this stage, group leaders have several duties including the following: * Educate members how the group works. * Discuss issues regarding informed consent. * Create base rules and set norms. * Aid participants in divulging their fears and expectations and work towards their expansion of trust. * Be open with the members and entirely available to them. * Bestow a level of structure that will neither enhance member reliance nor audacity. * Assist members in creating solid personal goals. * Address members concerns and questions openly. * Flourish members’ basic interpersonal skills like active listening and responding.
Stage 3 – Transition Stage
Throughout this stage, group participants deal with anxiety,
Bibliography: Becoming a Helper, Marrianne Schneider Corey & Gerald Corey