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Canyon College

online group process course at Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS: GROUP PROCESS


Course Title:
Department:
Instructor: 		Group Process
Social and Behavioral Sciences
George A. Gonzalez, Ph.D., M.B.A. E-Mail -- Vita


Course Description:

This course examines the key concepts of group process adn the application of these concepts in a variety of groups from formation of a group through termination of a group, as well as the ethical and professional aspects of group leadership and participation.

Course Goals:
Course Concepts:
Course Learning Assessment:

Learners are expected to complete all performance requirements for the course and to demonstrate mastery of the course concepts and course learning outcomes. This will require learners to use library resources and to document research with citations, bibliographies, and references as applicable in completing their coursework.

In addition to library research, mastery of course concepts may require demonstration of critical thinking, and communication skills by a combination of examinations, term papers, oral presentations, self-assessments, and written assignments.

Primary Texts:

Corey, Marianne Schneider and Gerald Corey, Groups: Process and Practice, (5th edition). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. (ISBN #: 0534342248)

Corey, G., M.S., Callahan, P., Russell, J.M. (1992) Group Techniques, (2nd edition). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. (ISBN #: 0534162487)

Corey, G., M.S., and Haynes, R. Evolution of a Group: Student Video and Workbook, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. (ISBN #: 0534363245)

References and Readings:

Yalom, I.D., The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, (4th edition), New York Basic Books, 1985.
(ISBN #: 0465084486)

References and readings may be found in the Text.

Performance Requirements/Course Grade:


Weekly Discussion Questions:
Group Participation:
Video Workbook:
Final Paper:
50 percent
10 percent
10 percent
30 percent


A= 90-100%
B= 80-89%
C= 70-70%
D= 60-69%
F= below 59%


1. Assigned Readings

2. Discussion Questions and Video Workbook listed in the Schedule for Course Completion.

3. Participation in a Group and completion of Weekly Evaluation of Group Experience. Learner must attend a minimum of four group sessions. (This assignment may be modified at the iscretion of your faculty mentor.) An Alternative paper about past group attendance may be substituted.

4. Final Paper: This paper is to be written in two parts.
PART I: Describe in detail your own theoretical orientation to group work. Include a description of your own personal qualities and group leadership skills. Compare and contrast the PRE and POST tests (include these tests with the paper). Analyze the differences and explain how your attitudes about group work have changed as a result of taking this course and your personal participation in a group. Be specific about techniques and leadership styles that impressed you and those that did nort.

PART II: Choose a specific group that you would like to lead. Prepare a Group Proposal including fliers, letters, advertisements as well as consent form/s or paperwork that would be given to members. Include a description of the screening procedures you would use to end up with the appropriate member demographics. Include names and addresses of people/organizations in your geographic area you would market your group too. What particular ASGW ethical guidelines do you consider important related to your proposed group. What techniques are you familiar with and comfortable using and which techniques would you avoid and why? How will your leadership role and style change during each phase of the group? What are the goals for your group in each phase? What particular problems can you expect to encounter with each phase of your group and how will you handle these. Be Specific about the words you would use. Paper should be 10-15 pages typed and double-spaced with 1 inch margins.

Recommended Schedule for Course Completion:

This course is designed to be completed in 8 weeks. All assignments MUST be typed and double spaced using APA style for references cited, when appropriate. The average length of answers to discussion questions is 1-3 pages.

Weeks 1 - 4

Complete the SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE/PRE-TEST. The purpose of this inventory is to get you to think about a wide array of group techniques and related issues before you read about them in the text. This introduces you to some basic issues of group process and the practice of group work, with an emphasis on how these issues become relevant at the various stages in a group's life as specified by Corey.

Read texts.

Choose 8 of the following 13 questions to answer.
  1. Compare and contrast Task/Work groups, Guidance/Psychoeducational groups, Counseling/ Interpersonal Problem-Solving groups and Psychotherapy/Personality Reconstruction groups. Also describe the type/s of groups that you might be interested in leading and why.
  1. Read Case Vignette #1 and answer the following questions:


Case #1
This case involves a busy mental health clinic that is under staffed. Counselors are under some pressure to do group work as a way of dealing with more clients in a given time. A counselor decides to organize a group by putting a notice on the bulletin board in the clinic and by sending a memo to her colleagues asking for candidates. There are no provisions for individual screening of potential members, no written announcement informing the members of the goals and purposes of the group, and no preparation is done for the incoming members. No information is given to the members about the leader's qualifications, background, possible techniques to be used, expectations, and so forth. The receptionist is asked to admit the first 12 people who come to sign up or who call. The receptionist puts people into the group as they inquire, irrespective of the nature of their problems, and they are simply told to show up at the first meeting.

At the first meeting, the entire group time is taken up by a depressed and suicidal member. Thus, no time is devoted to even minimal orientation to group goals and procedures; there is no getting- acquainted process, no discussion of norms and policies, and no attempt to inform the members of the specific nature of the group. Many of the members are frightened by the intensity of this client's crisis and several members do not return for the next session.
  1. Some group leaders might argue that they do not see it as their function to protect member rights against peer intimidation, coercion and pressure. These leaders might make a case for allowing the members to deal with this and they may keep out of interactions where one or more members are pressuring another member. The assumption here is that members need to learn how to take care of themselves and that leader intervention and protection does not help members learn how to become independent. What do you think about this point of view? Are all leaders who maintain such a position unethical for failing to protect member rights? Give your reasons for your views and reference the appropriate ASGW guidelines.
  1. Read Case Vignette #2 and discuss the relevant ethical and professional issues. How might you respond to a group member who would extend such an invitation. Be specific about what you would say.

Case #2

A member of the group invites the leader to join her, her husband, and their four children for a weekend outing at their mountain cabin on the lake. A number of their friends will also be there, and the leader is encouraged to invite a friend for the weekend.

The leader knows that the woman is experiencing serious marital problems. The leader also finds out that the husband wants to discuss his perception of the marriage during this weekend. He is not willing to talk with the group leader on a private basis in a professional setting, but he does think he can shed some light on the situation in the relaxed atmosphere by the lake. The leader accepts the invitation and brings a female companion with him. During the weekend, the husband takes the leader on a short walk and shares his perception of his marriage, including what he sees as some of his wife's problems. Before the weekend is over, the leader also talks to the teen-age children about their perceptions of their parents' marriage.

The leader agrees to accept this invitation because he says that he has a special interest in this woman's problems and because he thinks that being able to meet the husband and children in their own natural setting would assist him in helping her work through her struggles. When the woman comes to the next group session, she expresses anger toward the leader for spending as much time as he did with her husband and (seemingly) taking his side. Now she wonders if she can really trust the leader with her feelings and she brings up the topic of possibly leaving the group.
  1. What are some advantages and disadvantages of co-leadership?
  1. Read Case Vignette #3. Would you be willing to see Brenda individually? Why or why not? What are some possible advantages and disadvantages of seeing her for one or more sessions?

Case #3

After a few meetings Brenda calls you and requests a private session. When you ask her why she wants an individual session, she tells you that she is having trouble trusting most of the members of the group and it is keeping her from participating. You suggest that she bring up this matter first in the group, and she tells you that she simply is not ready to take that risk.
  1. What specific things would you want to teach members about how to confront one another in appropriate, reasonable ways? What are a few guidelines for effective confrontation?
  1. Socializing among members sometimes occurs outside the group sessions. When do you think extra-group socializing can be a form of resistance? Do you see any benefits of this practice? As a leader, how might you deal with the situation when socializing hampers the progress of the group.
  1. What are some ways that you would prepare the members for termination in a group a) with a predetermined ending time? b) if you were leading an open group with no predetermined ending time?
  1. Discuss some ways you might help members to create a support system for themselves once they leave a group. How would you prepare them to cope with setbacks and failures they might experience once they have left the group.
  1. Discuss the importance of adopting a multicultural perspective as a group leader. Specifically, what are some ways you can think of to take into account a group member's cultural background as it pertains to group participation. What Kind of training would you like to receive in multicultural counseling.
  1. What trends do you see in the practice of group work? Describe the trends you would like to see in the field of group work in the following areas...


  1. Discuss one technique from each of the following chapters that you consider valuable for use in groups: Discussion should be no more than 1-page per technique.

    Chapter Three
    Chapter Four
    Chapter Five
    Chapter Six
    Chapter Seven

Weeks 4 - 8

Watch video and complete workbook. Submit your workbook for a score. The workbook will be returned to you so that you may keep it for future reference.

4 Group member evaluation forms are now due.

Complete the POST - test

FINAL PAPER DUE