Group counselling: Pre-Group Meeting

To consider yourself as a potential group member, and to prepare to get the most from the experience of being in a group, it is helpful to think about certain issues beforehand. Please complete the prompt questions sheet below and bring a copy with you to your pre-group meeting. Also think about any questions you might like to ask.

Questions to Consider:

• What attracts you to group counselling?
• What do you hope to learn from being in a group? What differences would you like to see in yourself?
• What role do you find yourself taking in groups in your life? (Eg friendship groups/family groups/work groups). Suggested roles include: joker, leader, facilitator, guru, observer, carer, conciliator, competitor, martyr rescuer, deviant, teacher, rebel, outsider, servant, you may think of others.
• In different groups, do you find you play different roles? please comment:
• How well do you feel able to listen to others?
• Are there any subjects/issues you might find difficult to listen to?
• How would you react if someone became very upset?
• And what if someone else was angry? How would you react to /feel about that?
• Do you imagine you might get angry or upset? What might trigger this? How would that feel?
• Suicidal feelings can be a normal part of human experience and may come up in group. How do you think you would manage this if it was you feeling this way? AND if it was another group member?
• What are the challenges you anticipate for you in being in a group?
• How do you tend to offer challenges to others in a group setting?
• How do you tend to receive feedback/challenge in a group setting?
• How would you feel if everyone in the group shared the same gender? What if everyone else had a different gender to you?
• How might you feel about other differences or similarities with other group members e.g. class background/race/ethnicity/religion/disabilities/sexual orientation?
• How would you feel if you found there was someone else in the group that you know? How would you handle this?
• Imagine being in an on-line group. How might it feel if you were talking about something very personal and sensitive when a family member or flat mate of one of the other group members suddenly appeared in their room and started talking to them?
• Think about positive and negative experiences you have had in groups (including family groups). What was it that contributed to either a positive or negative feeling? Can you identify what it was about the group that contributed to this feeling? Was it size, membership, leadership, task, context or something else that you can identify?
• Significant relationships: Who are the helpful and accessible support contacts (friends/family) in your life presently (include the relationship not necessarily the name)?
• What is your family genogram: include any significant family members