Introduction
The current paper contains a proposal on a new clinical therapeutic group which will be formed as a way to assist its members in managing their existing problems. Specifically, the group will be a therapy one, consisting of adult residents of an inpatient psychiatric hospital. The therapy will have a closed format and will encourage clients to expose all of their issues, discuss them, as well as to provide feedback to others.
Title and Type of Group and Agency Setting
Due to the fact that the agency setting of the current proposal is an inpatient psychiatric hospital, the therapy group intervention can be considered reasonable to utilize. A therapy group implies installing a certain type of culture which does not coincide with the one the members of the group are used to since it implies abandoning certain social rules (Yalom, 2020). The setting of an inpatient psychiatric hospital lets members of the group discard their usual responsibilities such as work and focus on their therapy. As a result, people in the inpatient setting can be more adept at embracing a different approach to their issues, especially if it entails adopting a new culture. Thus, the title of the current group is “Members of a therapy group in an inpatient psychiatric hospital.”
Purpose and the Leader’s Role
The purpose of the therapy group is to enable its members to stop being afraid to openly share and discuss their problems with others and face criticism, and thus achieve self-awareness. A therapy group allows its members to have corrective emotional experiences, which are necessary for their positive behavioral changes (Yalom, 2020). A group setting can provide people with a supportive environment and feedback, which can encourage them to disclose their problems. My role as a leader in the therapy group is two-fold since it involves both acting as a mediator and a constructor of rules. The leader can form the group culture through comments, thus establishing certain rules and limits for other members (Yalom, 2020). Therefore, I will first instruct the members on the norms which they should follow and then intervene only when the need arises.
Group Membership and Composition
The group population will not have any particular limitations in terms of race, age, or occupation since all of the patients in the hospital will be adults. A more diverse population in the realms of ethnicity, race, gender, social class, economic status, and other personal characteristics can actually help members to express their existing tensions (Yalom, 2020). At the same time, there will be certain criteria for inclusion in order to ensure effective therapy. First of all, the therapy group will be offered only to people with considerable interpersonal and mental problems and those who fail to work in individual therapy, such as impulsive people (Yalom, 2020). Moreover, the necessary criterion for inclusion will be the willingness to actively participate in the activities of the group and devote themselves to self-exploration. The main exclusion criteria will be severe depression, brain injury, and antisocial behaviors (Yalom, 2020). The group will have a size varying between 10 and 20 people, and it will have a closed format.
Additionally, the therapy will be completely voluntary and will follow three main rules and policies. First of all, every participant must not miss any of the meetings without a reasonable excuse, such as other treatment procedures. Secondly, the participants must commit to the therapy and actively engage in the work by both sharing their problems and helping others. Finally, the group members will have to avoid expressing hostility towards others.
Recruitment
There will be two primary recruitment strategies used in order to attract participants for the therapy group. First, all doctors working at the hospital will be asked to provide information to their clients on the opportunity to participate in a therapy group. Additionally, all potential candidates will be invited to partake in a pregroup meeting where they will be offered to participate in the intervention and receive instructions on the rules (Yalom, 2020). If a problem with a physician’s order arises, the therapist will have to discuss the matter with the doctor and analyze the situation in more detail. Moreover, there can be certain problems in terms of the patients’ scheduled procedures, therefore, it will be important to hold meetings during periods which are appropriate for everyone involved.
Contact
Each group session will last 80 to 90 minutes and will be held twice a week during the day. According to therapists, two meetings a week enable participants to work on their problems continuously without taking large breaks (Yalom, 2020). The total number of therapy sessions will vary between 10 and 15 depending on the existing needs of the clients and the situation in the group.
Environment
One of the key features of the sessions, which can be considered special arrangements, is the recording of each meeting. Videotaping the past therapy events and then playing them during the future sessions can help members to remember what they discussed previously (Yalom, 2020). In terms of physical space, all meetings will be held in one of the hospital rooms, where all participants will sit in a circle in order to see one another. The therapy will not entail any additional costs for the hospital.
Conclusion
The current proposal provides a description of a therapy group for adult clients of an inpatient hospital. Despite the fact that the intervention does not imply any limitations in terms of population, it excludes people with severe depression and antisocial inclinations. The purpose of the intervention is to enable clients to share and discuss their problems with others.
Reference
Yalom, I. D. (2020). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (6th ed.). Basic Books.