In the context of present-day developments, psychological therapies and counseling are popular among the broad public. One of the approaches is externalizing conversation, which is considered an effective solution to personal problems. It implies a type of dialogue when a specialist introduces the space between the patient and the problem issue. The problem may be discussed in the way that there is a distance between it and a person. This method is commonly applied for single sessions, and the results are positive. However, using externalizing conversation for group counseling causes multiple questions.
The article Externalizing Conversations: Single Session Narrative Group Interventions in a Partial Hospital Setting is intended to provide an in-depth insight into this issue. Hill (2011) presents an analysis of the practical appliance of this approach in group counseling. The author uses the responses of the participants to evaluate the outcome. They marked their aims: “to look at things from a different perspective;” “to see how problems are all connected;” and “if we know how the problems work, maybe we can know how to stop them” (as cited in Hill, 2011, para. 18). In the end, one of the participants stated:
“I feel lighter. I can see that maybe the problem lies in me, but it’s separate from me. The thoughts of suicide aren’t me. That makes it easier to figure out how to resist them” (as cited in Hill, 2011, para. 18).
Therefore, it can be concluded that externalizing conversation is beneficial for addressing patients’ problems in the context of group sessions. In addition, Hell (2011) highlights that the familiarity of the patients does not have a significant impact on the outcome of the counseling. The flexibility of this approach allows adjusting to the clients’ needs and problems, avoiding embarrassment and tension. However, it is important to regulate the process so that each patient could share his or her problem and reflections in this regard. Consequently, the externalizing conversation may be applied in group counseling and provide effective results.
Reference
Hill, N.L. (2011). Externalizing conversations: Single session narrative group interventions in a partial hospital setting. Clinical Social Work Journal, 39, 279–287. Web.