Wants & Seeker:

I wanted to encourage the two of you to continue on with the discussion of groups as a way of learning to deal with specific problems. It is important that one be exposed to the advantages of groups and to the many ways self-help groups can fail.

About half of my teaching from 1970 to 1995 was spent in small groups of undergraduates majoring in psychology. I taught every semester a 3-hour credit class (Intro to Helping--starting with self-help) of 40 students which was divided for just one day per week into groups of 10. On that day psychology majors (and I) ran a training group in which we (me too) focused on changing something about ourselves or improving some relationship. We helped classmates practice self-help methods that seemed promising within their problem. We found out what worked and what didn't (and why). We helped each other learn to get better. We kept confidence (no discussing problems outside of class).
We were serious and stayed on task. As a way to learn self-help and as a way to actually help classmates, I thought it was a great experience (or me and the students).

Yet, I agree with the people who criticize groups (AA for drinking is only one kind). Groups can fail to help if the leaders are not on top of what is happening, if there are group members who destroy the group spirit, if disagreements aren't settled early, and on and on. After trying to solve the group problems without success, go looking for a better group & leader.

It would be a good idea for interested people in this forum to discuss in detail how a person might try to deal with group problems (is there a forum about this?). Another good topic is how to find a good group if you want another group (here in the Forums or near your home).

drclay

PS: I'm on vacation next week so I will be quiet.