The members in the therapy session demonstrate that even though anger could be considered a normal emotion, holding on to it for a prolonged duration could result in emotional barriers. In general, all participants peruse to have reasonable control of their anger to allow them to live an anger-free life by effectively managing their anger. In the first session, the leader’s primary objective is to help the members identify the triggers of their anger.
Triggers generally involve the feelings, thoughts, and situations that make an individual angry. All the members explicitly elaborated on some of the crucial triggers in their lives and the effects of the triggers. For example, Jessie pointed out that the trigger to her anger is seeing someone she does not want to see, and Matt explained that his anger is primarily a result of arguing with his girlfriend. This shows that the leader’s goal is identifying anger triggers.
The leaders utilized different props throughout the session to illustrate specific instances related to anger concerns. The main props used include ropes of various sizes, beads, a soft drink, a large bottle, a chair, a piece of paper written “THINK,” and a whiteboard. Of the props used throughout the session, the most effective prop was the sealed soft drink bottle. This prop was used to demonstrate how anger forms within a person and boils within them until they finally snap. As a result, this prop was most effective since it illustrated that when the bottle is shaken for long, the drink fizzes and explodes immediately after it is opened. The same mechanism happens when a person gets angry.
Throughout the session, the leaders emphasized the democratic leadership style to guide the members to realize the primary objective. This leadership style involves all members in the session taking a participative role in making specific decisions and realizing the set objectives. In the video, democratic leadership is evident when the leaders ask the members their perspectives on a given aspect on several occasions. For example, when demonstrating how anger boils up and explodes in people using the bottle filled with a soft drink, the leader asked Jessie what she thought would happen if the bottle was suddenly opened. This demonstrates that the leader seeks the opinion of the members to make them feel as though they are included in the session.
The leaders demonstrated all the essential leadership skills that led to the session is productive. Effective communication skills are among the most crucial elaborated by the leaders throughout the session. Both leaders recognize that leading the members largely depends on good and reliable communication. In this case, the leaders were clear when communicating and made sure that the message was both precise and understandable. According to Jacobs et al. (2015), the clarity and simplicity of a message promote a good understanding of the message. Another crucial group leadership skill exhibited by the leaders is motivation.
The leader demonstrated motivation when he told Fran he had the capacity to change his perspective on anger. Motivation inspired the members to feel as though it is possible to deal with the anger issue. Another skill is the aspect of innovation which was evidenced by the leaders in their use of different props. As a result, innovation allowed the members to consider the different perspectives on all issues concerning anger.
The group illustrated a seamless transition from the beginning toward the working stage, illustrating significant insights into the group’s dynamics and process. As the group transitioned, a noticeable aspect is how the group became at ease with both the leaders and other members. Initially, one could realize that the group was struggling to understand and relate with one another. The members made personal comments without any regard for the rest of the group. Nonetheless, as the session progressed, it became evident that the members were making attempts to make conversations and trying to obtain the input of other members to their comments Jacobs et al. (2015). Therefore, this shows that the group dynamics and processes progressed toward the working stage.
All the participants in the sessions were actively engaged and demonstrated this in different ways. A significant way of illustrating participants’ engagement was by encouraging drive-in dialogue between each other and the leaders. Members asked intuitive questions on various aspects related to anger management and their personal triggers. For example, when explaining her situation, Jen asked, “Is divorce not reason enough to get angry?” The session was overly therapeutic to them because all the members were able to determine the leading elements that made them angry. Additionally, the members were also able to understand how to deal with the triggers and various approaches that may utilize to calm them down. Therefore, the ability to identify the triggers and ways to calm down illustrates the extent to which the session was therapeutic.
This session could have been improved upon by encouraging the members to emphasize direct communication with each other. A close review of the session points out that the leaders did most of the talking, and the members-only talked when they were asked specific questions. While this approach demonstrates that the leader was in control of the group, the members may not get the most out of the session. This aligns with the conclusion that encouraging more communication among the members could prove effective in improving the session. An essential lost opportunity for the leaders is asking the members different or more questions. This approach would allow the leaders to make the members feel engaged and make the entire session more effortless and more fruitful for all members.
I would have led this group differently by asking different questions, more questions, and asking the same question differently. The approach would allow the members to open up more quickly on specific issues that they would otherwise keep to themselves. This approach would also involve responding empathetically and warmly regardless of the situation being addressed. The session supports the biblical view of persons by its emphasis on making all persons have the ability to control their emotions of anger at all times.
A biblical perspective could be integrated intentionally into the group by using specific biblical teaching or scripture in the context of the session. As an emerging group leader, a new insight about myself is the ability to use empathy to focus on others. This will allow me to have a productive relationship with other individuals around me. Another crucial insight is forming well-rounded teams that present complementary skill sets, qualities, and strengths to create high-performing teams.
Reference
Jacobs, E. E., Schimmel, C. J., Masson, R. L., & Harvill, R. L. (2015). Group counseling: Strategies and skills. Cengage learning.