Introduction
The purpose of the psychoeducational group is to assist Native American individuals with trauma in the provision of high-quality therapy. The group is being created to use all the benefits of psychoeducational procedures to address social, psychological, and life complications among Native Americans. In terms of modality, the psychotherapy approaches that are expected to be beneficial in the therapy of numerous patients are cognitive treatment and psychoeducation since a group approach entails cooperation and collaboration as key aspects.
Body of Group Proposed Design
A population is deemed vulnerable if it has greater barriers to receiving benefits on the social, economic, legal, and environmental levels, in addition to limitations inflicted by illness or disability. Psychoeducation in a group therapy setting is the process of teaching and enlightening those who are in need of or receiving mental health care. A psychoeducational group for trauma in the Native American population is necessary since native Americans are a vulnerable community due to their social and historical challenges as well as the possible advantages that may arise from intervention. Since psychoeducational groups enable the therapist to establish a subject with an activity-filled agenda, the group proposed for the research is necessary. These groups are particularly helpful as they may provide resources that can hasten recovery, information regarding their trauma, and skills that help them become more self-aware of the consequences of their condition. The population will receive group-focused social work intervention in this instance. In light of the group’s outcomes, the population will receive assistance from professionals, institutional aid, mental health counseling, in-home health aide, monitoring, and education.
Considering the objectives of the group, it is feasible to emphasize stress control, social support, educational procedures, and efforts, as well as psychological and mental health improvements among the group members. The main objective of group sessions is to foster a sense of community or relatability via comprehension, which is accomplished by sharing and discussing similar experiences. Due to this, group therapy works better when it is used to treat a particular issue that affects every group member. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendations for managing stress and prevalent mental health issues include group psychoeducation as an effective group approach (Dolan et al., 2021). The objective of psychoeducation group therapy is to educate patients and families regarding the numerous aspects of the condition and its management. In fact, it is needed in order to enable people to collaborate with mental health specialists for a higher overall result.
Psychoeducation type of therapy group was selected since this methodology encompasses a set of activities and measures, in which every process aims at advancing a separate psychological aspect in individuals. Cognitive-behavior approach, group sessions, and education are all combined in psychoeducation as key factors of influence (Sarkhel et al., 2020). Since psychoeducation has been proven to be successful in clinical, research, and community settings, it has emerged as a valuable and effective type of psychotherapy for people with mental difficulties (Sarkhel et al., 2020). A clinically successful and long-lasting low-intensity group treatment that makes therapy more accessible to more patients is stress management in psychoeducational groups (Dolan et al., 2021). As per the advantages, psychoeducational support groups promote and sustain access to tools that might accelerate patients’ rehabilitation, information about their illness, and resources to assist them become self-aware of the effects of their disease (Sachs et al., 2020). In terms of the limitations, following the group arrangement, there is generally a defined meeting time and location, and the curriculum is not adaptable to individual scheduling. Moreover, people might not be confident communicating and disclosing sensitive material in a group environment.
Within the context of preparation, in order to guarantee participant safety and orderly behavior, therapists should create a set of group guidelines and rules in advance. Concerning the length of treatment, it is feasible to propose to meet twice a week for 5 subsequent weeks with the time of one session equal to one hour. The inclusion criteria for participation include trauma in the Native American population, whereas the exclusion criteria incorporate serious social phobias and social anxiety disorder that undermines effective therapy. The minimum and a maximum number of participants that would be ideal is equal to 5 and 10, respectively. A psychoeducational group may require sheets with statistical data, movies, handouts, textbooks, curricula, and guest speakers’ presence among the necessary material.
Critique and Summary
In terms of the strengths and limitations of a group approach, people who participate in group therapy can communicate with others and develop their interpersonal abilities. Individuals can more easily receive support and inspiration from a variety of people through group sessions. In contrast, group treatment programs can become emotional, and as a consequence, some participants may feel anxious, which may cause other people to feel overly nervous. With regard to psychoeducation for trauma in Native Americans, the issues of trust and confidentiality can potentially occur. The group’s members would have to establish trust with people they might not have personal ties with, thus, it could be challenging to accomplish this with everyone at once.
To highlight the assessment of how well the group accomplished its objectives, in this case, an individual communication session can be arranged with each member to gather relevant feedback and recommendations. The idea of evaluation encompasses the method of judging or assessing the worth of people or objects, which in this perspective necessitates the application of criteria to offer this worth. Tests, organized data analysis, and techniques to utilize in the future may be characterized as practical tools for gauging the effectiveness of the psychoeducational group and the members’ experiences. Therefore, the test outcomes will need to be extracted, interpreted, and their psychological repercussions are to be explained.
The specific barriers that can arise during the implementation procedures can include funding issues and a lack of professional expertise. The degree of a recovery-oriented mentality, management, execution preparedness, integrity within state institutions, and the payment system were significant determinants for the implementation of a psychoeducational group (Higgins et al., 2020). The problem of competence can be addressed by evaluating the professional abilities of the therapists prior to the program’s start and inviting guest speakers to enhance the level of trust among the participants. Funding difficulties can be resolved by finding sponsorships and partnerships, both in the fields of public and private sectors, as well as by contacting governmental authorities and proposing concrete assistance.
Within the context of a reflection on the probable difficulties in implementing psychoeducational therapy in groups for trauma in Native Americans based on experiences and background, it is reasonable to underline social issues. In fact, Native Americans can be considered a vulnerable segment of the population in the United States of America. Hence, it can be noted that the representatives of this community can have additional social problems that will not be possible to be resolved during psychoeducational group meetings. Accordingly, extra pressure can arise among the members of the group, which will become a substantial drawback to psychoeducational therapy. In this scenario, the levels of anxiety among the attendees can increase, negatively influencing their engagement and trust in treatment executives.
In order to deal with the abovementioned social aspects and the possible ethnic concerns, since the group’s participants are Native Americans, it is obligatory to provide additional instructions to the therapists and guest speakers. In general, the specialists have to be aware of all the features and potential risks connected to their particular group population, including social and ethnic ones. In this situation, after the professionals are acquainted with all of the details, it is compulsory to communicate clearly with the group in the first session and clarify all the information. In case no hesitation or uncertainty is present, the level of mutual understanding and trust can be increased.
Conclusion
To summarize, in terms of a group approach’s benefits and drawbacks, those who take part in group therapy can interact with others and improve their interpersonal skills. Funding problems and a lack of professional experience are two distinct obstacles that may emerge during the implementation processes. It is appropriate to highlight social issues in the context of a reflection on the likely challenges in implementing psychoeducational therapy in a group for trauma in Native Americans based on experiences and background. It is necessary to give the therapists and guest speakers specific instructions in order to address the social components and any potential ethnic difficulties.
References
Dolan, N., Simmonds‐Buckley, M., Kellett, S., Siddell, E., & Delgadillo, J. (2021). Effectiveness of stress control large group psychoeducation for anxiety and depression: Systematic review and meta‐analysis. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60(3), 375-399. Web.
Higgins, A., Murphy, R., Downes, C., Barry, J., Monahan, M., Hevey, D., Kroll, T., Doyle, L., & Gibbons, P. (2020). Factors impacting the implementation of a psychoeducation intervention within the mental health system: a multisite study using the consolidation framework for implementation research. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1-15. Web.
Sachs, G., Berg, A., Jagsch, R., Lenz, G., & Erfurth, A. (2020). Predictors of functional outcome in patients with bipolar disorder: effects of cognitive psychoeducational group therapy after 12 months. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 530026. Web.
Sarkhel, S., Singh, O. P., & Arora, M. (2020). Clinical practice guidelines for psychoeducation in psychiatric disorders general principles of psychoeducation. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 62(Suppl 2), 319-323. Web.