Counseling multiple people simultaneously is a difficult task for a specialist who lacks the necessary knowledge regarding team dynamics. This diary explores Lawrence Shulman’s strategies and advice regarding social work in groups. The primary subject of the reading is the challenges and stages of group work that must be continuously assessed by a leader (Shulman, 2016). The author clearly outlines the need for a counselor to work on helping their clients to open their feelings, explore them, and prepare people to apply the acquired knowledge after a session’s end.
In my profession, counseling a group is critical for discussing patterned behavior that applies to all involved individuals. Judging from what I have learned in class, this subject requires one to read the overall mood of a team and adjust a session’s plan accordingly. The main idea of this chapter relates to my internship by signaling that there is a necessity for a leader to uphold constant engagement with their followers.
The knowledge from this chapter helped me to recognize essential clues from the first parts of a meeting and gradually direct people’s attention toward the necessary subject for the middle stage. This topic reminded me that there is a need to consider both an individual’s and a group’s expectations from a session (Shulman, 2016). In my current internship, I applied this knowledge in a group when we were exploring different types of behavior. When it was necessary to orient an individual, I promoted group involvement by engaging all students during our preliminary discussion phase to ensure that the middle stage would pass without unnecessary interruptions.
In conclusion, social work in groups requires a leader to spread their attention to multiple sources without losing connection to a team as a whole. In the future, I can establish a plan of action for each session with my field internship class and keep track of phases as I pass them. In the elementary school that I was placed in, it is crucial to avoid spreading my attention unequally, as it may cause students to form a negative opinion of my class.
Reference
Shulman, L. (2016). The skills of helping individuals, families, groups, and communities (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.