Group counseling techniques for disruptive members in correctional settings

¶ … Group Counseling" by Jacob and Spadaro is to help introduce those who are working in a correctional setting to the concept of leading a group in a correctional setting. Because the article being discussed is a book chapter it does not describe a single research design, methodology, or results. However, it does engage in a discussion of some of the basics of group counseling. It focuses on skills and techniques used in group counseling sessions, rather than focusing on the theory behind group counseling. Moreover, they focus specifically on groups in a correctional setting. By correctional setting, the authors are referring to counseling occurring in any location where the members are there because they have been instructed to be there, rather than there by choice. This includes prisons, penitentiaries, jails, detention centers, residential centers, work camps, halfway houses, probation office, and parole offices. They also begin to address some of the specific concerns that come with addressing groups in these settings. One of the problems that plague groups in correctional settings is that many group members are not willing to participate and engage in behavior that is meant to sabotage other group members, leading many people to question why one would conduct group rather than individual sessions in a correctional facility. The answer to that dilemma is multi-faceted, but one of the main reasons is because engaging in therapy with fellow inmates can actually be helpful to inmates.