Group Counseling. Discuss How You

¶ … group counseling. Discuss how you as the group leader/counselor in the given scenario would handle the situation, and the rationale behind your decision and action. Every group establishes a certain dynamic between its members. Participants create a community, and hopefully, in the context of a therapeutic group setting, that community is positive and affirming. When a member of the community is hurt, almost everyone within the group suffers some kind of loss or trauma. This is particularly true when the incident involves the death of one of the participants.

For example, in a group designed to support teens dealing with depression, one of the immediate risks is an attempted suicide by one of the group members. The International Critical Incident Stress Foundation has specific steps to deal with critical incidents in counseling situations (Critical incident response services, 2011, Grand Valley State University). The first is preparedness, or pre-crisis planning.

A contingency plan should be in place to deal with the emotional fall-out caused by an attempted or 'successful' suicide, such as having additional grief counselors come to sessions to specifically deal with the issue. All counselors involved regularly with the group should be well-versed in the 'stages of grief' and other basic concepts attached to mourning. The second stage is 'demobilization' or crisis intervention, when members of the group are informed of the actual incident. This must be done in a sensitive fashion.

The group leader must be careful not to romanticize the incident, or to use negative language about the deceased person or the person who attempted suicide. Instead, the group members should be informed and then encouraged to come together to talk about their feelings and responses in the third stage of 'defusing.' Talking about their feelings, reminiscing about the person who was lost or their anger are all possible subjects of discussion in a small group session.

A combination of facilitation by the leaders and also allowing members to 'vent' their feelings is likely necessary. Group leaders must be aware of possible remarks that might indicate that teens are identifying with the suicidal person or engaging in suicidal ideation. One of the dangers of teen suicide is that there is an alarming tendency of 'copycat' suicides. Teens who feel that 'no one understands their pain' envy the attention given to a 'successful' suicide or suicide attempt. They may see suicide as a way out of their misery.

What was once a fantasy may now sound more real and feasible. That is why talking is so important. Group leaders must take the emotional temperature of both the group and individual teens. They must also be prepared for the anger some teens may show at the suicide, viewing it as a betrayal and a cop-out. Teens who feel angry vs.

sad or who identify with the suicide may feel at odds with one another, and the group leaders must offer a 'safe space' to vent frustrations, while still leading the discussion in a positive direction. The fourth stage, debriefing, occurs days or a week or two after the crisis. It is a specific group session designed to check in on how members are dealing with the incident over time. One-to-one sessions may.