Leveraging Group Counseling for Effective Stress Management

Abstract

Group Counseling Critique The group counseling session involves four participants and a group counselor discussing stress management strategies. The session is divided into several activities led by the counselor where the members participate actively in describing their experiences with stress and stress management. Each participant gets an opportunity to offer their views to the rest of the group and describe the factors that may hinder the desired outcomes of stress management activities. It begins with each member describing their experiences over the previous week and identifying some of the causes of stress in their lives. Some of the stressors that the participants present include challenges in school work, making a college application, and balancing school activities with work (Harris, 2019). The counselor offers the students an opportunity to discuss how various aspects of life such as family and friends, obligations, and things they cannot change may affect the stress levels. It is clear from the counseling session that the counselor encourages each member to participate in each of the activities. Being able to openly speak about factors related to stress has significant implications on the capacity of the individual to apply stress management strategies to improve their quality of life. Individuals in the group counseling session have used different approaches to cope with stress in their lives. The strategies that come up include physical activity through soccer practice, using pet animals as stress relievers, and identifying the factors that cause stress. Prior to describing the ways that the participants can handle stress in their lives, the counselor asks the members to offer their input on their past experiences with stress management strategies. One of the participant describes filling a college application as one of the most stressing experience he has had for the past week (Harris, 2019). He proposes speaking to other people to have their input on...