i need someone who can assist me to my homewok

Chapter 3

Use of Logs and Other Homework

I ask the members to write a log after each group session to hand in to me. The log should contain the personal goal(s) and how the member worked on the goal(s) in the session, personal reactions to the session, questions that arose from the session and personal growth that occurred from the session. The person may include any other information or reactions pertaining to the session. I read these during the week and make comments on them and return them at the next group meeting. I find this to be an excellent way for me to communicate with each member of the group and to keep a pulse on how each member is responding. Coyne, Crowell & Newmeyer (2008, p. 160) stated that it also gives the leader a way to process independently between sessions. It is also a way for the members to process what they experienced. Gladding (2012, p. 154) noted that it enables participants to “spot inconsistencies in their reactions more quickly than if they simply talked about them.”

I also use other forms of homework. “Homework maximizes what is learned in the group and is a means of translating this learning to many different situations in daily life.” (Corey, Corey & Corey, 2010, p. 241). During group sessions as a member is working, if I perceive that it would be helpful for the individual to work on a particular skill during the week, I will suggest homework for the person to complete and report on in the next session. Gladding (2012, p. 128) stated that homework gives the member twice the benefit because the individual practices the skill outside the group and then interacts with the group about the experience. He also noted that it “helps group members achieve closure on unresolved issues” (p. 362).

The following gives examples of homework assignments:

If a person is working on self-confidence, I might suggest that she spend five minutes a day, standing in front of a mirror and looking herself in the eye and stating her strengths and abilities. We may have identified these in the previous group session or she may be able to list some on her own. In the next group session, she will report on the outcome of this exercise and together we’ll decide if she needs to continue with the assignment for the next week, tweak it in some way or terminate the exercise. I had a group member once, who had worked in the same job for five years and had never received a raise. She believed that she deserved a raise but did not have the self-confidence to go to her boss and ask for one. She discussed in the group her skills at work and how she was always on time and many times worked past her quitting time to complete a task. I assigned her the task of spending time each night sitting in front of an empty chair and

Chapter 3

Use of Logs and Other Homework

The following gives examples of homework assignments:

seeing her boss in the chair and reminding him of how valuable she was to his business. She also reminded him of how long she had been there and never received a raise. When she came to the group the next week, she reported that she felt ready to approach her boss. The group members stood around her and gave her support and encouragement. When she came to group the next week, she reported that she had successfully confronted her boss and she received a larger raise than she had expected.

If an individual has the need to confront a family member, friend or employee, I might suggest that she spend time writing out what she needs to say and then rehearsing it with an empty chair. She might say the same thing day after day or write a new script each day and say it; or I might suggest that she write a letter to the person with the idea of bringing the letter to the next group session and reading it to the group. Sue was taken advantage of by her parents and siblings. She was an adult, living in her own place but in the same community as her parents and sisters. They depended on her to do everything for them, even though they were perfectly capable of completing the tasks that they expected her to do. She resented all that she did for them but had never confronted them to say that she would no longer be their errand girl. This became her goal for group - to confront them and let them know that things were changing. She began by writing a letter to her sisters and reading it to the group the next week. The group praised her and encouraged her. She decided that for the next week, she would practice talking with them face to face. We role played this in the group so she could practice. She continued with the practice over the next week. When she came to the next group session, she felt prepared to confront them. We brain stormed all the possible scenarios that could occur and discussed how she would respond to each possibility. When she left group, she was confident that she could successfully confront them. In the next group session, she was beaming because she had successfully confronted them. They had not responded in a positive manner and were angry with her. She was okay with their anger because she knew that she had done what she needed to do.

If a person is grieving the death of a loved one, I might suggest that she decide on an activity she could do to honor the person and then to go through with the activity. Bill had lost a son eighteen years ago in a car wreck but was still grieving and could not move past this death. The group encouraged him to find a way to honor the memory of his son. He decided that he would host a barbecue and invite his son’s friends who still lived in the area. He set a date and the group helped him think through what his goal was and how he would achieve it with this occasion. Several weeks later, he hosted this event. The group was excited to hear the results at the next meeting. He reported that he and his son’s friends sat for hours, eating barbecue and telling stories about his son. He said that they laughed and cried. He reported that he was so pleased with the event and that he had felt better in the past few days than he had felt for the past eighteen years.

If a person is feeling guilt for something she did or did not do, I might suggest that she not only seek forgiveness from the wronged person, but that she finds a way of doing penance so that she can forgive herself. This might come in the form of volunteering at a non-profit organization, raising funds for a worthy cause or some other form of a good deed. The group might help her decide what she needs to do and give her encouragement to complete the commitment. Angie’s grandmother had died about a year ago and she felt guilty for not spending more time with her grandmother in the months leading up to the death. The group helped her decide that she would go to the extended-care unit of a local retirement center and find an elderly lady who had little or no local family members and become friends with this individual. Her assignment for the next week was to meet with the social worker at the unit and get suggestions of who might need her attention the most. She returned to the next meeting and reported that she had talked with the social worker and also had visited with three ladies in the unit and had decided on the lady to whom she would become a friend. Through the course of the next few weeks, Angie kept the group posted on her progress with her self-forgiveness and finally, reported that she no longer felt guilty and, instead, felt grateful that she had developed this relationship that had become so meaningful to her.

Hopefully, these examples show how powerful homework can be and how helpful it can be in assisting a group member to reach a goal. Goals can be achieved with the aid of homework that would never be achieved from the group sessions alone.

Questions to Ponder

1. As you consider writing a log each week as a way of communicating with the therapist outside the group, what are your thoughts? Does this excite you, frighten you or create some other emotion? How do you think this will be helpful to you?

2. I gave several examples of how homework positively affected group members. What are your reactions to these examples?