special topic

Group Counseling Special Topic Paper

The purpose of this paper is to develop appropriate research skills to ensure that effective treatment strategies are selected based on the review of the professional literature when developing a counseling group.

Hypothetical Scenario:

You have been hired as a clinical mental health counselor. Your agency asks you to do a needs-assessment to determine which clinical population (e.g., age, gender, clinical presenting issue, etc.) could best be served by the formation of a new counseling group. In speaking with fellow counselors and surveying clients, there is a clear need for a group that pertains to (fill in the blank). Your administrator first asks you to conduct a review of the literature to ensure that evidence-based practices include group counseling for this particular specialty population.

Instructions:

1.       Seek topic approval from your instructor to ensure topic is narrow enough.

2.       This paper has four content sections:

a.       Provide a brief review of the recent literature on the selected clinical issue (e.g. depression).

b.       Analyze group theory/techniques/interventions that are evidence-based for the selected clinical issue (e.g., effectiveness of group counseling with depression).

c.        Recommend cultural/developmental considerations for the specific population that the group will include (e.g., Latina adolescents in group counseling).

d.       Analyze ethical/legal considerations for group counseling with the selected specific population/clinical issue (e.g., confidentiality with groups, ethical/legal issues working with minors).

3.       The population used in this special topic paper will be the same population/clinical issue used in the group counseling proposal assignment (LASA).

Your final product should be an 9-10 page Word document (including the cover page and references), using a minimum of 5 scholarly sources. At least one of your references should be from the Journal for Specialists in Group Work. Be sure to write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Use the most current APA format.

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