, performing, and adjourning
Stage of Group & Techniques Used
There are five stages group formation known as forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (Caffaro, 2007). This group of clients meet twice per week and will complete different group activities together. The stage that this group is currently in is known as performing. This group is already well known to each other, they have been working together for several months now. These members operate without friction, there is respect and empathy present between members, diversity is welcomed, and members welcome new ideas without conflict (Kumar, Deshmukh, & Adhish, 2014). Since this group is in this phase when I conducted the reminiscence group with these members my approach was to allow the members to be less active and allow them to take a role in welcoming me to their group. I was welcomed with open arms and joined right in, at this time I was able to comment on how functional the group is.
Challenges
There can be many challenges when providing psychotherapy to older adults. Chronic health problems can impact psychotherapy with the elderly. Eighty percent of those 65 years or older have at least one chronic illness (Wheeler, 2014). If an older client has a cognitive impairment then they will require simultaneous treatment for both the cognitive impairment and the mental health condition to be effective. Also another challenge when working with older adults is their views on mental illness. Older adults may not be as accepting and open regarding mental illness due to the time period in which they were raised and how mental health was viewed during that time.
References:
Gaggioli, A., Scaratti, C., Morganti, L., Stramba-Badiale, M., Agostoni, M., Spatola, C. A., Molinari, E., Cipresso, P., Riva, G. (2014). Effectiveness of group reminiscence for improving wellbeing of institutionalized elderly adults: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 15, 408. doi:10.1186/1745-6215-15-408
Caffaro, J. (2007). Review of The theory & practice of group psychotherapy, 5th edition. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 57(4), 543–549. Retrieved from https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2007-14773-008&site=eds-live&scope=site
Kumar, S., Deshmukh, V., & Adhish, V. S. (2014). Building and leading teams. Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine, 39(4), 208-13.
Mackenzie, C. S., Scott, T., Mather, A., & Sareen, J. (2008). Older adults’ help-seeking attitudes and treatment beliefs concerning mental health problems. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 16(12), 1010-9.
Wheeler, K. (Ed.). (2014). Psychotherapy for the advanced practice psychiatric nurse: A how-to guide for evidence-based practice. New York, NY: Springer.
