Professional Standards for Training a Group (Essay Sample)

Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Institution
Professional Standards for Training a Group
Introduction
As a Marriage, Couple, and Family counselor in training, counseling group and psycho-educational groups fits well in this career. For some good reasons schools often use groups as their treatment of choice. This is because use of group counseling focuses on the symptomatic relief where group members are taught about analytic strategies and developing personal skills that can activate personal changes. In this career, many problems that subjects people to counseling involve challenges associated with the formation and maintenance of intimate relationships. This paper analyses two personal goals that can be used to advance my knowledge, skills competencies, and lack of experience in marriage, couple, and family counseling.
Discussion
According to Conyne and Ward (2000), Association for Specialists In-Group Work (ASGW) provides professional standards for training of group workers. This is coupled with some established competencies and knowledge necessary for group counseling. To become a competent and an effective group counselor in either training or experienced, the counselor has to set personal goals. This is because group workers recognize that professional growth is an ongoing, continuous, and developmental process throughout their career.
First, group counselors should keep abreast of group research and development. This personal goal ensures that counselors have information concerning problem solving strategies that people in marriages and family need. In addition, group research and development helps the counselor to reflect on his or her strengths and weaknesses, and explore their own cultural identities. This is essential in facilitating a successful career in family, couple, and marriage counseling. According to Stockton (2010), “sustained practice coupled with feedback and reflection is the pathway towards competence,” (p. 329).This goal aligns with the professional standards presented Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) as it is concerned with providing guidance to counselors training programs. ASWG declares that all counselors should possess a set of core competencies in general group work, which addresses personal and interpersonal problems solving strategies in counseling. According to Corey (2013) “counseling groups focus on interpersonal process and problem solving strategies that stress conscious thoughts, feelings, and behavior” (p. 5) This declaration is consistent with the personal goal where counselors keep abreast of group research and development, which helps them gain information about problem solving strategies in marriages, couple, and family counseling.
In order to accomplish this personal goal, counselors need to not only perform online researches but also increase knowledge and skills competencies through activities such as continuing education, workshops and conferences, books, training tapes and research reviews (Stockton, 2013, p. 328). In addition, counselor should participate in professional and personal development activities. Seeking consultations and supervision concerning ethical concerns, which interfere with effective functioning of a group leader, is the second personal goal. This goal ensures that counselors are responsible for group process and theories (Tantam & Hyde, 1998). In addition, supervision enables counselors to apply and modify knowledge, techniques, and skill competencies appropriate to group stage and type coupled with the unique needs of various ethnic and cultural groups (Thomas & Pender, 2008). Supervision sets guidelines, which clearly defines and maintains ethical, professional, and social relationship boundaries with group members. This personal goal aligns with the professional standard...