PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLOR - Mental Health Academy

THE PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLOR
03 2008
FEATURE
Introduction -
The Small Group in Counselling and Therapy
“We must conclude that the psychology of groups is
the oldest human psychology” ~ Sigmund Freud
From the beginning of time people have
congregated in groups to ensure their survival,
development, and evolution. The knowledge that there
was safety in numbers was a motivating factor in the
earliest gatherings of people. Other factors that drew
people together were spiritual in nature as groups of
people congregated to worship, celebrate, and
perform ritual dances.
These original groups were formed naturally either
by shared ancestry, mutual need, or common belief. In
noting these beginnings Rudestam (1982) states:
“Despite the pervasiveness of such groups throughout
history, the connections between them and the
deliberate use of group process to foster personality
change in the twentieth century have not been made
explicit” (p.1). Although early theorists did not directly
connect or address the behavior of individuals in
groups in relation to therapeutic possibilities,
sociologists and social psychologists did actively begin
to raise questions and investigate the nuances of
collective behavior late in the nineteenth century
(Hare, 1992).
J.R. and L.M. Gibb (1978) observed that “groups
form the fabric of the society in which we live” (p.
106) and early investigations focused primarily on
examining the effects of social influences on the
behavior of individuals. One such exploration, credited
to psychologist Norman Triplett in 1887, demonstrated
that a cyclist’s performance could be significantly
improved if he or she was accompanied or paced by
another rider (Bonner, 1959; Rudestam, 1982).
Other researchers of this time studied the effect of
working alone versus working in groups, pertaining to
the performance of children in school, the influence of
a group on thought processes, and the effect of
competition on performance (Bonner, 1959). F.H
Allport, whose work is frequently documented in the
early literature on groups, found that individuals
working in a group produced more verbal associations
and presented such associations with greater speed
that did individuals working alone (Allport, 1920).
Later investigators (Comrey & Staats, 1955;
Goldman, 1965) went onto compare individual and
group performance using different combinations of
individuals with varying initial ability. They found that
the improved performance demonstrated by working
in a dyad or a group was dependent on the initial
ability levels of the individuals who were in
combination.
In their review of the literature, Rosenbaum and
Berger (1975) conclude that the primary early
researchers noted for investigating small group
phenomena were: Charles H. Cooley, who first
defined the concept of “the primary group” as the
“face-to-face” group primarily involved with “intimate
cooperation”; Gustave Le Bon, who first described the
group as a “collective entity - a distinct being”; and
George Herbert Mead whose work, along with that of
Cooley, was “of prime significance in the early history
of group dynamics” (p.13).
From these early explorations into the forces
affecting individuals as they participated in groups
evolved the use of groups as vehicles to promote
change. One of the first practitioners credited with
using this approach was Joseph Pratt, a Boston
internist. Although Pratt originally used groups to
save time in educating and supporting patients
suffering from tuberculosis, he later became aware of
“From these
early
explorations into
the forces
affecting
individuals as
they participated
in groups
evolved the use
of groups as
vehicles to
promote
change.”
the therapeutic value of
the format, in particular
the interactions among
members of such groups.
His work is acknowledged
as an important forerunner
to present-day
psychotherapy
(Scheidlinger & Schamess,
1992).
Recognised as being the
“founder of the study of
modern group dynamics”
(Luft, 1984, p.8), social
psychologist Kurt Lewin’s
work as a theorist and
researcher in the
investigation of group
dynamics had a significant
impact on the use of
groups as agents for change (Smith, 1980a).
The work of Lewin and his associates is credited
with having a direct bearing on the invention of the T-
group (training group), from which evolved the
encounter and sensitivity groups of the 1960s and
1970s. The widespread interest on these groups grew,
in part, from the increasing feelings of alienation that
were experienced by an expanding portion of an
increasingly mobile society (Scheidlinger & Schamess,
1