The Theory of Group Counselling with Children
Group counselling may benefit some children, but it could be less beneficial to other kids. Especially if the child is young and has no clue about therapy, and also if he/she hasn’t been in a public space (group therapy), he/she may not disclose about their family and the impact they had. Also, I understand that group therapy should be provided depending on the needed type. For instance, for children who are impacted by parental divorce, group therapy would be formed with other children who face the same challenge. However, even though children are grouped based on their needs, some don’t like to talk about their parents. This could be due to shame or their love for their parents. This is exactly how I understand Jack’s feelings about his mom. When Sarah played Jack’s Echo, she said, “I feel that you gave up on me, you are not interested in me, and this is very painful, and I miss you; I want my mom” Jack started crying. But first, Jack stated that he hated his mom because she didn’t call him for his birthday. This is an example of why children won’t like to disclose about their parents during group discussions. Because when something happens to them, they emotionally express their feeling, but later on, their first emotion would subside.
From the clinical social work perspective, if a child is referred to us for therapy due to parental divorce, and if one parent neglected that child, let's say, in this case, by his/her mother. If the mother is a substance abuser and has frequently been hospitalized due to overdose, the father is a perfect dad. He does not smoke, drink or use illicit drugs but decided divorced to his wife due to the above issue. How can we say this child is impacted by parental divorce? Isn’t it healthy for the child to stay with his/her dad and help the mother to get treatment? What type of group therapy should we approach? Is group therapy beneficial to the child?