CPCE Group Counseling and Work 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In group counseling, 'blocking' is a technique used to:
- Prevent harmful or counterproductive communication within the group (Correct answer)
- Stop a member from joining mid-group
- End a group session early when conflict arises
- Prevent members from forming subgroups
Correct answer: Prevent harmful or counterproductive communication within the group
Blocking is a leader intervention that interrupts harmful communication patterns, such as gossiping, questioning, or attacking.
Question 2: According to ASGW Best Practice Guidelines, screening prospective group members serves to:
- Ensure all members have identical presenting problems
- Determine member readiness and group-member fit to maximize benefit and minimize harm (Correct answer)
- Limit group size to fewer than five members
- Select only members with prior group therapy experience
Correct answer: Determine member readiness and group-member fit to maximize benefit and minimize harm
Screening assesses whether the group modality is appropriate for the individual and whether the individual is appropriate for the group.
Question 3: A member who intellectualizes excessively in group is likely using this defense to:
- Demonstrate superior knowledge to gain group status
- Distance from emotional experience and avoid vulnerability (Correct answer)
- Help other members understand complex concepts
- Challenge the leader's authority
Correct answer: Distance from emotional experience and avoid vulnerability
Intellectualization as a defense substitutes abstract analysis for emotional experiencing, keeping the person psychologically safe but distant.
Question 4: When co-leading a group, it is essential that co-leaders:
- Avoid meeting outside sessions to preserve objectivity
- Maintain a united front and never disagree in the group
- Process their interactions and differences regularly through supervision (Correct answer)
- Assign one leader to manage process and the other to manage content exclusively
Correct answer: Process their interactions and differences regularly through supervision
Regular co-leader supervision and processing is essential to model healthy communication and address any splitting dynamics members may induce.
Question 5: In Gestalt group therapy, the 'empty chair' technique is primarily used to:
- Represent absent group members during discussion
- Help a member dialogue with an internalized figure or unresolved situation (Correct answer)
- Provide seating flexibility in group arrangement
- Signal that a member has voluntarily stepped out of the group process
Correct answer: Help a member dialogue with an internalized figure or unresolved situation
The empty chair facilitates dialogue with internalized aspects of self or significant others to resolve unfinished emotional business.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes 'process commentary' in group leadership?
- Summarizing the content of what members have said
- Observing and reflecting on the patterns and dynamics occurring within the group (Correct answer)
- Providing psychoeducational information about group therapy
- Writing process notes after each session
Correct answer: Observing and reflecting on the patterns and dynamics occurring within the group
Process commentary calls attention to the how of group interaction rather than the what, illuminating underlying relational patterns.
Question 7: A group member threatens to harm another member outside the group. The group leader's ethical obligation includes:
- Maintaining confidentiality and processing the threat only within the group
- Warning the potential victim and taking appropriate protective action (Correct answer)
- Immediately terminating the threatening member from the group
- Consulting only with a supervisor before taking any action
Correct answer: Warning the potential victim and taking appropriate protective action
The duty to protect (Tarasoff principle) requires that identifiable potential victims be warned when a credible threat exists.
CPCE Group Counseling and Work 3
In group counseling, 'blocking' is a technique used to: