Examples of Group Descriptions

Accepting Constructive Criticism
Purpose of the group is to help participants learn how to accept constructive criticism and to practice responding to it. The group discussed effective ways of evaluating and responding to deserved and potentially undeserved criticism. Facilitator offered tips and techniques on how to do this. Participants role-played scenarios involving accepting constructive criticism in an actual environment.

Asking For Help, Session 1
Purpose of the group is to help participants learn how to ask for help successfully. Group facilitator led a discussion about the difficulties involved when asking for help and the benefits it can provide. Offered useful tips to remember and methods to use when asking for help in a number of common situations (e.g., at the store, at their sober living home, when needing to refill meds or schedule appointments, etc.). With facilitator’s assistance, participants identified people who can offer assistance when needed and role-played asking them for help.

Asking For Help, Session 2
Purpose of today’s group is to review and improve skills associated with asking for help. Group facilitator assisted participants in using real-life experiences to gain a better understanding of how and when to ask for help. Identified people who can help and explored why they have chosen these people. Review tips, techniques and key concepts to use when help is needed.

Conflict and Mental Health
Purpose of today’s group is to help participants develop skills to effectively manage both symptoms of mental illness and conflict situations. Explored the relationship between the symptoms of mental illness, the effects of substance use, and the ability to manage conflict effectively. Facilitator assisted group members in role-playing confrontation in a conflict situation. Discussed the importance of empathy in mediating conflict.

Dealing With Boredom, Session 1
Goal of today’s group is to increase member’s participation in positive activities, increase motivation, and potentially decrease social isolation; and to help them replace harmful activities with activities that improve health, increase self-esteem, and increase productivity. Group facilitator discussed the “dangers” of boredom. Explored activities that are mentally, emotionally, and physically beneficial when free time is available. Helped participants identify tentative times to participate in these activities.

Dealing With Boredom, Session 2
Purpose of today’s group is to reframe disagreeable activities/tasks to increase day-to-day satisfaction, productivity and motivation. Facilitator discussed ways of changing thought processes to increase the quality of members’ experiences. Helped participants apply these principles to day-to-day activities and tasks to increase their personal satisfaction.  

Identifying Your Support Network
Goal of today’s group is to increase participants’ ability to access to support by identifying their social support network. Assisted members in determining people and relationships they value. Helped members create a diagram that enabled them to visualize the support network available, then collect and consolidate their social support network’s contact information.

Developing Healthy Relationships
Purpose of group is to increase social interaction skills by developing healthy attitudes and behaviors. Discussed symptoms and barriers of participants’ mental illness and SUD issues that prevent them from developing healthy relationships. Explored negative attitudes and characteristics that maybe preventing social growth. Led discussion about the positive characteristics of healthy relationships and how to develop and maintain them.  

Disagreeing Respectfully
Goal of today’s group is to help participants learn how to disagree in a constructive manner and to practice this skill. Encouraged members to explore negative disagreements from the past and discuss the ways they were resolved. Provided techniques to use when expressing personal opinions and disagreeing with others. Assisted participants in role-playing scenarios in which they have to disagree.

Engaging Natural Supports
Purpose of group is to increase group members’ ability to build and engage natural supports. Group facilitator provided strategies for building the natural supports that are vital to achieving and maintaining good mental health. Assisted participants with identifying current natural supports and potential natural supports, then creating a plan for building and engaging these potential natural supports.

Expressing Negative Feelings, Session 1
Purpose of today’s group is to help participants learn to share personal feelings by appropriately communicating negative issues. Encouraged members to discuss past experience with expressing negative feelings. Evaluated personal expression skills and offered tips and suggestions on how to improve them. Role-played scenarios using specific feelings that have been difficult to express in the past.

Expressing Negative Feelings, Session 2
Goal of today’s group is to improve communication skills and to apply them to actual situations involving negative feelings. Reviewed and discussed recent events and dialogues that caused participants to experience negative feelings. Explored the importance of positive and negative word choice and the differences in using each of them. Role-play scenarios to practice and help explore alternative ways to express feelings.

Expressing Positive Feelings, Session 1
Purpose of group is to help members learn to share personal feelings by appropriately communicating positive statements. Discussed past experiences with expressing positive feelings and explored recent use of related skills. Facilitator helped members rate their current personal expression skills and described effective techniques to help improve them. Helped participants role-play scenarios using specific feelings they identified as having been difficult to express in the past.

Expressing Positive Feelings, Session 2
Goal of today’s group is to help participants improve communication skills and apply them to actual situations involving positive feelings. Members reviewed recent events and dialogue that caused them to experience positive feelings. With input from facilitator, the group explored the importance of positive and negative word choice and the differences in using each of them. Members role-played scenarios to practice and explore alternative ways of express feelings. Facilitator provided praise and feedback.

Following Verbal Instructions, Session 1
Purpose of today’s group is to increase group members’ ability to follow verbal instructions. Facilitator shared common strategies for following verbal instructions, then led exercises in which participants attempted to follow verbal instructions. Helped group members determine how learning style impacts their ability to follow verbal instructions and how they can use this knowledge to improve their performance.

Following Verbal Instructions, Session 2
The goal of today’s group is to help participants increase their awareness and use of skills necessary to effectively follow verbal instructions. Assisted members in identifying instances where following verbal instructions is easier or harder, then explored strategies for following verbal instructions in those situations, taking into account their personal styles of learning.

How to Be an Effective Listener
Purpose of today’s group is to help members identify and overcome barriers to listening effectively. Provided tips and strategies for becoming a more effective listener. Worked to increase participants’ awareness of how stress levels and barriers affect their ability to listen effectively. Conducted exercises in which members practiced listening skills. Provided praise, feedback, and suggestions for potential improvement.

How to Have a Conversation
Goal of today’s group is to help participants learn how to successfully begin and have a conversation and to practice this skill. Led discussion to help members identify barriers to, and rewards of, skills related to having conversations. Helped members rate personal conversation skills and learn effective methods of improving them. Role-play scenarios in which group participants were responsible for beginning or holding a conversation.

Making Appointments on the Phone
Purpose of group is to teach members how to successfully make an appointment on the phone and give them the opportunity to practice this skill. Facilitator provided effective tips and techniques to use when making appointments on the phone (having a pen and paper handy, necessary cards or insurance information available, etc.). Role-played scenarios involving setting up appointments and exchanging information via the phone.

Becoming More Assertive
Goal of group is to help members learn how to self-advocate by practicing assertive behaviors. Discussed the meaning of "assertiveness" and the differences between using it correctly and incorrectly. Identified areas in which participants are currently being assertive and asked them to select an area where they felt improvement was necessary. Role-played scenarios in which members had to handle real-life situations with assertiveness. Provided feedback and reinforced examples of appropriate assertiveness.

In terms of documentation, you should use whatever format your supervisor recommends. Most programs have a specific style they use. If your program bills Medi-Cal, you'll have to explain why each client in your group needs to attend your group.

In detox-res programs that bill per diem, the standard isn't quite as high. You can use a straight narrative if you want (just typing out what happened and what you observed) or you can use a format like DAP. 

D (data): Brief description of the client, their attendance (were they on time, did they leave early), how they participated, and what behaviors you observed. This is similar to the "O" in a SOAP note -- objective facts, things you could see, hear, and maybe even smell.   

A (assessment): In this section you can do a little interpreting if you want. Don't go overboard, but you might discuss their level of engagement and what you think it means. Or how their comments and behavior suggest a certain stage of change. Do you think they understood what the group was about? If so, what makes you think that? What kind of emotional responses did you see? Did they seem reactive to certain things, like authority figures? What did they appear to enjoy or get energized by? Did their behavior give you any clues about their risk of relapse?

P: (plan): If you asked the client to think about any particular topics (in preparation for the next group), or you assigned any homework, this is where you describe it. Just a few sentences about where you see things going from here, in terms of treatment.  

Don't stress out about what goes in which section. There are just a few basic things reviewers look for, and it doesn't matter where they are in the note. The most important thing is how the client behaved in your group.