Yesterday, I led an occupational therapy group, with the topic being Health management. I very much enjoyed leading a group session that related to Health. Living healthy is one of the most important aspects of my life, and I love helping others find ways to improve their health. I admit I was a little nervous when the session first began, but as the session went on, everything seemed to flow in an optimal manner in my opinion. The most important aspect of this assignment for me was to improve on the areas that I felt weak in, in my first co-led facilitation. I would give myself an 8 out of 10 for this group session. I admit, I kind of overestimated the overall health of my group, but I do believe my activities would generalize well in a mental health group session, especially in relation to anxiety. I feel as though I did a good job of encouraging group members as well as making them feel good about themselves. I also feel like I created a welcoming environment that all group members could feel comfortable in. In relation to my weaknesses, I would like to continue to become better at giving feedback to group members. I have improved in this area but still have much work to do. Overall, I feel like my first single led group session went very well, and I look forward to leading group sessions at Greenhouse Ministries.
Leadership Evaluation
Written Group Plan: 9
-Had a well-organized plan and followed through with almost every aspect of the plan.
Introduction: 9
-I introduced myself to the group, as well as explaining the purpose of the group and what would be expected during the session.
Activity: 7
-I thought the group activity went smoothly. I kind of underestimated just how healthy my group was overall. I believe that the members that were having some issues with managing health were able to make a realistic schedule that they could potentially incorporate into their lives.
Sharing: 7
-I made sure that group members shared their thoughts during the activity, if they were comfortable.
Process: 7
-I did a decent job of helping group members process their feelings. I feel like I have improved in this area since my last group facilitation.
Generalizing: 6
-As I stated earlier, I certainly overestimated how healthy my group was overall. In a real clinical setting, I feel like the education and activities I provided will generalize very well to all of my participating group members.
Group Motivation: 7
-I feel like my group members left with a decent amount of motivation. This is still an area that I would to continue to improve in.
Limit Setting: 8
-I feel like our group stayed on target throughout the whole session. In an actual clinical setting, it will be very important to set the tone and to make sure that the whole group stays on task.
Application: 8
-All group members showed a good understanding of health management and how to handle problems and barriers that could possibly hinder them from living healthy lifestyles.
Summary: 7-Overall I feel like I did a decent job of leading a group session all on my own. I'm still not perfect at it, but the experience was highly beneficial. I look forward to leading group sessions at Greenhouse ministries.
Overall Score 82
Overall Score 82
A very humble post and reflection Eric. Thank you! I appreciate that you are willing to reflect on the things that you think went well, and also to touch on the things that could have been better. Nevertheless, there were several areas that I would like to comment on from your Blog. You mention in your reflection that you believe that you underestimated & overestimated how healthy the group was overall, but I wonder if what you may have experienced was- at least in part, due to what we refer to in group therapy as "surface sharing" or the tendency for group members to share at a surface level or at a cognitive level, instead of a feelings based or "as it really is" level because sharing too much would mean that they have to take a hard look at their actual habits. In a few minutes I will post the member feedback summary, and I think you will see that there was a general trend from the members to be pretty surprised about what it was like to genuinely have to think about why exercise is NOT scheduled in their life. Honestly Eric, I think for a group at this cognitive level, and because you know them well, it was completely perfect to choose and carry out the activity just as you did. In the end, I think that had a powerful influence on them. They had to take a deeper look at their intentions, priorities, etc. In my opinion, your gentle leadership (and excellent use of evidence from the literature) was a great match for leading this group. I can see your OT leadership skills emerging for certain.
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