Unit of competency details

Unit Descriptor 

This unit of competency describes the skills and knowledge required to facilitate or lead a psycho-educational group that involves disclosures made by participants and disruptions to group process as a result of reactions and behaviours from members of the group

Application 

This unit applies to the management of group dynamics in a relationship education context

Employability Skills 

This unit contains Employability Skills

Elements define the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

The Performance Criteria specify the level of performance required to demonstrate achievement of the Element. Terms in italics are elaborated in the Range Statement.

ELEMENT 

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 

1. Plan for reactions from individual participants

1.1 Predict possible reactions  individuals may have to psycho -educational group  content and exercises

1.2 Prepare alternatives and responses to possible reactions  from individual participants

1.3 Establish support strategies  for individual participants who may have intense reactions

1.4 Negotiate parameters and purpose with the group

1.5 Demonstrate inclusive work practice 

2. Respond to disclosures made by individual participants

2.1 Appropriately acknowledge disclosure  either individually or within the group

2.2 Address group reactions to disclosure

2.3 Maintain effective facilitation of learning through the phases of the group 

2.4 Assist individuals to engage with activities and exercises in the group.

2.5 Make relevant referrals

3. Respond to disruptions to group process from individuals' behaviour

3.1 Confirm group purpose

3.2 Maintain group focus

3.3 Contain disruptive behaviour  using group activities

3.4 Discuss appropriate participation in the group with individuals as necessary

3.5 Assess ability of individual to remain within the group

3.6 Communicate decisions to change group membership with individuals as necessary

3.7 Communicate decisions to change group activities, group membership or group purpose to the group

4. Use supervision

4.1 Identify relevant sources of supervision 

4.2 Establish supervision before group begins

4.3 Create opportunities to evaluate and review with a supervisor the group processes and group content

4.4 Share concerns regarding individual participants behaviour and disclosures with supervisor

REQUIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE 

This describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level required for this unit.

Essential knowledge :

The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

These include:

• Understanding of the group work specialisations and the role of psycho-educational group work
• Current best practice in relation to psycho-educational groups
• Models and tools for facilitating a psycho-educational group
• Appropriate boundaries for psycho-educational groups
• Adult learning principles
• Stages of group development and theories and models for working with groups
• Range of activities/interventions/strategies

Essential skills :

It is critical that the candidate demonstrate the ability to:

• Develop or modify existing psycho-educational programs to suite group members needs
• Work effectively and inclusively with the whole client, considering the full range of possible influences in their lives including personality, culture, language, religion, age, gender, family of origin, education levels, learning abilities, health, disabilities and issues and the interplay and dynamics of each of these
• Implement best practice in psycho-education
• Engage in critical reflection and self-evaluation of work practice including an awareness of self, own values, beliefs and experiences which may impact on work practice
• Facilitate a range of suitable interventions
• Use clear and appropriate communication
• Respond appropriately to group dynamics
• Effectively manage conflict within the group
• Protect self whilst leading/ facilitating the group
• Respond to strong emotional expression in the group
• Use strengths-based approaches for the development of growth and learning for group members
• Use supervision to support work practice including debriefing and reflective work practice

EVIDENCE GUIDE 

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate this unit of competency :

• The individual being assessed must provide evidence of specified essential knowledge as well as skills to effectively deal with disclosures and disruptions when facilitating psycho-educational groups
• Evidence of competency in this unit will need to be assessed over a period of time in order to gather evidence of consistent performance
• This will include contexts applicable to the work environment, such as actual or simulated workplace situations involving a combination of direct, indirect and supplementary forms of evidence
• Assessment must confirm sufficient ability to manage disclosures and disruptions in psycho-educational groups

Access and equity considerations :

• All workers in community services should be aware of access, equity and human rights issues in relation to their own area of work
• All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment
• In recognition of particular issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues, in particular relating to factors impacting on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities

Context of and specific resources for assessment :

• This unit can be assessed independently, however holistic assessment practice with other community services units of competency is encouraged
• Resources required for assessment include access to an appropriate workplace or simulation of realistic workplace setting where assessment can take place

Method of assessment :

• Evidence for assessment of competence may be gathered by appropriate combination of the following:

• demonstration of competency within the working environment through the effective facilitation of psycho-educational groups including managing disclosures and disruptions. as a guide, current international benchmark for psycho-educational group leaders is thirty hours of supervised practice.
• realistic simulations, projects, previous relevant experience or oral questioning on 'what if?' scenarios, case presentations, written assessment
• observation of processes and procedures, oral and/or written questions on essential knowledge and skills and consideration of required attitudes
• where performance is not directly observed and/or is required to be demonstrated over a period of time and/or in a number of locations, any evidence should be authenticated by colleagues, supervisors, clients or other appropriate persons

• The assessment environment should not disadvantage the candidate
• Assessment practices should take into account any relevant language or cultural issues related to Aboriginality, gender or language barriers other than English
• Where the candidate has a disability, reasonable adjustment may be applied during assessment
• Language and literacy demands of the assessment task should not be higher than those of the work role

Related units :

This unit is to be assessed after or in conjunction with the following related units of competency:

• CHCFAM407B Work effectively in relationship work
• CHCGROUP403D Plan and conduct group activities
• CHCGROUP408B Facilitate and review a psycho-educational group

RANGE STATEMENT 

The Range Statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.

Possible reactions may include :

• Display of strong emotions including, grief, guilt, anger, excitement
• Challenging, confrontational and argumentative behaviour
• Withdrawal, disengagement from group and group processes
• Attempts to dominate group processes
• Attempts to sabotage group, undermine group processes

Psycho -educational group includes :

• Structured designs that help participants develop knowledge and skills for coping adaptively with potential or immediate problems, developmental transitions, or life crises
• Participants in a psycho-educational group are able to apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills to current and future life circumstances beyond their experiences in the group
• Participants within a psycho-educational group have the capacity to learn from each other as well as from the facilitator and the program activities
• The outcomes of participation in a psycho-educational group may involve changes in beliefs, values and ideas and will often result in changes to behaviour as a result of these
• The focus for other groups may include:

• task/work group which involves organisation settings for group and team work and where the focus is to complete a task or set of tasks
• group counselling which is a less structured group and involves specifically working with individuals' issues within the group context
• group psychotherapy which is a less structured group that focuses on individual experiences where participants have not had their emotional needs met during childhood and have developed some psychopathology

Alternatives and responses to possible reactions may include :

• Respectful acknowledgement of differences of beliefs, values, opinions and perspectives and individual's rights to these
• Acknowledgement of respective rights and responsibilities and perceptions of all participants
• Relevant principles and practice of conflict resolution are clarified and confirmed and agreement sought to implement these where required
• Offering alternative exercises and / or activities which can be undertaken without threatening the comfort levels of the group participant
• Sensitive and assertive re-focusing of group from individual to group issues and processes
• Linking individual experiences to group outcomes through use of relevant examples
• Shift from whole group to small group, pair or individual activities to redirect energy, diffuse tensions and ensure opportunities for engagement for all participants
• Debriefing of individual outside of the group which may include referral to other services
• Future exclusion from the group in extreme circumstances where continued participation significantly undermines the group outcomes and the participant's needs are clearly unable to be met

Support strategies may include :

• Encouraging the participant to identify when their own personal boundaries for operating comfortably within the group are in danger of being exceeded
• Establishing avenues for support including buddy system within the group, permission to self-select time out from the group either by physically leaving or by engaging in individual activity for example journal work, emotional regulation strategies, relaxation exercises
• Referral to counselling or other support services

Inclusive work practice must include :

• The ability to work effectively and inclusively with the whole client, considering the full range of possible influences in their lives including personality, culture, language, religion, age, gender, family of origin, education levels, learning abilities, health, disabilities and issues and the interplay and dynamics of each of these
• To work inclusively requires the worker to respond respectfully to the whole person demonstrating cultural competence through sensitively valuing each and every person as a whole unique individual

Disclosure may include :

• Child sexual assault
• Separation and divorce
• Adoption
• Sexual assault
• Family domestic violence
• Mandatory reporting
• Experience of violence
• Workplace harassment
• Alcohol and other drug use
• Gambling
• Illness

Phases of the group must include :

• Tuning-in phase
• Beginning phase
• Middle phase
• Termination phase

Group work may include :

• Consideration of relevant group work theory, for example:

• Tuckman
• Lang
• Heron
• Schwartz

Disruptive behaviour may include :

• Angry outburst
• Emotional outburst
• Conflict with other group member
• Conflict with facilitator
• Disagreement with group content
• Disagreement with group purpose
• Disagreement with group activity

Supervision may include :

• Formal and/or informal supervision sessions
• Group supervision
• Telephone supervision
• Peer appraisals (where appropriate levels of experience exist)
• Internal or external supervision
• Journals
• Videotapes of facilitation of groups
• Co-facilitation and reports from these
• Reflecting on practice
• Negotiation of supervision between the supervisor and the supervisee
• Establishment and shared understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the supervision process
• Activities undertaken through the development of an appropriate professional relationship
• Considering the growth of the person, their professional development, gaining of knowledge, skills, attitudes for the further development of their professional practice