Leading a group of individuals who have suffered trauma can be difficult because the shared stories may result in further trauma to some of the members. Assessing the members and deciding how they will introduce themselves at the first meeting can be a difficult task. Helping these members begin the group therapy process is the first step in facilitating the group.

For this Discussion, watch the video of the “Levy” group session.

By Day 3

Post your evaluation of the group’s social worker’s leadership skills, using at least two items from each of the three categories found in the Toseland & Rivas (2017) piece (facilitation of group processes, data gathering and assessment, and action). Suggest another way the social worker might have initiated the group conversation.

Required Readings

Toseland, R. W., & Rivas, R. F. (2017). An introduction to group work practice (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Chapter 4, “Leadership” (pp. 97-134)
Chapter 5, “Leadership and Diversity”

Westwood, M. J., McLean, H., Cave, D., Borgen, W., & Slakov, P. (2010). Coming home: A group-based approach for assisting military veterans in transition. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 35(1), 44–68.

Required Media

Laureate Education. (Producer). (2013d). Levy (Episode 6) [Video file]. In Sessions. Baltimore, MD: Producer. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 4 minutes.

Levy Family Episode 6 Program Transcript FEMALE SPEAKER: I know three of you did tours of duty in Iraq, and the others in Afghanistan. So I just wanted to follow up on that, talk about how you're adjusting. [MUSIC PLAYING] MALE SPEAKER 1: You say adjust to, but there's no adjustment. You're just thrown back into your life like you're supposed to pick up where you left off, but that's a joke. Two years ago, I was dug in, pinned down by 50 Cal sniper fire, just praying the chopper would get me out alive. Now, the hardest part of my day is standing in the grocery store trying to decide if I want yellow or brown mustard  with my hot dogs.  JAKE: Nah, two six packs or a case.  FEMALE SPEAKER: You find that you drink more than you used to?  JAKE: Why not ask him if he finds he's eating more hot dogs than he used to?  BILL: You know why?  JAKE: Why is that? Oh great, Buddha.  BILL: Because I've been where you are. You talk about booze like it's some joke,  but nobody's laughing. You can't get adjusted to anything when you're trying to  get loaded. JAKE: I guess you won't be joining me for a drink at the bar later. I was going to  buy. FEMALE SPEAKER: No, that's a good point, Bill. Sometimes we do things to  avoid dealing with unpleasant feelings, like adjusting to life back at home.  JAKE: What do you know about it? Give me a break. Back off, or I'll make you.  BILL: I drink too much too. But I've had enough of you mouthing off.  JAKE: My wife's had enough of me too. She's the reason I'm here. We never used to fight. I never used to drink so much, but now I can't stop myself from  doing either.  FEMALE SPEAKER: So why do you drink too much?  ©2013 Laureate Education, Inc. 1                  Levy Family Episode 6 BILL: It's the only way I can shut it out, images of what I saw over there, horrible things that no one should ever have to see. I wake up some nights and I hear mortar rounds coming in. And I reach for my helmet and my weapon, but they're not there. So I freak out. And then I see pretty curtains. TV'S on. And then I remember I'm at home. I realize I'm not going to get blown up after all. FEMALE SPEAKER: Thanks for sharing, Jake. You make a good point. It can seem a lot easier to self medicate rather than face the fears, the bad memories that we have. So what do you think? What are some other things, maybe, you do to avoid the challenge to being a civilian again?