Describe the three types of psychoeducational groups. What is their purpose and what is distinctive about each?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Psychoeducational groups can be classified by their primary purpose: education, skills training, or self-understanding/self-knowledge.

Education groups have as a primary purpose the learning of new material through lecture, discussion, observation, or participation (Burnes, & Hovanesian, 2017). The emphasis is primarily cognitive, with the leader acting as a teacher, disseminating new information as ideas, concepts, or facts.

Skills-training groups have a strong experiential component. Participants are challenged to practice new skills in the group setting while the leader models the desired skills and structures the experiences to emphasize mastery. Feedback is included as a component of the training (Tchanturia, Doris, & Fleming, 2014).

Self-understanding/self-knowledge groups may resemble counseling groups, but they differ by deemphasizing self-disclosure, working through resistances, or exploring past relationships. The understanding and knowledge gained are expected to reassure the members, to give them feedback on the impact of their behavior on others, or to build self-confidence (Burnes, & Hovanesian, 2017).