MODEL OF INTERVENING IN A TEENAGERS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP

MODEL OF INTERVENING IN A TEENAGERS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP

Goals: giving examples of steps to take while working with groups for the study of a full model of intervening in a teenagers personal development group. The formation of identification skills, planning and approaching the various topics specific of a teenagers group.

Key - concepts: identifying problems, planning the group sessions, performing activities, using methods and techniques appropriate for: setting the trust climate, exerting the communications skills, self-awareness, personal development, understanding the inter-personal differences.

The steps that are made within group meetings are:

Notifying the goals, setting the rules (confidentiality, non-aggressiveness, sincerity, participation), warming up, acquiring feelings of security and trust in the group, sharing personal experiences, personal development (self-awareness self knowledge, increasing self-esteem), understanding and accepting personal differences. Of course, going through these steps (their presence, order etc.) must be related to the group development stage, group type and the group goals, age peculiarities and other features of the group members. In order to illustrate the theoretical and methodological aspects we have been referring to so far, well further present an intervention model within a group of teenagers, a group that aims at the personal development of its members by improving the communication, self-awareness self-knowledge, solving conflicts, increasing self-esteem, valuing the others. Meetings structure the model, each meeting having general and specific goals, a description of the performed activities, the used techniques. The annexes present the exercises that have been practiced.

Meeting No. 1

General goal setting the functional and emotional framework from the performance of the activities and the relation between the leader and the group members.

Specific goals

the leader and the group leader get to mutually know each other

the initial evaluation of the needs and expectations of the group participants

winning the members trust and motivating them in order to participate

formulating the goals and rules related to the group functioning

Performing the activity

the introduction of the groups leader and the explanation of its motivation and goals for the organization of the present teenagers personal development program

the introduction of the group members (name and aspect that each of them deems essential as far he / she is concerned)

the interactive exercise the square (Annex No. 1) in order to facilitate the communication and involving all the group members

setting the goals and rules for the group activity and expressing the leaders and participants mutual expectations

performing a self-knowledge and communication exercise by which a participant is invited to describe himself /herself as one of his / her close friends would do it.

Used methods and techniques

planning specific goals for the group process and supporting the participants to define their useful and concrete goals

suggesting (proving advice and information, guidance and ideas for future behavior)

interactive exercises

Meeting No. 2

General goal improving and practising knowledge and positive reporting skills concerning ones own personality features.

Specific goals

identifying ones own positive and negative features;

developing positive attitudes towards oneself self acceptance and self-esteem, motivation for change.

Performing the activity

practising the interactive exercise the hot chair (Annex No. 2) in order to improve self-knowledge and mutual knowledge. The exercise was followed by free discussions about the impressions and feelings generated by the participation in the game.

filling in the self-esteem questionnaire and, based on it, involving the group in discussions related to the significance of self-esteem, the causes and manifestations of low self-esteem.

filling in the the most interesting thing is me chart (Annex No. 3) in order to improve self-knowledge and highlight ones own positive aspects.

Used methods and techniques

facilitating the communication among the group members

encouraging the participants to explore themselves and communicate openly

reflecting the participants feelings

filling in working charts

interactive exercise

group discussions

Meeting No. 3

General goal knowing and practising the efficient inter-personal communication skills.

Specific goals

becoming aware of the importance of the efficient communication;

knowing the interpersonal communication levels;

identifying the most frequent mistakes in communication and the negative impact of such mistakes on interpersonal relations.

Performing the activity

- group exercise meant to create a relaxed atmosphere and introduce the topic of the communication. A volunteer has received the image of a geometrical figure that he / she tried to describe to the other members of the group using exclusively verbal means (Annex No. 4). They re-drew the figure, using only the verbal indications of the volunteer. At the end of the exercise, by comparing the figures drawn by each participant with the original figure, we could evaluate both the clarity and accuracy of the volunteers speech, as well as the others listening skills.

- the presentation and illustration by the leader, then examples given by the participants of the five main levels of communication stereotype conversation, communication of facts and information, expressing ideas and opinions, communication of feelings and emotions, deep communication.

- role playing by which the illustration of the most frequent communication mistakes has been aimed at. The volunteers were told to exemplify behaviors such as interrupting the interlocutor, avoiding eye contact, boredom, indifference, disapproval, moralizing the other, changing the subject. In the end, the group members discussed the effects that an inappropriate style of communication may have on the other and the feelings they experienced in the said circumstance.

Used methods and techniques

providing information (introducing the communication levels)

exemplification

role playing

Meeting No. 4

General goal knowing and practising the feeling communication skills.

Specific goals

becoming aware of the importance of clearly and directly expressing ones feelings;

identifying the main obstacles in the way of expressing ones feelings;

identifying a variety of emotional states and the concepts that designate them;

practising skills of expressing feelings and emotions.

Performing the activity

- the game the statues of emotions (Annex No.5) by which the volunteers tried to non-verbally (poise, countenance etc.) illustrate emotions or specific states (joy, boredom, fear).

- the identification and critical assessment of the myths related to emotional manifestations in society (for instance:  men never cry ), discussing the main obstacles in the way of communicating ones feelings, as well as the importance of this type of communication.

- practising the communication of feelings and emotions by the vocabulary of emotions game (Annex No.6).

Used methods and techniques

group discussions

raising problems (which of the social myths related to communication are pertinent and which are false, is revealing one s feelings appropriate or not?)

modeling (proving the desirable models of emotional communication).

Meeting No. 5

General goal knowing and practising the assertive communication skills.

Specific goals

knowing the significance of the  assertiveness  and  assertive communication  concepts;

knowing and practising the formulation of assertive, passive or aggressive answers.

Performing the activity

each participant fills in the assertiveness questionnaire (Annex No.7)

the leader explains the concepts of assertiveness and assertive communication

the leader explains and illustrates the three answering means: passive, aggressive, and assertive

group discussions based on the results obtained in the assertiveness questionnaire and the  assertive rights  form  (Annex No.8)

the participants give examples of passive, aggressive and assertive answers for various circumstances (Annex No. 9).

Used methods and techniques

providing information

filling in working charts (the assertiveness questionnaire)

modeling (the leader illustrates assertive communication)

group comments and debates based on a given text (assertive rights)

Meeting No. 6

General goal knowing ones own system of values and the way it influences ones personal life.

Specific goals

knowing the conceptual and practical meaning of the system of values;

identifying the major values of each individual;

identifying and evaluating the values promoted in the current Romanian society;

comparing the individual values to the socially promoted values.

Performing the activity

the Wonder Worker interactive exercise (Annex No.10) in order to identify the priority values of each member, and also to encourage debates, argumentations and negotiations within groups. The exercise ends by conclusions highlighted the common points and differences of opinion, and also the difficulty of the negotiation process and compromise among the participants;

clarifying the concepts of  value  and  personal system of values  by group discussions;

filling in the  Scale of Values  chart (Annex No.11) in order to achieve a comparison of the individual values with those of the group of friends and then the values of the society in general. This exercise is followed by the discussions caused by the group members concerning the confusions or contradictions within their own system of values and the need of the compromise.

Used methods and techniques

filling in working charts

interactive exercises

group debates

Meeting No. 7

General goal rendering the group members aware and responsible in connection with the personal system of social relations.

Specific goals

knowing and evaluating ones own social relationship network and its impact on ones personal life;

identifying the personal roles and responsibilities within the social network.

Performing the activity

formation of the social atom of each participant (Annex No. 12) in order to self evaluate the complexity and quality of the social interactions, points of support, as well as the dissatisfaction or conflict sources;

defining and discussing the concept of social role

filling in the  The Others and I  chart (Annex No.13) and, based on this exercise, discussing the social roles of the teens, as well as the rules and responsibilities deriving from them.

Used methods and techniques

filling in working charts

group debates

Meeting No. 8

General goal knowing the appropriate means to relate to ones own sexual identity and as to the members of the opposite sex.

Specific goals

encouraging the attitudes for the evaluation and valorization of ones own physical, psychical and behavior features determined by the gender identity;

recognizing and valorizing the physical, psychical and behavior differences between sexes;

knowing and exerting the optimum communication skills with the members of the opposite sex.

Performing the activity

interactive exercise: the participants were divided into four subgroups depending on their sex (girl and boy groups) and each group has been assigned a specific task of the type List the positive aspects of the feminine nature . Then, a volunteer of each group presented with arguments the conclusions of his/her group, followed by debates and counterarguments of all the participants.

Filling in the  Sex-Related Roles  chart (Annex No.14) and group debates based on it.

The presentation by the group leader of the physical, psychical, emotional and behavior aspects specific to each sex, highlighting the worth of each of them and the complementarity between them.

Used methods and techniques

- interactive exercise

filling in a working chart

- providing information

- group debates

Meeting No. 9

General goal knowing and improving the teens relating skills in their families.

Specific goals

identifying and evaluating the individual needs and expectations concerning the relation to the family;

qualitatively evaluating their own relations to each of the family members;

identifying the personal roles and responsibilities within the family;

identifying and exerting the efficient communication skills as a means to prevent and solve family conflicts.

Performing the activity

filling in a list with the people whom the participants may rely on in various situations (Annex No.15) and the reevaluation of the social atom achieved in a prior meeting in order to become aware of the importance of the family relations within the social system of each participant.

interactive exercise the participants have been split into subgroups and have fulfilled tasks such as: a list of expectations deemed legitimate by the teen from his / her family, a list of expectations deemed legitimate by the family from the teen or a list of suggestions for the improvement of the communication between teens and parents. The following group debates concerned the conflict between generations, as well as the rules and responsibilities that could define an optimum relation of teens to their families.

Used methods and techniques

- filling in charts

- group debates

- brainstorming for making lists of suggestions and expectations as complex as possible.

Meeting No. 10

General goal improving the interpersonal conflict prevention and solving skills.

Specific goals

identifying and evaluating the sources and consequences of the conflict in ones personal life;

identifying and evaluating the conflict prevention and solving strategies.

Performing the activity

clarifying the notion of conflict

evaluating the conflict related social myths based on a material prepare by the leader (Annex No.16)

interactive exercise: the participants were split in two subgroups. The specific tasks consisted of identifying the positive and negative effects of conflicts, respectively the identification of the appropriate means for the prevention and overcoming conflicts.

Used methods and techniques

providing information

group discussions

brainstorming (within subgroups, to identify the effects of the conflict or decisive strategies)

Meeting No. 11

General goal knowing and evaluating the individual aspirations in terms of social and professional achievement.

Specific goals

becoming aware of ones self-achievement individual potential: skills, knowledge, resources;

knowing and evaluating ones own social and professional achievement aspirations;

knowing and evaluating the existing alternatives and chances depending on the current social context;

stimulating the individual motivation and responsibility in view of self-achievement.

Performing the activity

performing a group exercise by which each participant is required to describe himself/herself as he /s he imagines to be in 2015. The exercise aims at knowing and expressing ones expectations in relation to his / her own future.

Filling in the Desired Life Style chart (Annex No.17) by which the group members may become aware of the essential aspects that their future career must satisfy;

Filling in the My Future Job chart (Annex No.18). Based on the two working sheets, the participants evaluated the compatibility between the desired life style and their dream career. Also, the discussions concerned the information that the teens have as to the mentioned professions, their motivation for this option, as well as the necessary skills and training.

Used methods and techniques

filling in working charts

interactive exercises

self-revealing (telling ones own experiences and feelings in connection with their career choice and training)

encouraging the communication and openness within the group

Meeting No. 12

General goal completing the relationship and the group activity.

Specific goals

evaluating the progress in terms of accumulating knowledge and developing practical skills of relating to people in connection to the preset goals;

evaluating in general the group meetings in terms of involvement and communication among the members of the group and the emotional environment;

motivating the participants to use the acquired knowledge and skills in view of personal development and self-achievement.

Performing the activity

filling in a chart for the evaluation of the group activity (Annex No. 19)

group discussions in view of evaluating the registered progress by comparing them to the preset goals

exercise aiming at the self knowledge and communication capacity of the members and the relaxation of the atmosphere: participants are offered candy, and at the end of the meeting they were challenged to approximate how many candies they had got and then describe the same number of positive aspects specific to themselves.

Used methods and techniques

filling in working charts

group discussions

encouraging the participants to communicate their feelings

evaluation

ending.

ANNEXES

Annex No. 1 The Square

This exercise facilitates communication among you. For that, look for two colleagues who should have the features in each square below.

Annex No. 2 The hot chair

This exercise is one of mutual and self-knowledge.

Stage 1: A space where the stage will be is chosen and a space is chosen for the viewers. On the stage there is a chair, and in the auditory as many chairs as persons in the group.

Stage 2: Each person will occupy, at a given moment during the exercise the chair on the stage when the group members will try in turn to characterize (qualities and flaws) of the person on the stage chair.

Stage 3: Each member will share how he / she felt when on he / she was stage, how easy it was to hear about his / her personal qualities and flaws, which of them he / she agreed with or not, how easy it was to describe the others, to find qualities and flaws that should reflect the exact image he / she has about the others.

Annex No. 3 The most interesting thing is me!

Name . Things that I do not like:

Age ..

Height ..

Color of the eyes ..

Color of the hair..

Birth date.

What I like: I do these things best:

my favorite food

my favorite colors

..

my favorite sport 

..

my favorite subjects

Annex No. 4

Annex No. 5 The statues of emotions

The group leader prepares several pieces of hard paper, an emotion is written on each of them. Several volunteers may have the role of a sculptor or a statue. The sculptors draw a piece of paper each, then try to model the  statue  depending on the emotion it has to stand for (countenance, poise etc.). The other members of the group must identify and name the emotion.

Annex No. 6 The vocabulary of emotions

Each teenager chooses a piece of hard paper and tries to express the emotion written down on it by a behavior. The other participants must identify and name the emotion.

Annex No. 7 Assertiveness Form

Annex No. 8 Assertive Rights

The right to decide what your personal goals and priorities are.

The right to have values, convictions and own opinions.

The right not to justify myself and give explanations about your life.

The right to tell other how youd like them to behave towards you.

The right to express yourself without hurting the other.

The right to say NO, I DONT KNOW, I DONT UNDERSTAND or I AM NOT INTERESTED.

The right to ask for information and help.

The right to make mistakes and change your mind.

The right to be accepted as imperfect.

The right to sometimes have performances lower than your potential.

The right to be friend with people who make you feel comfortable.

The right to change your friends.

The right to live your life as you wish.

Annex No. 9 Assertive Communication Exercise

The exercise is practiced per groups of 3 - 4 teens. Each group receives a message and must formulate and note down passive, aggressive and assertive answers to that message, then each group presents their responses.

Examples of messages:

Your friend smokes and asks you to smoke with him.

You bought a favorite blouse and notice that your friend wears it without asking first.

You agreed to go with your colleagues to a film on a certain date and at a certain hour, but meantime they changed the date and time without letting you know. You were there at the initially agreed date and waited for nothing. What do you do?

Passive answer:..

Aggressive answer:.

Assertive answer:..

Annex No. 10 The Wonder Workers

Goal of the exercise: the identification of the material and physical features that are important to the participants

Step 1: explaining the goal of the exercise

Step 2: the leader hands out a list of the  wonder workers

Step 3: the participants are asked to make the four choices, which they are individually entitled to

Step 4: groups of 4 -5 participants are formed and each group reaches consensus, selecting four wonder workers

Step 5: after having reached a conclusion, a representative presents the choice and the reasons for the selection

Step 6: the participants discuss the feelings generated by this exercise; are there people who disagree with the choice of the group? Has this exercise helped them to determine what is important in their lives?

The following group of  wonder workers  have gathered together and generously decided to offer four of the following possible services. Whatever you choose, youll be 100% satisfied! It is up to you to choose the four services that wish the most!

Dr. Carl Lewis: A famous athlete may make you become a professional sportsman in any sport. If you choose a well-paid sport, hell guarantee fame and fortune to you.

Dr. Joshua Mathuselah: Guarantees a long life, over 300 years, a slow aging process, for instance, at the age of 100 youll look 25.

Dr. Don Juan: A sexuality expert guarantees a perfect sex life. Whenever you wish for it, youll be able to get to the  paradise of sex  without being criticized, without problems or diseases etc.

Dr. Pop Ularity Guarantees that youll always have close honest and sincere friends who always enjoy being around you.

Dr. Carl Rogers: Guarantees a happy family life together with your parents and your children.

Dr. Marlyn Monroe: Guarantees a successful film career. Youll receive the Oscar and act in several successful films.

Dr. Nicolae Titulescu: Guarantees youll become the Secretary General of the UNO. Although youll have many problems to solve, youll make history as one of the greatest men of politics.

Dr. Cristian Bernard: A famous plastic surgeon, guarantees that youll look just as you like all your life. You can have the height, weight, color, and hair etc., everything that you may wish for physically speaking.

Dr. Acu P. Uncture: A medical expert guarantees perfect health and protection against any diseases or accidents all your life.

Dr. Albert Einstein: Guarantees creativity and intelligence. Youll make several epoch scientific discoveries that the entire mankind wil benefit from.

Dr. Howard Huges: A multimillionaire will give you the ability to earn fantastic amounts of money; youll become one of the wealthiest persons in the world.

Dr. Sigi. Freud: a famous psychiatrist will guarantee your freedom from emotional problems, good self-esteem, and perfect mental health.

Dr. John the Baptizer: A worldwide famous spiritual leader, guarantees life within the limits of religious moral. Also, if there is heaven, be sure there a place reserved for you there.

Dr. Jon Dewey: A famous educator, guarantees that youll graduate from all schools you wish with great honors; after graduation, youll have a well paid job and the capacity to always think rationally.

Annex No. 11 The Scale of Values

Place in the order of their importance (from the most important to the least important) the value below. What is the most important value to you? On the second column order the values, as your best friend would do.

Annex No. 12 The Social Atom

Annex No. 13 The Others and I

Annex No. 14 Sex-Related Roles

Read each sentence and decide what you think about it. Circle the number that corresponds to your opinions:

1 I completely agree, 2 I partially agree, 3 uncertain, 4 I partially disagree, 5 I completely disagree

Annex No. 15 List of persons you may rely on in various situations

Annex No. 16 Myths about Conflicts

1. The conflict solves by itself in time.

2. Taking a problem or a dispute in your hands is always unpleasant.

2.The conflict is always negative and destructive.

4.The conflict is not solved but by a compromise, somebody has to lose.

5. To have a conflict is a sign of weakness / vulnerability.

Annex No. 17 The desired life style

This questionnaire is meant to help you identify the aspects of the life style you wish for by choosing a career. Tackle the importance that you give to each aspect and try to identify if the life style that youd like to have is compatible with the career you go in for.

Annex No. 18 MY Future Job

Write below the professions we take into account when thinking about your future:

Annex No. 19 Evaluation Chart

Analyze your experience within this group and fill in the square below:

Improving ones image about oneself

Exercise: Ones image of oneself some others image of you

The purpose of the following exercise is that of developing self knowledge by means of the feedback received from people around you, comparing the image you had of yourself with the image the ones in the group have of you, confronting the real image with the assumed one.

The social worker introduces shortly the importance of one image about oneself, of the image others have formed of it, as well as the image one has about the image others supposedly have about it, and the importance of these images for self-knowledge.

Each member of the group fill s in a list of proposal of qualities about oneself, in response to the question How do I see myself?

Also, each member of the group fills in a list of proposals in response to the question: How do the people in the group see me?

With the following step, for each member of the group someone fills in a list of proposals in response to the question: How do I see you? (The person filling in may be your neighbor or a partner from prior exercises etc.) If the group is not too big, it may be organized so that each member of the group should receive two or several evaluations.

This time each of them writes down on the evaluation list the data on the proposal list done by himself/herself and by his/her colleagues. Then, by the aid of the social worker, he / she computes the arithmetical average of each column. BY comparing the arithmetical averages, the partial data respectively, each of them may analyze the differences that occur in the three evaluations, and similarities among hem respectively.

The analysis of the data may be completed with processing in pairs or small groups. (In this case the exercise shall be organized so that groups should be formed of the ones who filled in the lists of proposals about themselves.)

Proposal list:

Underline what you find appropriate:

1. How do I see myself?
2. How do my group mates see me?
3. How do I see you? (Who.. Whom.. )

At every pair of words circle the appropriate number:

active 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 passive

sincere 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 insincere

lovable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 repulsive

friendly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 unfriendly

good-willed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ill-willed

experienced 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 inexperienced

oriented 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 disoriented

well-mannered 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 rude

pleasant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 sulky

self-possessed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 uncertain

courageous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 coward

funny 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 boring

attractive 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 unattractive

honest 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 dishonest

important 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 insignifiant

sensitive 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 insensitive

Evaluation list

Pairs of words 1.worth 2. worth 3. worth

Active - passive

sincere - insincere

lovable - repulsive

friendly - unfriendly

good-willed - ill-willed

experienced - inexperienced

oriented - disoriented

well-mannered - rude

pleasant - sulky

self-possessed - uncertain

courageous - coward

funny - boring

attractive - unattractive

honest - dishonest

important - insignificant

sensitive - insensitive

Exercise: This is how we see you

The purpose of this interactive exercise is signaling and receiving signals concerning the physical, external, easily noticed aspects of the group members and the examination of certain peculiarities of the personal observations.

The social worker asks the children to form pairs of as many as they prefer. He / she draws up a list of the physical peculiarities and hand one over to each group.

The pairs will arrange so that they should not disturb, then each component of the pairs fills in the list of the physical features of his / her pair. Their attention will be drawn to the fact that those features between parentheses are as a matter of orientation: everyone is free to put down their opinion, use features they think important.

The next step, the pairs exchange the lists and clarify the possible questions that may come up. After that, the group gathers again, comment on the exercise first in pairs, then the general conclusions of the entire exercise.

List of physical features:

Circle the features the are representative of your partner.

Make any remark on what you think is correct about your pair.

1. Hair (color, length, curly, smooth, bun, hairstyle).

2. Face hair (beard, goatee, moustache)

3. Eye brow (right, curved, fluffy, thin, waxed)

4. Eye (color, form, pupil distance)

5. Glasses, lenses, sun glass.

6. Uncontested need to wear glass (strabismus, frequent blinking etc.)

7. Chin (normal, prognathism, retrognathism)

8. Nose (big, small, curved, straight, wide, narrow)

9. Lips (thick, thin, sensual, open, closed, color, cruelty)

10. Teeth (state, size, color)

11. Ear (large, small, prominent, wide, size of lobe)

12. Neck (thin, thick, long, short)

13. Race (black, white, Asian etc.)
14. Skin (color, structure, scars, signs., tattoos)
15. Hands (the aspect of the fingers, curved, straight, hairy)

16. Nails (length, state, hygiene)

17. Foot (small, big, aspect of the shoes)

18. Body structure (heavy, thin, muscled, normal, beautiful etc.)

19. Height (normal, tall, short)

20. Weight (normal, fat, thin)

21. Obvious diseases, allergies.

22. Age.

23. Clothing:

Cap or hat long shirt socks, stockings

jacket, coat shirt, blouse jewelry or watch bra skirt or trousers cosmetics

undergarment shoes perfume, spray

24. Personal features

25. General aspect.

The characterized person: The characterizing person: