We suggest you browse these articles for more ideas on how to set effective goals with your group therapy clients-this article on Goal-setting in Counselling and Therapy is a great place to start.
About Your Partner
This activity can be an excellent icebreaker for couples therapy groups. In addition, it can help them learn more about themselves and their partner.
The instructions are for the couple to simply take turns asking each other a question from each section below, or ask them all if they want a challenge or believe they have the right answers.
- Fun and Games (for example: Is there a TV show your partner is currently loving?)
- The Future (for example: How does your partner describe their ideal life?)
- You and Me (for example: Can you describe a time when your partner was proud of your relationship?)
- Other People (for instance: Apart from you, who can your partner discuss their difficulties with?)
- Careers (for example: How does their usual workday look, from start to finish?)
- Feelings (for example: How does your partner unwind at the end of a long day?)
Using these questions as a guide, couples can work through the activity together as a bonding activity. They can discover more about one another, reflect on past positive events, and share their hopes for a shared future.
If the couples are comfortable with this idea, they can share out to the group on something they learned about their partner or a fun memory they recalled together.
Two Truths and a Lie
This activity is a great icebreaker but is also fun to do with group members that are already familiar with one another. It allows participants to share something about themselves, use their creativity and imagination to come up with a convincing lie, and learn interesting things about the other group members.
To lead tastebuds cleveland ohio a group through this activity, instruct all group members to take a few minutes to think about interesting aspects of their life. Give them five minutes or so to write down three “facts” about them, two of which are true and one of which is a lie.
Then, have the group members take turns reading their two truths and a lie, and let the other group members guess which ones are true and which one is a lie.
This activity can spark some great discussion and encourage positive social interaction between group members, so make sure not to cut it off too early.
Mindful Speaking
This group therapy exercise focuses on communication and mindfulness skills in participants and is a great general activity for all types of therapy. Cultivating an awareness of mindful speaking can be an effective way to set the tone for couples group therapy, where emotions management is the focus, or even when working with families.
First, as a therapist and facilitator, you will inform the group about the rationale for a Mindful Speaking exercise-its benefits in relation to whatever your session concerns, and how it can be broken down into three steps. Briefly, these are:
- Slowing down and bringing yourself into the current moment.
- Checking in with what you’re going to say, both in a rational and an emotional sense.
- Checking back in after speaking, tuning your awareness into the impact of your chosen words on yourself and on others.
Next, invite the group to pair off-one will take on a speaker role and the other will listen. The participant who is in a speaker role first can then pick a theme they’d like to talk about for a timed period of three minutes. Anything from their favorite vacation ever to their kids or similar.