Member Functions and Possible Problems A central role of members at this time is to recognize and deal with the many forms of defensiveness. These
Stage 5: Final Stage—Consolidation and Termination
One of the group leadership skills that is especially important as a group evolves and is moving toward a fi nal stage is the capacity to assist members in transferring what they have learned in the group to their outside envi- ronments. During each stage of the group, participants are applying lessons
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learned in the sessions to their daily lives. The consolidation of this learning takes on special meaning as a group moves toward termination; this is a time for summarizing, pulling together loose ends, and integrating and interpret- ing the group experience. Joyce, Piper, Orgrodniczuk, and Klein (2007) identify the following as essential tasks to address during the termination phase of group therapy:
• Review and reinforce changes made by each of the members of the group.
• Assist members in reexamining their relationship with the group leader and other group members.
• Help participants learn how to face future challenges with the tools they acquired in the group.
I see the initial and fi nal stages as the most decisive times in the group’s life history. If the initial phase is effective, the participants get to know one an- other and establish their own identities in the group. An atmosphere of trust develops, and the groundwork is laid for later intensive work. Throughout the life of a group, the members are engaging in the cognitive work necessary to make decisions regarding what they are learning about themselves and oth- ers. As a group evolves into its fi nal stage, cognitive work takes on particular importance, as well as exploring feelings associated with endings. To maximize the impact of the group experience, participants need to conceptualize what they learned, how they learned it, and what they will do about applying their insights to situations once the group ends. If the fi nal phase is handled poorly by the group leader, the chances that the members will be able to use what they have learned are greatly reduced. Worse yet, members can be left with unresolved issues and without any direction for how to bring these issues to closure.
It is essential that termination issues be brought up early in the course of a group’s history. In every beginning the end is always a reality, and mem- bers need periodic reminders that their group will eventually end. Accord- ing to Mangione, Forti, and Iacuzzi (2007), endings in a therapeutic group are frequently emotionally charged and complex events. Rutan, Stone, and Shay (2007) state that termination often evokes emotional reactions pertaining to death and mortality, separation and abandonment, and hopes for a new begin- ning. Leaders have the task of facilitating a discussion of the emotional aspects associated with termination.
As a group leader, unless you recognize your own feelings about termina- tion and are able to deal with them constructively, you are in no position to help members deal with their separation issues. Mangione and colleagues (2007) maintain that group workers need to be aware of their personal limita- tions pertaining to endings or loss if they expect to act ethically and effectively when assisting members at this stage of the group experience. It may be that you fi nd endings diffi cult, for a variety of reasons, which will likely mean that you will not facilitate members’ expressions of feelings about endings.
Avoiding acknowledging a group’s completion may refl ect an unconscious desire on the part of the leader or members not to deal with the role that end- ings play in their lives. I have found that many people have had negative expe- riences with endings in their personal relationships. Frequently, people leave us with the assurance they will keep in contact, yet many of them fade away in spite of our efforts to keep in touch. Some of us have friends and relatives who
LATER STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A GROUP
111 have ended a relationship with anger, leaving us with unfi nished business.
In our everyday lives, we often lack the modeling for dealing effectively with termination, which is the reason that doing so becomes especially important in group counseling. When termination is not dealt with, the group misses an opportunity to explore an area about which many members have profound feelings. Even more important, much of what clients take away from a group is likely to be lost and forgotten if they do not make a sustained effort to review and make sense of the specifi cs of work they have done. Dealing with termina- tion is essential for all types of groups, whatever their duration.
There is a danger that as group members become aware that the end of the group is nearing they will isolate themselves so that they do not have to deal with the anxiety that accompanies separation. Work generally tapers off, and new issues are rarely raised. If members are allowed to distance themselves too much, they will fail to examine the possible effects of their group experi- ence on their out-of-group behavior. It is crucial that the leader helps the par- ticipants put into meaningful perspective what has occurred in the group.
EFFECTIVE WAYS OF TERMINATING A GROUP
This section deals with ways of terminating the group experience by explor- ing questions such as these: How can members best complete any unfi nished business? How can members be taught, as they leave the group, to carry what they have learned with them and to use it to deal more effectively with the demands of their daily existence? What are the relevant issues and activi- ties in the closing phases of a group? Because of space limitations, most of my discussion focuses on the termination of a closed group; that is, a group that consists of the same members throughout its life and whose termination date has been decided in advance. Issues pertaining to termination are given brief coverage here; for a more comprehensive treatment of tasks associated with termination in psychotherapy, see Joyce, Piper, Orgrodniczuk, and Klein (2007).
Dealing With Feelings
During the fi nal stages of the group, it is a good prac- tice for the leader to remind members that there are only a few sessions re- maining. This allows members to prepare themselves for termination and to achieve successful closure of the group experience. Members need help in fac- ing the reality that their group will soon end. Feelings about separation, which often take the form of avoidance or denial, need to be fully explored. It is the leader’s job to facilitate an open discussion of the feelings of loss and sadness that accompany the eventual termination of an intense and highly meaningful experience. The members can be helped to face separation by the leader’s dis- closure of his or her own feelings about terminating the group.During the initial phase, members are often asked to express their fears of entering fully into the group. Now, members should be encouraged to share their fears or concerns about leaving the group and having to face day-to-day realities without the group’s support. It is not uncommon for members to say that they have developed genuine bonds of intimacy and have found a trust- ing and safe place where they can be themselves without fear of rejection.
They may dread the prospect of being deprived of this intimacy and sup- port. Also common are concerns of not being able to be so trusting and open with people outside the group. One of your leadership tasks is to remind the
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participants that if their group is special—close, caring, and supportive—it is because the members made the choice and did the work together. Therefore, they can make similar choices and commitments, and be equally successful, in their relationships outside the group. This “boost of confi dence” is not in- tended to deny the sense of loss and the sadness that may accompany the end- ing of a group. On the contrary, mourning the separation can be an enriching experience if the members of the group are encouraged to fully express their feelings of loss and anxiety.