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Brian's Prompt: Share a picture or GIF representative of your feeling of leading therapy groups to deepen the focus on individuals.

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Deepening the Focus is like shining a spotlight on people and knowing when to move it to the next person and when to keep it on just one. - Scott Slayback

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The group leader is aware of the focus of the group and whether to hold, deepen or shift the focus.

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Creating a safe space for individuals to feel that they can open up and that each person has the opportunity to share their personal experiences. Once the trust in one another is established it won't feel intimidating to deepen the focus on any one person. Corrie Bradley

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Season 8 Group GIF by THE NEXT STEP - Find & Share on GIPHY

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dance, the next step, teen drama, drama, jiley

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The group leader is encouraging members to go deeper. He is reading an exercise that will deepen the focus of the group.

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A skillful group leader can engage deeply and meaningfully with a single individual by either filling their cup or drawing out as appropriate. When this is done with relevance to the purpose of the group or the topic at hand, the other members remain engaged and benefit from the one on one interaction.

-Talmage Trujillo-

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Not sure this is the best pic to get the message across, but I feel like it represents unity and support, which I feel are important needs of a group member who is being focused on.

And to keep in line with Mr. Powers musically themed modules, here are some lyrics that I feel sum up my feelings about group work focusing on individuals.

Limelight by RUSH:

Living in the limelight, the universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Those who wish to be, must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation, the underlying theme

Kris Wallace

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I chose this GIF to showcase how deepening the focus on individuals can provide someone the space to express themselves through the support of the group that they may not even have realized they needed.

-Jazmyn Saunders

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This gif represents my feelings towards deepening group with individuals as there's a lot of challenges with this approach. It can make the clients uncomfortable but they may appreciate the support.

- Noah Rodriguez

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As a leader in order to deepen the focus on individuals, I would include all members and make sure they feel comfortable and are safe to go to that deeper place.

-Tenea Lindsay-Sanders

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My GIF is a little different than the others on the board, but watching the video with such good examples of this concept, my first reaction is a feeling of juggling a lot of different balls. The leaders are focusing on the individual, but also keeping the entire group involved and remembering things that were previously said. It is so amazing, but also feels intimidating for me. I want to include two gifs, one that is successful juggling that I aspire to and one that is struggling with too many objects, which is how I feel about it right now.

Kat

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I think about the high school setting and the different challenges that our adolescents face on a daily basis. I hope to be able to create a trusting and welcoming environment to where students are able to be vulnerable and take risks amongst one another. I believe a leader is able to establish a healthy working relationship amongst those members, and allow the opportunity for members of the group to establish relationships amongst themselves.

-Jesus Cardenas

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This image represents to me the facilitator’s role in managing the group as a whole while also attending to individual needs. There is an ebb and flow with group discussions and it is the facilitator’s role to help ensure the direction of the conversation is moving in a productive way. Whether this be deeper meaning, emotion, connection, etc.

-Robert Joe

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This photo shows my feelings regarding facilitating a group and deepening the focus on individuals. Group work can be intimidating for a client and I feel honored to be given the opportunity to be able to have others trust me to lead them through the deep healing work that can occur with in group therapy. Ultimately group work can be a transformative journey for the group and individuals within the group - just like the journey of the butterfly.

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The thought of leading a group of students has me so excited. It is such a great way to help students link their feelings. However, I am petrified and I am going to mess it up and create a big mess!!! -Linda Hagans

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When I visualize what deepening the focus looks like when leading a group, I think of breaking the water line and going beneath the surface of the individual to a more meaningful place of purpose. I think about how much people carry beneath the surface and I view deepening the focus as opening the door to explore feelings, themes, and ideas that are often more intense.

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This is more representative of how I feel about deepening the focus with an individual within the group. More on this in my discussion post!

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I chose an image of a forest canopy. What we see on the surface is only a hint of the teaming life and activity that is happening below. More on the discussion post. - Michael Carnahan

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My GIF represents some of my feelings about leading therapy groups to deepen the focus on individuals. Here we see the focus in on an individual to process feelings, challenge cognitive distortions/problematic behaviors, and find clarity/meaning/growth. -Melissa Vargas

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Lisa Simpson Fighting GIF by The Simpsons - Find & Share on GIPHY

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Discover & share this Animated GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.

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Focusing on an individual requires balance and careful attention to where you are and where you are going. The risk is falling too far to one side or the other: getting too involved in an individual therapy session and losing sight of the group or not going deep enough to really discover some new experience or insight for the individual

-Johnny Checton

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I think this image represents what happens when we slow down and take time to focus on an individual during group therapy. I find that by creating safety in our group it allows the individual freedom to let the feelings go that have been weighing them down and they did not feel safe approaching. When done well this can help an individual feel seen, heard and not alone with their internal battle. This is very powerful connection for all group members and leads to deepening of the group connection and release of emotions for all members.