Respond to colleagues by explaining whether you agree or disagree that the techniques identified by your colleague will result in successful termination. Identify potential consequences of early termination for families and groups.

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My Response

Treatment groups, as with most other groups, tend to have a beginning and end date. Family sessions have more flexibility in that if the family is not ready for termination, sessions can continue. Termination can be more difficult with treatment groups due to relationships that may have been formed with other group members (Toseland & Rivas, 2017). Members of the group may also feel like they have not progressed as far as they would like to before the group ends.

In family sessions, termination is only between the family and the worker. There may still be a feeling of loss due to no longer seeing or speaking to the worker on a regular basis; however, the loss is only one person compared to an entire group of individuals. Family sessions are also more flexible in that if a member feels termination is happening too soon, the worker may be able to extend sessions for a while. In a group setting, extending the life of the group (sessions) is often not possible.

To evaluate the readiness of termination for both family and group sessions, the worker can use four types of evaluation techniques: planning, monitoring, developing, and effectiveness and efficiency (Toseland & Rivas, 2017). The evaluation techniques mentioned above would start when the group initially starts and keep going until the group or family session is terminated. Planning takes place in the initial stages of the group or family session. The worker would come up with a treatment plan and end goal for the group or family. Monitoring takes place throughout the treatment process; the worker continuously monitors to check the progress of the group or family. The process would be similar in both family sessions and treatment groups; however, the main difference would be that the worker would need to make changes in the group while keeping the same end date, whereas the worker could possibly extend the sessions with the family.

The techniques that I would utilize to determine the treatment group for termination and family sessions are ongoing open communication as well as a questionnaire of some sort. It is important for termination to be brought up in the first session (Toseland & Rivas, 2017). Bringing up termination at the very beginning gives the family or group members clear expectations on what to expect and when they should expect it. By keeping open communication, I can get continuous feedback from the family or group so that I know where everyone stands throughout treatment. A questionnaire would assist me in determining if the family session is ready to terminate or needs to continue. For the treatment group, a questionnaire could assist the worker in knowing what needs to be addressed in the immediate future as well as in future groups.

Resources:

Toseland, R. W., & Rivas, R. F. (2017). An introduction to group work practice (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson

Teacher Response to my response

Great work identifying some indicators that families/individuals may be ready to discharge. One that always stuck out to me within group settings was missing sessions. Oftentimes when I would bring this to their attention, group members would explain that though they probably are ready to discharge from the group, they liked the 'safety net' of the group and wanted to keep attending. What would your response be to a statement like this? Do you think your response would differ with a group vs a family (as you mentioned families in your

Colleagues 1

The Termination Process for Group and Families

The termination process for groups and families is similar, as the termination process can occur at any time. In most cases, termination typically occurs for both groups once it's been determined that the treatment goals have been met, sufficient progress has been made, or services are no longer required. A mutual agreement is also established between the therapist and the clients before termination. (Felton & Polowy, 2019), It is essential to know that terminations for groups and families arelikely more successful if conceptualized as a process. The therapist should consider how and when to prepare the group or family for termination beforethe final session. (Patterson et al., 2018) When seeking to analyze how the termination process may differ between the two groups, it may be vital to examine closed and open membership. In my experience, family sessions are typically considered closed membership, whereas groups can be open or closed. According to Toseland & Rivas (2017), in a closed group, all members end simultaneously unless there is unplanned termination. There is a benefit in the termination process for close groups as the therapist can assist the members in dealing with feelings that may surface as the sessions draw to a close. The termination process for an open group may be more challenging as it is not unusual for members to react differently. Because it is an open group, members can disengage at different times.

Evaluate Readiness

To evaluate readiness for group and family termination, a therapist may consider evaluating the process made toward goal achievement. The therapist should explore the client's ability to resolve future problems through conversation. The therapist should determine if the clients can independently obtain additional resources if needed in the future. The therapist ought to examine the client's skill development and how they work through resistance. (Felton & Polowy, 2019) A therapist can administer a self-reporting questionnaire to evaluate termination readiness. According to (Toseland & Rivas (2017), self-reporting measures are perhaps the most widely used evaluation tool. A therapist can employ the Therapeutic Factors Inventory Scale and Yalom's Curative Factors Scale to assess both groups. These evaluation tools suit families and groups as they determine family enactment, interpersonal learning, altruism, and cohesiveness. The evaluation tools differ as The Original Therapeutic Factors Inventory tool does not measure the client's guidance or hope.

Termination Techniques

Several interventions can be implemented to achieve the goal of termination. One intervention would be to space out the sessions. Spacing out the sessions will give the group time to consolidate the progress they may have made. This approach will also help the group members build confidence in their ability to manage problems independently between sessions. A therapist may want to give the group members a small gift to mark termination that's rich in symbolic meaning. Gifts can communicate that the therapist values the clients. (Felton & Polowy, 2019) A similar intervention is utilized in my practice setting. To honor group termination, a congratulatory celebration is enforced. When considering both interventions, I believe spacing out the sessions may be more practical when servicing a family. This intervention will allow the family to display their learned problem-solving skills.

References

Felton, E. M., & Polowy, C. I. (2019, January 22).Termination: Ending the therapeutic relationshipAvoiding abandonment.National Association of Social Workers. https://naswcanews.org/termination-ending-the-therapeutic-relationship-avoiding-abandonment/

Patterson, J., Williams, L., Edwards, T. M., Chamow, L., & Grauf-Grounds, C. (2018).Termination. .In Essential skills in family therapy: From the first interview to termination (3rd ed., pp. 262-274). Guilford Press.

Toseland, R. W., & Rivas, R. F. (2017).An introduction to group work practice(8th ed.). Pearson.

Colleagues 2

Social workers frequently have to end client services, particularly when it comes to counseling. A connection or therapeutic partnership is terminated when it is broken. Talking about termination with the client or clients is a good idea. In a treatment group, ending is just as important as starting (Toseland & Rivas, 2017). Effective termination is an essential component of the healing process (NASW, 2021). Group treatment is frequently ended gradually. The group facilitator will start the termination conversation. After that, the group leader would let everyone express their emotions and experiences as they processed the termination. Furthermore, in the event that the group is dissolved, the facilitator could offer resources to enable the members to carry on with their development. Family therapy sessions end in a somewhat different way than group therapy sessions. When a family session ends, a mental health provider will often talk about and offer support for the difficulties that have been discovered. Enhancing the relationships among family members is the aim of a family session. In a similar vein, family sessions end gradually. The social worker would talk about the family's development, termination, and ongoing needs. When the sessions come to an end, the social worker will also give the family resources to keep moving forward. Group and family sessions have termination procedures that are essentially the same. Nonetheless, some objectives are very dissimilar. As was previously mentioned, family sessions focus on improving the family unit as a whole, whereas groups are more focused on individuals. It is critical that a social worker recognizes their variances as well as their similarities.

It is vital to keep an eye on the interventions' efficacy during the group session. Two alternative methods of evaluation that can be used are questionnaires and observations (2017). If the symptoms or problems related to the diagnosed problem don't get better, the family or the group is prepared to stop therapy (2017). The next step for the social worker is to assess which clients need to continue receiving counseling.

At first, the social worker and clients may decide on treatment objectives together. These objectives would be assessed during the group or family session. The suggested length of counseling may be included in a treatment plan. The social worker should make explicit how long the session will take right away (2021). The social worker could determine whether the family or group needs ongoing therapy at the time of termination.

Reference:

Toseland, R. W., & Rivas, R. F. (2017). An introduction to group work practice (8th ed.). Pearson.

National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers Links to an externalsite..https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English