How to Set Up Group Counseling for Depressed Men

One of the biggest responsibilities counselors have is to ensure the emotional welfare of their patients is being met at all times. Sometimes in order to accomplish this, group counseling must be ordered as part of the treatment plan. While it is difficult to get male clients to share their feelings one on one with their counselor, it is also difficult to get them to agree to attend group sessions. Many professionals resort to setting up their own groups to meet this part of the treatment plan. Following are steps to help counselors set up group therapy for depressed male clients.

Instructions

• 1

  Decide when and where the sessions will take place. Because of work schedules and so forth, it is ideal to hold group sessions in the late afternoon or early evening hours. You may also wish to consider holding group meetings on Saturday mornings. This would be the least invasive time to the clients' work and personal schedules. Location is also a key factor in successfully convincing clients to participate. Holding the sessions in your private office or a nearby private building (such as a church or meeting hall) would be a good choice.

• 2

  Recruit participants once time and location are decided. A counselor can post a flyer in their outer office waiting room as well as mention the group during private sessions. If you are looking to draw a larger crowd, feel free to place flyers in local businesses. If you decide to take participants into this group, decide whether or not this will be a free service. Many states require certain hours of donated professional service time each year to keep your license current, and this is an excellent way to meet this requirement.

• 3

  Decide how the group sessions will operate. It is important to decide if there will be a new topic of discussion each week or if participants will be allowed to simply share current concerns with the group. Each method has its advantages, so it might be prudent to discuss this with the group members during the first meeting. Allowing the participants to have a say in how sessions are conducted make them feel important.

• 4

  Monitor everyone's progress. Make sure everyone is benefitting from the group sessions. Keep in regular contact with all group members and make yourself available to discuss any concerns that should not be discussed in front of other group members.