At this stage of the course, you should have a better understanding of how group therapy works, why it works, and what makes for an effective therapy group. To be an effective group therapy leader, you need to understand the complexities of group therapy and have the vision to see how you want your group to progress. As the therapy group’s leader, it is important to be present in your group, but also to be one step ahead.

For this Assignment, review this week’s media titled “Understanding Group Psychotherapy – Outpatients (parts 1 and 2).”  Consider how the video confirms or disconfirms your assumptions. In addition, think about how you might modify your assumptions based on what you saw in the video. Finally, consider what insights you had or conclusions you drew about group therapy.

The Assignment (4 pagesONLY…DOES NOT INCLUDE TITLE AND REFERENCES)

• Based upon the film, create a descriptive narrative explaining how the video confirms or disconfirms your assumptions about group therapy
• Explain any changes you might make to your assumptions about group therapy based on the video
• Explain any insights you had or conclusions you drew based on your review of the video

SENSATION, PERCEPTION, AND EMOTION

In accordance with the overview and timeframe for your SLP work presented in Module 1, use this module to peruse the related literature addressing the issue that interests you.  You don’t have to read all the sources in detail – some of them may be fairly long documents detailing specific research studies that were conducted, while others may be lengthy literature reviews summarizing the work that’s been done in this area.

The goal here is to familiarize yourself with approximately 5 to 10 good resources that you know you can use to write your paper.  For Module 2, prepare your reference list page – listing a minimum offive references that will be drawn from throughout your work.  More references are even better but five strong ones is the minimum.

Toward this end, be sure to access ProQuest & / or EBSCO via the background readings page. If you would like to look at papers and research studies written by academics you can use select “peer-reviewed / scholarly journals only” – as well as “full text / articles only” options. However, there are many professional papers and other types of documents that may also be quite valuable to you even if they are not peer reviewed or based on empirical research.  Regardless of the type of papers and documents you use, you will want to use them critically.  Do they make sense?  Are they biased in one way or another?  Do you have doubts about their findings or conclusions?

Finally, remember, for the research to be considered “current” it must have been published within the past 1-5 years. You may find some “classic” papers and documents that are very helpful, and you are welcome to use some of those, but if you plan on using only five or six references in your paper, they should all be relatively new.  In the field of psychology things change so quickly that a paper on a topic like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that was written ten years ago may be woefully outdated.

IN CONTEXT OF THE ENTIRE PROJECT…

1. MODULE ONE: Overview of Issue and Research Question

2. MODULE TWO: Reference List Page (5-10 references)

3. MODULE THREE: Detailed Outline of Paper

4. MODULE FOUR: Solid Draft of Entire Paper

5. MODULE FIVE: Final Paper in its Entirety

SLP Assignment Expectations

Before submitting your work for my review, be sure to review and refine your work in accordance with the following expectations:

1. Does your reference list include a minimum of five references – most published within the past five years.  Do you have a mix of peer-reviewed, research, professional, and other types of resources?  And, are they what you need to do an excellent job on your paper? Most importantly, will the identified references help you to answer your stated research question(s)?
2. Does your reference list present your references in accordance with APA style guide?

Module 3 – SLP

STRESS AND COPING

Provide a detailed outline for your research paper. Include section headings and subheadings, as well as brief descriptions of the topics you intend to address in each section.

As you complete your outline for Module 3, keep in mind that there are a number of writing resources listed on the background information pages.

IN CONTEXT OF THE ENTIRE PROJECT…

1. MODULE ONE: Overview of Issue and Research Question

2. MODULE TWO: Reference List Page (5-10 references)

3. MODULE THREE: Detailed Outline of Paper

4. MODULE FOUR: Solid Draft of Entire Paper

5. MODULE FIVE: Final Paper in its Entirety

SLP Assignment Expectations

Before submitting your work for my review, be sure to review and refine your work in accordance with the following expectations:

1. Does your outline give a sufficiently detailed overview of the extent and manner in which your paper will be addressing the issue you chose and the related research question(s)?
2. Does your outline reflect college level writing skills / abilities?

Module 4 – SLP

PERSONALITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

In accordance with the overview and timeframe for your SLP work presented in Module 1, you are now to submit a solid draft of your paper up through the end of this 4th module. This enables you the opportunity to receive feedback and input for possible revisions that may strengthen your final submission in Module 5.

IN CONTEXT OF THE ENTIRE PROJECT…

1. MODULE ONE: Overview of Issue and Research Question

2. MODULE TWO: Reference List Page (5-10 references)

3. MODULE THREE: Detailed Outline of Paper

4. MODULE FOUR: Solid Draft of Entire Paper

5. MODULE FIVE: Final Paper in its Entirety

SLP Assignment Expectations

Before submitting your work, be sure to do a thorough review yourself and where possible get someone else to read it with “new eyes” that may spot problems you cannot see because you are too close to the paper and tend to see “what should be there” instead of what is actually on the page. Ask these questions:

1. Does this draft of your work address the issue and related research question(s) – as presented and confirmed in the earlier modules?
2. Does this draft of your work reflect your consideration of the feedback provided thus far?
3. Proper use of APA formatting rules? Supporting research and professional resources properly acknowledged and cited?