Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the group leader's intervention strategies in the instances where members expressed their affective experiences/emotions/feelings during the group process. Two ten-session unstructured counseling groups each leaded by two doctoral level trainees were included. Four measures were used in the present study: Normative-Organizational/Personal Exploration Scale (NO/PE), Individual Group Member's Interpersonal Process Scale (IGIPS), Group Counselors' Intentions Index, and Group Counselors' Techniques Index. The first two instruments were measured members' attendance behaviors and the last two investigated leaders' intervention strategies. From the group process transcripts, 19 instances of affective expression, were identified and used in the subsequent analysis. The results indicated that leaders intervened with strategies of "Communication balancing," "Culture building," and "Issues and focus holding" in the early period of a group process, and "Group process reflecting" in the late sessions. Furthermore in the interpersonal and individual dimension, leaders would use "Linking and interpersonal alliance facilitating," "Awareness and acceptance facilitating," and "Communication checking and clarifying" in the early group sessions, and both "Feedback and interpersonal awareness facilitating" and "Communication skills learning" in the late sessions. Finally, in the individual dimension of a group process, strategies of "Personal share enhancing," "Support and empathy," "Self awareness enhancing," "Depth and self acceptance facilitating," and "Personal goals linking" appeared in the early sessions, and "Immediate self expression enhancing" in the late sessions. Applications for practice, instruction, supervision, and recommendations for further research were proposed and discussed.